|
|
|
Foodreference.com - Articles & Features Section
Articles, Essays, News & Interviews about food & beverages - History, Culture, Science and More
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Click on the
3 Young Chefs
for the best
Culinary Schools
Restaurant, Hospitality & Hotel Management Schools
|
|
|
|
|
Get a Free Trial issue!
SAVEUR
The Award-Winning magazine that celebrates the people, places and rituals that establish culinary traditions
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
HOW TO BAKE: High Altitude Breads
Can you make bread and buns in the mountains?
We got a call from California this week, “I can make great bread in L.A. but at my cabin in Montana, it doesn’t turn out so well.”
We would like to help. This summer, you might find yourself at a cabin or in an RV high in the mountains. That doesn’t mean you can’t enjoy great bread.
|
FREE
"HOW TO BAKE"
From The Prepared Pantry
Be a better baker! Get the most comprehensive home baking guide you have ever seen
|
Yeast products are not as sensitive to altitude as chemically leavened products. We have worked with yeasted breads at almost 11,000 feet in the Rockies. The trick is realizing that you are working with living creatures and giving them the culture that they need to thrive in—a warm, moist environment. In a healthy culture, yeast organisms feed on the sugars and starches in the dough, multiply rapidly, and expel carbon dioxide gases that make the dough rise. If the dough is not moist enough, it will take much longer for the dough to rise. Yeast organisms are very sensitive to temperature. If the dough is too cool, the yeast organisms do not multiply as rapidly and produce less gas.
 The recipe that works so well for you on the coast may not work so well in the Rockies. But it may not be the altitude; it may be the humidity. In a humid location, unsealed flour absorbs moisture; in a dry climate, that same flour dries out. If you add the same amount of water to flour in both locations, the dough in the humid climate will be much moister. But the solution is simple: add enough water that the dough is soft and moist.
At higher altitudes, your kitchen may be cooler than it is at home. A few degrees difference in temperature will make a substantial difference in the time it takes your dough to rise. Compensate by taking advantage of the warmest spot in the kitchen. (At 11,000 feet in the Rockies, we had to move a tent to the warmest spot we could find, banking the tent into the sun.)
There are some other tricks that you can deploy to help that yeast along. A little extra sugar will feed the yeast and speed growth. An extra teaspoon per loaf will do and probably won’t make a noticeable difference in your recipe. Salt retards yeast growth. If you cut the amount of salt in a recipe by 1/2 teaspoon per loaf, you will speed the yeast along.
Be patient, be willing to experiment a little, and be cognizant of the yeast culture and you’ll soon have perfect bread at any altitude.
Courtesy of the Prepared Pantry - www.preparedpantry.com
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Baking Bread - The Staff of Life Bread and your Freezer Bread, Five Factors To Get Your Bread To Rise Bread, High Altitude Breads Bread, How Long Should My Bread Rise? Bread, How To Make Easy Sourdough Bread Bread, Secrets of Great Breads Bread, Whole Grain Rice Bread Bread, Why Do We Need To Knead? Cake - Let Them Eat Cake Cheesecake, How To Bake The Perfect Cheesecake Cornbread, Hints and Tips for Better Cornbread Flour: Types And Uses Gluten Free Baking Mixes Gluten, What It Is And Why Does It Matter? Leavening: All Rise Monkey Bread, An Introduction Muffins: Tips On Making Muffins Oats, Winning Tips for Baking with Oats Pastry: Basic Ingredients Pie, Tips for the Perfect Pie Crust Sourdough Yeast, How Yeast Works |
|
|
Please feel free to link to any pages of FoodReference.com from your website.
No permission is necessary to link to our pages.
For permission to use any of the content on FoodReference.com please contact: james@foodreference.com
All contents of this website are copyright © 1990 - 2009 James T. Ehler and FoodReference.com unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved. You may copy and use portions of this website for non-commercial, personal use only. Any other use of the materials in this website without prior written permission is prohibited.
|
|
|
|
|
|
