If you live at an altitude of 5000 feet or greater and your efforts to bake a beautiful birthday cake for your family yielded something that resembled a flat tire, you have experienced the challenges of baking at high altitudes. By making some minor adjustments and learning about the way air pressure affects baked goods, you can turn out beautiful cakes and other products at high altitudes.
Instructions
1. Check the packaging for high altitude directions. If you are not baking from scratch, nearly all commercially packaged baking mixes contain instructions for altering the product to suit high altitude preparation.
2. Increase the liquids by 3 tbsp. at 5000 feet and 4 tbsp. at 10,000 feet. Lower air pressures common to altitudes above 5000 feet mean that liquids escape readily, which yields a dry product unless adjustments are made.
3. Decrease the leavening agents such as baking powder by 1/8 tsp. for each tsp. of leavening agent used. Air pressure is reduced at high altitudes, which allows gases to expand rapidly in the baked product. The gas bubbles then escape, causing the cake or muffin to fall flat.
4. Use extra large eggs or add an extra egg. The additional protein supplied by the egg will add support to the structural matrix of the baked product, trapping gases and preventing collapse.
5. Substitute buttermilk or sour cream for water in the recipe. The dry air commonly found at high altitudes means that the flour is drier as well, and buttermilk or sour cream imparts a moist, velvety texture to your cakes and muffins.
6. Reduce the sugar by 2 tbsp. at 5000 feet and 4 tbsp. at 10,000 feet. Sugar attracts and absorbs liquid, which results in a dry or coarse product if not reduced.
7. Consult a cookbook tailored especially for your circumstances. If you do a great deal of baking from scratch, Susan Purdy's "Pie in the Sky" shares 100 original recipes altered for five different altitudes.
Tags: 5000 feet, high altitudes, 5000 feet tbsp, baked product, baking from, baking from scratch
