Who doesn’t love pastry?  And who in Colorado hasn’t struggled with flat cakes, collapsed cookies, and other blame-it-on-the-altitude baking problems?  We’re thrilled to be offering a high-altitude baking class Wednesday, September 16 featuring Susan G. Purdy, whose book Pie In the Sky: Successful High-Altitude Baking debunks high-altitude myths and will help you hit a home run every time you bake in Colorful Colorado.  Susan is consistently ranked as the queen of high-altitude, so we couldn’t be more thrilled to learn from her years of baking wisdom.

To celebrate, here are a few fun facts about altitude and baking:

• Why your recipes fail: Leaving user error out of the question, recipes often fail at altitude because of three factors:  lower boiling point of water [takes longer for moist, batter-based cakes to bake through], faster moisture evaporation [baking ratios are off and dryness becomes a problem], and quick-expanding leavening gases [too much rising with quick sinking].
• No stiff peaks: Next time you’re whipping up a meringue, resist the temptation to create stiff peaks.  At Colorado-level altitudes, leavening gases mean that your whipped peaks will collapse in no time.  Go for a soft peak instead.
• Beef up your cakes: Cakes especially are susceptible to elevation gaffes, since they rise quickly and can fall fast.  Try replacing liquid with an acidic dairy product like buttermilk, yogurt, or milk.  You’ll get a great tang, and the batter won’t wilt in the oven.
• Go regional: There’s a reason tortillas and flatbreads originated in high desert and mountainous regions:  they don’t fail at altitude!  Don’t give up on high-altitude baking, but don’t despair…there are plenty of recipes that won’t give you a struggle if you’re tired of over-proofed bread or collapsed cake.

Photo via Kanko*

No related posts.