High altitudes present challenges in baking.
Baking at a level higher than 3,500 feet above sea level can pose some challenges. There is less atmospheric pressure at higher elevations, and this affects cooking in a number of ways. Leavening, such as baking powder, expands more quickly; liquids evaporate faster; and liquids boil at lower temperatures. This leads to fallen or coarse cakes. They might also be undercooked, or dry, or stick to the pan. Yeast is also affected. You can offset these problems by adjusting the recipes and methods used in baking.
Instructions
1. Reduce the leavening by 1/8 to 1/4 of each teaspoon. The higher the elevation, the more you need to reduce the baking powder or soda. Beat eggs less than you normally would.
2. Reduce the sugar and fat in a cake and increase the liquid to offset the liquid cooking away more quickly at a higher elevation. Reduce the sugar 2 tbsp. per cup and increase the liquid by 2 to 4 tbsp. per cup.
3. Be generous in greasing and flouring your pans to prevent sticking. Fill them no more than half full.
4. Increase the temperature of the oven by 25 degrees and shorten the baking time by 20 percent.
Tags: baking powder, higher elevation, increase liquid, more quickly, Reduce sugar
