David,
First, to Reggie and Jeff, I hope you have a wonderful holiday. And
thank you for maintaining this group.
Second, to David Weiss-Dunn: 5000 ft IS high altitude. "The companies"
consider anything over 3500 ft will affect their mixes. I live at 9200
ft altitude and have just baked everything from scratch since we moved
here.
As for your bread, I'll just tell you what I do and don't do. I use
instant yeast just because I'm too lazy to add a step. I reduce the
yeast by 1/3; in an article in the local paper about a "classically
trained" baker at about 6000 ft, he said that he reduces the yeast by
1/4. The Colorado State University Extension is a national authority
on high altitude baking and they suggest leaving the yeast alone and
adding an extra rise.
I also have to add, for the called for flour, up to 25% more water due
to the flour being dryer than in the midwest or east coast.
If you have over proofed the bread, it might be dense. And what using
self-ground flour would do, I can't guess. I've always wanted to try
it.
I hope this might give you some more ideas of things to try. I've
found that baking at altitude is really an opportunity for
experimentation. ;)
Sue
mtnnewf@yahoo.com