> Subject: High Altitude Baking
> Is anyone out there baking
> bread at high altitude? The first run of this breadmaker will be at
> 7000 ft. Are there modifications we should make to the recipes?
> Julia
Yes, I am in Fort Collins, Colorado; I am not sure how high it is but
over a mile anyway. If you have a "small" loaf setting as well as
a large, make it first, because sometimes the altitude will cause
the bread to overrise significantly and you will have a doughy mess
with the larger loaf. If this ends up being your problem, you should
decrease the yeast and/or water. I usually decrease the yeast by
1/4-1/2 tsp, for a machine that calls for 2 tsp, I use 1.5 or 1.75
tsp. But, lately I have not had to do this - I think it has something
to do with the moisture in the air - and I need the full 2 tsp to
make the bread rise.
I highly recommend Bread Machine Magic; for some reason all of their
recipes seem to work well in my machine, with the yeast requirements
they say. I think that is because they were careful to get correct
moisture content in the bread, which will also affect the rising.
I believe they also have a good discussion of how salt regulates and
moisture and sugar increase the growth of the yeast, which is helpful
when figuring out how to use recipes designed for other machines.
Good luck,
Lisa