Post by HarmonyNLG on Oct 28, 2003 19:01:39 GMT -6
Understand High Altitude Cooking.
At high altitudes, the air density is lower than at sea level. This causes two basic problems:
1.Water boils at higher temperatures, thus increasing the time it takes to boil (and the time it takes you to prepare your recipe).
2.Baked goods tend to rise faster, requiring a change in the proportion of ingredients used in leavened foods (such as breads and cakes). Sometimes, you may need to adjust the baking temperature in your oven as well!
However, changes in altitude do not affect oven temperatures.
Therefore, at elevations over 3500 feet, the oven temperature for batters and doughs should be 25 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the temperature used at sea level. Proofing time for yeast breads should be reduced.
Boiling. In general, then, if you are making something that needs to be boiled, the cooking process will take longer at high altitudes than at sea level. At as low as 5,000 feet (1,500 meters), the boiling point of water has changed enough to change cooking times significantly. For example, expect rice cooked at 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) to take 25-30 minutes instead of 20-25 minutes of simmering before the water is absorbed and the rice is done.
Baking. For any baked goods that rise (yeast breads, cakes or breads made with baking powder, etc.), it is important to adjust the recipe so that the rapid rise time doesn't make the resulting bread or cake too dry. This can be done as follows:
For Yeast Breads: Yeast breads rise more quickly at high altitudes, so be sure to watch your dough carefully and judge the rise time by the change in the dough's bulk, not by the amount of time it takes.
For Recipes Using Baking Powder:
•Don't overbeat the eggs. Overbeating adds too much air to the bread or cake.
•Raise the baking temperature slightly; the faster cooking time will keep the recipe from rising too much.
•Decrease the amount of baking powder slightly; this also prevents the recipe from rising too much.
Always grease your baking pans thoroughly, as cakes and breads tend to stick more when they are baked at high altitudes.
Read the Directions!
When all else fails, read the directions! If you're baking something you've baked for years, take a close look to find any instructions about preparing your food at a higher elevation. Usually, there will be a note (in fine print) stating what to add or delete from the recipe to make your food come out just like you've always enjoyed it!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Baking Cakes at High Altitude.
Most cake recipes for sea level need no modification up to the altitude of 3,000 feet. Above that, it is often necessary to adjust recipes slightly. Usually, a decrease in leavening or sugar (or both) and an increase in liquid are needed.
Each or all of these adjustments may be required for every recipe is different in its balance of ingredients. Only repeated experiments with each recipe can give the most successful proportions to use. Simply use the guide below to adjust your recipe as needed. Where two amounts appear in the table, the smaller adjustment should be tried first. Then if the cake still needs improvement, the larger adjustment can be used the next time.
Adjustment for 3000+ feet:
•Reduce baking powder:
For each tsp., decrease 1/8 tsp.
•Reduce sugar:
For each cup, decrease 0 to 1 Tbsp.
•Increase liquid:
For each cup, add 1 to 2 Tbsp.
What is high altitude?
Areas with altitudes 3500 feet above sea level are considered to be high-altitude areas.
Cooking at high altitude
•All cooking processes are directly affected by atmospheric pressure. •At sea level, water boils at 212° F, but on mountain tops and other high-altitude regions, the boiling point is much lower. •For about every 500 feet of ascent, the boiling point is lowered 1°F. •At a 7000 foot elevation, water would boil at about 198° F. Because the water is boiling at a lower temperature, it would take longer to cook food by boiling.
Baking at high altitude
Atmospheric pressure is less at high altitudes than at sea level or more normal elevations.
This lower pressure affects the baking of cakes in several ways.
•Heat rises from the bottom of an oven, but since there isn't sufficient air pressure from above to balance this upward pressure, the cake tends to expand too rapidly.
•Air cells in the cake can break and escape because of this too rapid expansion, resulting in a cake that will dip or fall.
•Batter may overflow the pan due to the too rapid expansion of the cake.
•Cakes can remain underdone if temperature is not raised to adjust for the lower boiling point at high altitudes.
•Due to rapid evaporation of liquids at high altitudes, cakes must be carefully timed to avoid excess dryness.
High-altitude conversion tips:
To convert standard recipes into those which can be used for high-altitude baking:
•Use 5% more flour - to disperse the leavening action and slow down the rapid rise of the cake.
•Use 20% more water - to counterbalance the rapid evaporation of liquids at high altitudes and the extra flour added to the cake batter.
•Bake about 25 degrees higher - to help "set" the cake's crust.
•Reduce baking time about 20% - prevent overbaking at the higher temperature.
•Fill pans 1/3 to no more than 1/2 full - to avoid batter overflow caused by rapid cake expansion.
•Use cold water and large cold eggs - to give cake extra strength.
•Generously grease and flour cake pans - to prevent cake from sticking.
•Since high altitude cakes rise higher, remove top oven rack to prevent cake from sticking to it.
•Have oven calibrated by a serviceman periodically, since some thermostats are affected by altitude.
High-altitude cookie adjustment:
Only cookies with lots of chocolate, nuts or dates need adjustment: reduce baking powder/soda by 1/2.
At very high altitudes, a slight reduction of sugar may help.
High altitude means lower air pressure, which decreases water's boiling temperature from 212 degrees F at sea level to 203 degrees F at 5,000 feet
and to just 199 degrees F at 7,200 feet. This variation affects cooking of vegetables, eggs, candies, and internal structure of baked products because water and liquids evaporate faster and leavening gases in breads and cakes expand more.
Do not assume your sea level recipe will fail. Try it first because it may need little or no modification. This is especially true of meats and vegetables cooked with dry heat (in the oven). Even with making recommended
altitude adjustments to sea level recipes, the quality may never be the same as when it was prepared at sea level.
(continued in next post)
At high altitudes, the air density is lower than at sea level. This causes two basic problems:
1.Water boils at higher temperatures, thus increasing the time it takes to boil (and the time it takes you to prepare your recipe).
2.Baked goods tend to rise faster, requiring a change in the proportion of ingredients used in leavened foods (such as breads and cakes). Sometimes, you may need to adjust the baking temperature in your oven as well!
However, changes in altitude do not affect oven temperatures.
Therefore, at elevations over 3500 feet, the oven temperature for batters and doughs should be 25 degrees Fahrenheit higher than the temperature used at sea level. Proofing time for yeast breads should be reduced.
Boiling. In general, then, if you are making something that needs to be boiled, the cooking process will take longer at high altitudes than at sea level. At as low as 5,000 feet (1,500 meters), the boiling point of water has changed enough to change cooking times significantly. For example, expect rice cooked at 5,000 feet (1,500 meters) to take 25-30 minutes instead of 20-25 minutes of simmering before the water is absorbed and the rice is done.
Baking. For any baked goods that rise (yeast breads, cakes or breads made with baking powder, etc.), it is important to adjust the recipe so that the rapid rise time doesn't make the resulting bread or cake too dry. This can be done as follows:
For Yeast Breads: Yeast breads rise more quickly at high altitudes, so be sure to watch your dough carefully and judge the rise time by the change in the dough's bulk, not by the amount of time it takes.
For Recipes Using Baking Powder:
•Don't overbeat the eggs. Overbeating adds too much air to the bread or cake.
•Raise the baking temperature slightly; the faster cooking time will keep the recipe from rising too much.
•Decrease the amount of baking powder slightly; this also prevents the recipe from rising too much.
Always grease your baking pans thoroughly, as cakes and breads tend to stick more when they are baked at high altitudes.
Read the Directions!
When all else fails, read the directions! If you're baking something you've baked for years, take a close look to find any instructions about preparing your food at a higher elevation. Usually, there will be a note (in fine print) stating what to add or delete from the recipe to make your food come out just like you've always enjoyed it!
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Baking Cakes at High Altitude.
Most cake recipes for sea level need no modification up to the altitude of 3,000 feet. Above that, it is often necessary to adjust recipes slightly. Usually, a decrease in leavening or sugar (or both) and an increase in liquid are needed.
Each or all of these adjustments may be required for every recipe is different in its balance of ingredients. Only repeated experiments with each recipe can give the most successful proportions to use. Simply use the guide below to adjust your recipe as needed. Where two amounts appear in the table, the smaller adjustment should be tried first. Then if the cake still needs improvement, the larger adjustment can be used the next time.
Adjustment for 3000+ feet:
•Reduce baking powder:
For each tsp., decrease 1/8 tsp.
•Reduce sugar:
For each cup, decrease 0 to 1 Tbsp.
•Increase liquid:
For each cup, add 1 to 2 Tbsp.
What is high altitude?
Areas with altitudes 3500 feet above sea level are considered to be high-altitude areas.
Cooking at high altitude
•All cooking processes are directly affected by atmospheric pressure. •At sea level, water boils at 212° F, but on mountain tops and other high-altitude regions, the boiling point is much lower. •For about every 500 feet of ascent, the boiling point is lowered 1°F. •At a 7000 foot elevation, water would boil at about 198° F. Because the water is boiling at a lower temperature, it would take longer to cook food by boiling.
Baking at high altitude
Atmospheric pressure is less at high altitudes than at sea level or more normal elevations.
This lower pressure affects the baking of cakes in several ways.
•Heat rises from the bottom of an oven, but since there isn't sufficient air pressure from above to balance this upward pressure, the cake tends to expand too rapidly.
•Air cells in the cake can break and escape because of this too rapid expansion, resulting in a cake that will dip or fall.
•Batter may overflow the pan due to the too rapid expansion of the cake.
•Cakes can remain underdone if temperature is not raised to adjust for the lower boiling point at high altitudes.
•Due to rapid evaporation of liquids at high altitudes, cakes must be carefully timed to avoid excess dryness.
High-altitude conversion tips:
To convert standard recipes into those which can be used for high-altitude baking:
•Use 5% more flour - to disperse the leavening action and slow down the rapid rise of the cake.
•Use 20% more water - to counterbalance the rapid evaporation of liquids at high altitudes and the extra flour added to the cake batter.
•Bake about 25 degrees higher - to help "set" the cake's crust.
•Reduce baking time about 20% - prevent overbaking at the higher temperature.
•Fill pans 1/3 to no more than 1/2 full - to avoid batter overflow caused by rapid cake expansion.
•Use cold water and large cold eggs - to give cake extra strength.
•Generously grease and flour cake pans - to prevent cake from sticking.
•Since high altitude cakes rise higher, remove top oven rack to prevent cake from sticking to it.
•Have oven calibrated by a serviceman periodically, since some thermostats are affected by altitude.
High-altitude cookie adjustment:
Only cookies with lots of chocolate, nuts or dates need adjustment: reduce baking powder/soda by 1/2.
At very high altitudes, a slight reduction of sugar may help.
High altitude means lower air pressure, which decreases water's boiling temperature from 212 degrees F at sea level to 203 degrees F at 5,000 feet
and to just 199 degrees F at 7,200 feet. This variation affects cooking of vegetables, eggs, candies, and internal structure of baked products because water and liquids evaporate faster and leavening gases in breads and cakes expand more.
Do not assume your sea level recipe will fail. Try it first because it may need little or no modification. This is especially true of meats and vegetables cooked with dry heat (in the oven). Even with making recommended
altitude adjustments to sea level recipes, the quality may never be the same as when it was prepared at sea level.
(continued in next post)