High altitude pizza crust - how to adjust yeast?
I'm trying several pizza crust recipes at an altitude of 4,500' (about 1500 meters). All of the recipes I have are presumably for sea level, and the results are as expected - too much yeast for this altitude causes the dough to over-rise and then collapse. Can anyone suggest how much to reduce the yeast at this altitude - 30%, 40%, 50%, more?
Best Answer
Sugar fermentation occurs more quickly at high altitude so you need to cut back on the time that you're allowing the dough to rise.
Salt controls the action of the yeast so you might be able to increase it slightly since you're talking about pizza crust and not a sweet yeast dough.
Are you using all-purpose flour? If so, try bread flour. The higher gluten content of bread flour typically requires a longer amount of time for rising due to the extra gluten that needs to stretch and expand. Additionally, it will be a stronger dough even when it is expanded.
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How do you adjust yeast for high altitude?
Decrease the amount of yeast in the recipe by 25%, and make water/flour adjustments as necessary to get a dough with the correct texture. Make sure your bowl has plenty of room for the dough to rise in. Since rising times are much shorter at higher altitudes, you have a number of options to help its flavor.How do you adjust pizza dough for high altitude?
High Altitude Baking \u2014 Good Rules of ThumbDoes High Altitude affect pizza dough?
When you're making pizza or bread at high altitudes, you are likely to be starting with a little more flour by weight, and it's also thirstier flour. It wants to absorb more water. As a result, doughs at high altitude tend to be drier than those at lower altitudes, even if the weights are consistent.How do you make pizza dough less yeasty?
Try reducing the yeast to 0.5-1% of the total weight of flour, or using a starter like poolish, and then fermenting over 1-3 days in the fridge.More answers regarding high altitude pizza crust - how to adjust yeast?
Answer 2
I don't think that reducing the yeast is going to help much. Remember that the yeast is going to reproduce in your dough anyway.
Try rising in a cooler location, even the refrigerator. It'll make your bread better anyway. Start with ice-cold water when you prepare the dough, and then keep it cold overnight. After that, bring it out to room temperature in the morning and let it work from there. Keep an eye on it — don't rely on the clock to tell you when to punch it down for a second rise.
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