How to compensate for high altitude when baking bread in a bread machine?
I have heard that high altitude can create bad results when making bread in a bread machine. I live at 7,000 ft above sea level. If I bought a bread machine, is there some way to compensate for the altitude, so that the results are still good?
Best Answer
This site claims that you should add some extra flour and liquids while reducing yeast and sugar, while increasing temperature and reducing time. I'm not sure that I accept their reasoning behind increasing the amount of liquids (supposedly to counteract dryer air), but at the same time increasing the amount of flour.
You probably can't adjust either time or temperature in your bread maker, though.
A lot of their reasoning is based on the air being dryer at altitude, but I would have thought that the breadmaker would be sealed enough to maintain a humid enough atmosphere inside.
That is based on 3500ft above sea-level , but you're twice as high. At your altitude water boils at 92°C, which means that the bread will expand faster in the oven, but before setting properly.
If you can't change any other parameters, I would try to reduce the amount of dough in each batch, to ensure that it heats through faster
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How do you adjust bread 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 compensate for elevation in baking?
High-Altitude Baking ChartDoes altitude make a difference in baking bread?
High altitude (over 3,000 feet) affects bread baking because the lower air pressure allows the yeast to rise 25 to 50 percent faster, and the drier air makes the flour drier. If the dough over-rises, the results might be a heavy, dry loaf or misshapen or collapsed loaf.What happens when you bake at high altitude?
Baking at High AltitudesAir pressure is lower, so foods take longer to bake. Temperatures and/or bake times may need to be increased. Liquids evaporate faster, so amounts of flour, sugar and liquids may need to be changed to prevent batter that is too moist, dry or gummy. Gases expand more, so doughs rise faster.7 Common Bread Machine Mistakes That Are Easy To Avoid
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Answer 2
A book called ''Bread baking for beginners'' says that you should reduce the yeast by one quarter, whilst slightly increasing the amount of water. Also, reducing the water temperature to slow the rise could also help. Lastly, it mentions lowering the oven temperature slightly to prevent over-baking. I hope this helps!
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