| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| hubbyofabaker |
Posted - Apr 11 2018 : 2:40:37 PM
What a fabulous book,(Wild Bread), my wife just got her copy. We live in the mountains of Colorado at an elevation of 8,500 feet. With that said, does anyone know of high altitude baking problems with "wild bread"? We haven't gotten started yet and want to get going the correct way. Most other baking has added ingredients or different temps and times.
We have a gas oven with a convection feature, any baking suggestions about convection?
Thank you everyone for your ideas and advice.
Rene |
| 6 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Ashley |
Posted - May 02 2018 : 09:43:29 AM
Hi Greeklish, and thank you for you input! |
| Greeklish |
Posted - May 01 2018 : 3:58:16 PM
Hi Hubby and fellow high altitude Coloradoan!
I live at 7200' in the high and dry desert mountains of northern Colorado. I grew up at sea level (20'), so I thought I had to make a lot of adjustments to my recipes when I moved here ~40 years ago. It turns out that I mostly cook by 'looks and feels'. I've read so many conflicting and confusing things about high altitude baking that I don't follow any set rules.
I know what good bread dough looks and feels like, whether it's a heavy bread or a light one. The doughs have one thing in common: elasticity. I almost always have to add a little more flour to basic recipes to get that nice smooth, elastic dough. If you think you've added too much flour, add a few drops of water (or milk or oil) - go slowly.
Also, check your oven temperature! This is really important, because every oven cooks differently. I have a gas oven, so I'm sorry I have no advice on convection baking. Enjoy! |
| Sylvia Jacobus |
Posted - Apr 12 2018 : 09:01:19 AM
I use a convection mode of my electric oven to bake bread. Rack in the center of the oven, pan for ice cubes, temperature 25º less than recipe calls for and I set timer 5 minutes short of when it's supposed to be done. I check the temperature of the bread when the buzzer rings and it's usually done! My oven is made in Italy so it has 3 modes of convection. Until I tested all three, I was so confused. This mode varies only 5º. My stove is made by Bertazzoni. And, it's bright red. Duel fuel: gas burners and electric oven.
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| Ashley |
Posted - Apr 11 2018 : 3:45:47 PM
This reminds me of a story I read some time ago about a bakery that makes breads with a really high water content. Before baking, the loaves are flat and formless, but due to factors in the local climate, the dough rises into a beautiful, round loaf with lots of wonderful air pockets.
Oven spring is just another way of describing the amount of rise that happens during baking. |
| hubbyofabaker |
Posted - Apr 11 2018 : 3:09:33 PM
Ashley,
Thanks for the link, we will check it out. I was also thinking of putting a tin with water in the oven during baking. and YES evaporation will be a big problem here, our humidity is in the low teens, DRY. The many issues of living in the mountains.
Haven't heard of "oven spring" definition?
Thanks Rene |
| Ashley |
Posted - Apr 11 2018 : 3:01:02 PM
Hi Rene, and welcome to the chatroom! Unfortunately, high-altitude baking is area where I am at a loss. You may have read this information before, but I did find this source:
https://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/icooks/article-3-03.html
It looks like your primary challenges will be water evaporating too fast during baking (so you may need to add more water or liquid to compensate for the loss), being careful that your loaves don't rise too much before you put them in the oven (so they don't rise right out of your pans during baking) and getting your oven temp just right to limit the amount of oven spring that happens.
I wish I had more experience with high-elevation baking. With any luck there's someone on the chatroom that can chime in. |
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