This is why in many recipes here at The Perfect Loaf, I call for water to be held back and added in thorough mixing. Flour is not a static ingredient, it's ever-changing, and we have to be ready to either hold back water or add more, as necessary.ĭough hydration is always relative to the flour used. But this isn't always the case, and like I always say: adjust the dough hydration to suit the flour you have on hand. The loaf should feel light in hand, indicating sufficient water has baked awayĪdjusting dough hydration for high altitudeįlour is usually drier at high elevation 2, and I can absolutely attest to that.There should be no pale-colored areas on the crust.With free-form loaves, a gentle squeeze should have a satisfying crunch (indicating the crust has sufficiently hardened off).The crust should be deeply colored throughout.Depending on the bread type, the internal temperature should be near 200-205☏ (93-96☌), depending on the style of bread 1.The best way to determine when your loaf is fully baked through is to use a combination of sensorial and measured inputs: However, at high altitude, I've found that sometimes no matter how long I bake my bread, it never reaches that temperature. Loaves with higher hydration always require a longer bake time, whether this is a whole wheat loaf or a white loaf.īut how can we tell when a loaf is fully baked? When is bread fully baked at high altitude?įor a standard loaf of bread, I typically indicate the internal temperature should be somewhere near 200-205☏ (93-96☌). For a standard free-form loaf, on average, I need to bake 10 minutes longer, depending on the style of bread and recipe. It takes bread (and other food) longer to reach a higher internal temperature at high altitudes. As I said above, I either change the total bake time (increased or the baking temperature (increased)-not both. Related to the section above regarding baking temperature, I usually need to change the bake time when I bake sourdough bread here at a high altitude. But if the bread is baked in a Dutch oven or combo cooker, which traps steam inside the pot, using convection to reduce bake time and/or temperature works well. The convection fan circulates air-and any steam-in the oven, and I've found it causes the dough to dry out. I don't like to use convection with bread baked open on a baking stone or baking steel, though. Usually, when using an oven's convection mode, convention states you need to reduce your oven by 25 degrees to compensate-which I don't do.įor example, if a recipe called for a no-convection bake temperature of 350☏ (175☌) for 20 minutes at sea level, I'd set my oven to 350☏ (175☌) and bake for 20 minutes with convection turned on. When doing this, I'll set the oven temperature to the temperature specified in the recipe even with convection turned on. I sometimes use a trick here in my home oven to reduce the bake time by using the convection option (fan). Using convection (oven fan) for baking bread If the temperature is increased too far you'll end up burning the exterior of the loaf before the interior is fully baked through. Note that while increasing the baking temperature will offset the time needed to fully bake a loaf, it only goes so far. The extra time needed really depends on the bread, and it usually more for pan bread than free-form loaves. Between the two, I usually opt to bake the bread for longer. I've found that I either have to bake bread longer OR at a higher temperature to bake the loaf properly. The biggest modifier when baking bread at high altitude is the oven temperature. Recipe based on my spelt, wheat and rye sourdough Adjusting oven temperature for high altitude Let's now look at each of these modifications for baking sourdough bread at high altitude in more detail. See more information on each of these adjustments, below Leavening (sourdough, chemical leaveners) Generally, increase baking time, unless oven temperature is increased as stated above. Increase oven temperature 25 degrees over what the recipe calls for. Overall baking adjustments for high altitude What to change for high altitude ![]() In this post on how to bake sourdough bread at high altitude, I'll run through the things I typically watch out for and modify to successfully bake bread in my home kitchen.įirst, let's look at the high-level things I always consider when I bake sourdough bread at high altitude. I live in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at around 5,000 ft (1,524 m), and I expect to have to modify any recipe I'm looking to bake to adjust oven temperature and moisture content, and in some cases, the leavening agent (sourdough, baking soda, and baking powder). Living at high altitudes makes baking (and cooking) a little more difficult, especially when following recipes.
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