Why do I change certain ingredients for high altitude cooking?
Having lived in Denver, CO, I’ve lived through high-altitude baking and there’s nothing more frustrating than adjusting a recipe (baking) that you’ve known all your life only to end up with poor results anyway…. At least that’s what used to happen to me. The issue is the boiling point of water. At sea level, it’s 212F degrees. The higher in altitude you go, the lower the boiling temperature gets. By the time you get to 10,000 feet above sea level, water boils at just over 200F degrees. When you’re baking, the steam formed as the food cooks performes lots of functions. If your “dough” isn’t ready (strong enough structure) to hold the steam in little “bubbles” within the structure of the baked item, then you’re going to end up with a “fallen” cake or brownies or cookies or pastry. SO, they have you ad a little extra structure (extra flour) and extra moisture (more water) to compensate for the difference. They have you cook it a little longer to help the temperature get up to where it n
