[Bagel Recipes & Tips]

Although adding baking soda to the water might make for a chewier bagel, it is really a pretzel you are now making, because real bagel making does not include baking soda.

[High altitude baking]

Hi Nancy,

I live in Tahoe and am baking professionally here. I have lived and worked as a baker at an altitude as high as 10,000 feet above sea level. I get excellent results from my cookie recipes, some of which have been adjusted from sea level recipes.

As you said, cakes and cookies are the two items affected most by altitude. In cookies, the leavening needs to be reduced, by as much as 50%. Flour and eggs need to be increased by 8% and 13% respectively. Sugar, a tenderizer, needs to be decreased by 8%. Fat, such as butter, needs to be decreased by 7%, And liquid, such as water or milk, needs to be increased by 20%.

Of course, every recipe is different, and the best results are obtained by some experimentation and tweaking. These across the board percentages may need to be adjusted from one recipe to the next. Good luck.

David

I know this has been discussed here recently, but for some reason I can't find the thread. (Well, I'm pretty sure it's been discussed here--I know I  recently read it somewhere...)

First--we live at 7200 feet, which I've never found to be a serious problem when baking cookies. However a friend went to Denver (the Mile High City) to bake cookies for her widowed father. The recipe that makes tall, fluffy cookies here at our altitude made flat, lumpy ones in Denver.

Any clues about how she can reproduce her usual cookies at lower altitude? Or is altitude not the problem? We always assume that there must be correlation between altitude and baking success, and usually that's true, especially for cakes.

Thanks, everyone--you are a great resource. And I apologize for asking a question that probably has been answered before.

N.

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[Artisan Bread?]

I would like to know if there is an "official" definition of Artisan?

[The Alinea Cookbook]

I agree with all the acolades for Grant, but I do not like the sticky website for ordering the book. I was checking it out , and was unable to close it without placing an order. I had to shutdown my computer in order to close the window.

[Wedding Cake Recipe Help Wanted]

I also think it depends what your final product will be.  The boxed cake mixes have their place in the world of pastries (I can't believe I just said that).  But, their consistency, I think, might make it difficult to use in a traditional wedding cake.  I would think a genoise (by that I mean a bit more dense/firm and dry) makes more sense because you'll typically have a filling in the middle and possibly weight on top.  Maybe share a bit more about what you're wanting the final cake to be like.

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As you say, box mixes do have their place. And I would say that their consistency, in another sense, is very reliable. I mean, if you find a good box mix, such as Gold Medal, they are very consistent in their results, especially if you make the necessary adjustments to make them come out to your liking. I work at altitude, about 6500 feet above sea level. So I add additional water, flour, and egg whites, and I have always had reliable results. Scratch cakes have their place too. Each recipe must be tested for altitude adjustments, at least for me, because of where I work, and necessary adjustments made until they come out. Just my 2 cents.

David