After a few (who am I kidding, too many!) failed bread making attempts, I’ve had to ask myself, “what gives!!” Making bread in Calgary was as easy as 1-2-3. Here in Denver it’s like calculus. The bread collapses like an old lady with a broken hip. After much soul-searching, research and reassurance from my own self I have discovered a few yeast bread facts that sure help the bread making process.

Here’s the deal with high altitudes:

Bread dough rises a whole lot faster, due to less air pressure (less down, more up), disallowing the dough to become “full-bodied” and “sophisticated” in flavour. AKA it gets kind of biscuity, but yucky biscuity. So here are some tips that I have researched:

First, never ever forget to add the salt! It acts as a yeast retardant and at high altitudes that is hugely important (trust me, I know by experience… twice in a ROW I forgot). A lot of gurus recommend increasing salt input by 1/4 to 1/2.

Second, it’s okay to let that dough rise a second time before shaping it and letting it rise a third time. Remember to punch it down inbetween.

Third, don’t let it rise to twice the size, never mind more than twice the size. The first rising should only take about 30 minutes and the second about an hour.

Fourth, they say to add less flour because there is less moisture in that messy white stuff at high altitudes, however thus far I have found the opposite.

Fifth, use flour with a minimum 12 grams of protein per cup. I use Hungarian High Altitude Flour, which does indeed meet this standard.

Sixth, decreasing the yeast (by about 1/3 to 1/2) is an obvious way to slow the rise time, however I feel hesitant over this one. A gut feeling really.

Lastly, I would like to remind the reader that although recipes are (or should be) most ideal at sea level, this does not mean the recipe will not work at 5000 feet. Try it out first before plodding on with the suggestions. If it doesn’t work, altitude makes a reliable scapegoat.