Do I need to make any high-altitude baking modifications for a galette crust, made in Boulder? Also, can the dough be made ahead of time?

This is the recipe for the crust (not a high-altitude recipe)

Crust:

1 1/2 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (I used half whole wheat flour)
1/4 teaspoon salt
8 tablespoons butter, chilled
2 ounces cream cheese, chilled
1/4-1/2 cup of ice water

Any advice on whether I need to make any modifications would be greatly appreciated.

And I'd love to know if I can make the crust ahead of time, by a day ... Wednesday prep for Thursday's meal would be ideal. Thanks!

a Whole Foods Market Customer
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4 Comments

BoulderGalinTokyo
BoulderGalinTokyo November 20, 2012
I agree with boulangere that high altitude concerns the leavening (yeast) or rising of your dough so important for cakes and bread.
It is also drier in Boulder, so the pie may bake somewhat faster, but I think it is more important to know your oven--that affects cooking times more, I think. Electric, gas, convection.
 
brewgirl
brewgirl November 19, 2012
I grew up in Boulder and made many a piecrust there. You don't need to make a flour adjustment, but keep in mind that you may need to watch the temperature and err on the side of moisture when you pull your crust together, because it will dry out faster. If you have a crust shield or some tinfoil for the edges and possibly the top, you should be fine. You could also use altitude flour (Safeway, King Soopers, etc will all have it), but we usually saved that for cakes. I would say start watching it 10-15 minutes earlier than you would at sea level -- things burn faster.
 
boulangere
boulangere November 19, 2012
No, you don't need to make any adjustments (my daughter lives and bakes there, too!) for altitude for a galette crust, largely because it contains no leavening. You can easily make it a couple of days in advance. And since it takes as long to make 2 as it does 1, make an extra and freeze it for a time when you need to pull a rabbit out of the hat.
 
Omeletta
Omeletta November 18, 2012
I'm not super versed with baking at high altitudes, but King Arthur Flour has a handy conversion chart : http://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipe/high-altitude-baking.html According to this, pie crusts aren't significantly affected by high altitude but making a test crust first would be a good idea, if that's a possibility for you. As far as making ahead of time, par-baking is always the best bet rather than mixing the raw ingredients and keeping them chilled.
 
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