High Altitude Baking...my cookies flatten out now that I live at a higher altitude. How can I fix this?

Ginger O'Knuckles
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27 Comments

boulangere April 11, 2015
Tamra, decrease your baking powder by 58%, increase your flour by 9.25%, and add two additional eggs.
 
Tamara C. April 13, 2015
Much thanks Miss Cynthia!
 
boulangere April 13, 2015
You're most welcome, Tamara.
 
Tamara C. April 11, 2015
Could someone please help me with the calculations for an elevation of 7200ft, saw there was an answer for 7500ft but if I can get it precise I'd be a happy camper ..err...cook
 
Rhonda35 November 2, 2014
Perfect banana bread loaves at 5,700 feet hanks to @Boulangere!
 
Rhonda35 November 2, 2014
THANKS to @Boulangere is what it was supposed to say - not "hanks!"
 
boulangere November 2, 2014
WOW! Good on you!
 
Rhonda35 September 10, 2014
Cynthia - I'm looking forward to your blog post and ordered a copy of The Baker's Dozen Cookbook so I could read your section on high-altitude baking. So glad to have found you and the book as a resource!
 
boulangere September 10, 2014
Rhonda, I assure you that you will love the book. And your comment is so kind. I promise that I will have a blog post up over the coming weekend. Thank you kindly.
 
Judy K. September 9, 2014
Oh my goodness...I got my altitude wrong. I am not at 2500 feet...I am at 7500 feet. I'd really appreciate some guidance on conversions.
 
boulangere September 10, 2014
Wow. That's a significant difference. For 7500 feet (where do you live?), reduce your baking powder by 60%, increase the flour y 10%, and add an egg.
 
Sandi September 8, 2014
Thanks so much for your answer - you are incredibly generous to do this! I am MOOOCHO appreciative!
 
boulangere September 9, 2014
Oh, not at all, Sandi. It's all in bakers helping bakers. I'm very glad it helps you. I'll try to get to the blog post next weekend, so people are set up for fall and holiday baking (now that we can stand to turn on ovens again).
 
JanetFL September 10, 2014
Thank you, Cynthia! The temperatures are certainly cooler here in Colorado!
 
Judy K. September 8, 2014
Can you help me with the calculations for an altitude at 2500? Also, are these adjustments good for overall baking or just cookies?
 
boulangere September 8, 2014
Judy, at 2500', you should decrease your baking powder by 20% and add an egg. Your flour quantity can remain the same. This applies to cakes, muffins, quick breads, etc, but not to yeasted breads.
 
JanetFL September 1, 2014
boulangere.....Cynthia, did you do a blog post with high altitude adjustments? I haven't found it and wonder if I need a link. I know you're busy and thank you for doing that blog!
 
Sandi September 8, 2014
I'm at 3800' and would love your chart, too! How will we know when it's posted?
 
boulangere September 8, 2014
Sandi, at 3800', reduce your leavening by 32%, increase your flour by 5%, and add an egg. Sorry, I've been swamped and just haven't gotten to the blog post yet. I'll be sure to let you know here when it's up. Thank you for being so patient.
 

Voted the Best Reply!

boulangere August 3, 2014
Only just 5100'! Wow, that's a huge difference from sea level. Many years ago, we moved from San Francisco, for all intents and purposes, to the mountains of Northern California at 4500', and my baking world changed tremendously. At elevations above 2500', you need to decrease the baking powder and increase the protein (both flour and eggs) because there is literally less atmospheric pressure bearing down on the surface of what you are baking. The goal is to delay rising so that the protein structure has time to firm up, thereby supporting your cakes, muffins, etc.

At 5100', decrease baking powder by 40%. Increase your flour by 6%. And add an extra egg. To do the math, if your recipe calls for 2 teaspoons of baking powder, using a calculator, enter 2 minus 40 and hit the % key. The result will be 1.2. Round to the nearest logical amount, which will be 1 1/4 teaspoons. If your recipe calls for 2 cups of flour, enter 2 plus 6 and hit the % key. The result will be 2.12. Rounding to the next logical amount will bring you to 2 1/8 cups. I hope this helps you make the cookies you most desire.
 
Ginger O. August 4, 2014
Thank you so much!
 
boulangere August 4, 2014
You are most welcome. I'd love to know your results.
 
Rhonda35 August 14, 2014
This is really helpful information, Cynthia. I'm at 5700 feet - will the percentages be about the same as what you've figured for Ginger?
 
boulangere August 15, 2014
Rhonda35, sorry to be so long getting back to you. I'm only just now catching up with myself after some seriously long days at work. At 5700' of elevation, decrease your leavening by 47%, increase your flour by 7%, and also add another egg. If you're making something which calls for more than 10 eggs, add 2 additional eggs.

Thank you for your question. I wrote the high altitude baking section for The Bakers Dozen Cookbook, a professional baking group to which I belong. I'm going to work up a blog post with the full chart of adjustments for relative altitudes. Next week, because this week is full.

Happy baking!
 
boulangere August 3, 2014
I wrote the High Altitude Baking chapter for The Bakers Dozen Cookbook, an organization of professional bakers of which I'm a happy member. If you can give me your altitude, I'll be happy to give you adjustments specific to it, and the reasons for them. They're really quite simple.
 
Ginger O. August 3, 2014
I'm only just at 5,100 feet. It's not much, but defiantly a difference from being practically at sea level.
 
Meaghan F. August 1, 2014
This thread should help you out:
http://food52.com/hotline/467-whats-the-best-way-to-adjust-a-cookie-recipe-for-baking-at-high-altitude

Consider posting a recipe on Food52 once you've worked out the kinks - my (albeit quick) search didn't come up with anything.
 
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