There is nothing like freshly baked goods. If you’re lucky to live near a local bakery, you can enjoy fresh bread and treats conveniently. However, not all of us have this luxury and attempt to bake at home. Sometimes we have great results, but other times things fall flat.
Baking isn’t difficult, but it can be complex; there is a lot of science behind why things turn out the way they do. Luckily, humans have been baking for thousands of years and have learned a trick or two.
In order to harness this body of baking knowledge, we’ve asked several experts for their tips and tricks to ensure great baking results every time.
If a home baker could have one piece of restaurant equipment in their home kitchen, what would it be?
If a home baker could have one piece of restaurant equipment in their home, we suggest they choose a commercial Countertop Planetary Mixer. Their lightweight designs make it easy to move around in the kitchen and their versatility allows you to prepare a wide variety of sauces, cake mixes, cookies, pizzas, and bread doughs in a snap! Buying commercial equipment means your product is going to last longer and have more run time than household equipment, giving you comfort in using the mixer daily for the endless possibilities it has.
What challenges does baking at a higher altitude pose? Given this wide variance of what his considered high altitude (e.g. Calgary at 3400 feet and Denver at 5275 feet), do you have any general advice for high altitude bakers?
High altitude baking can be tricky, and some people are surprised to find out that it starts at 3,000ft! The main principle of high altitude baking is that baked goods rise faster at altitude, so you need to adjust your leavening agents. You also need to have your structure set up quicker to account for this. If your baked goods rise too fast and the structure isn't set yet, then it will collapse in the middle, which is the most common baking fail. So, in general you will find that high altitude recipes have a thicker batter, higher oven temperature and a decreased amount of leavening agents. And the higher you are in altitude the more adjustments you are going to have to make! You can find specific high-altitude baking tips on my blog!