The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

Another Newb - Colorado

KD1001's picture
KD1001

Another Newb - Colorado

My name is David, and I've recently found that baking bread complements my interest in cooking and eating quite nicely, so it's becoming a new hobby.

I suspect that living at 6,000 ft above sea level in a 0% humidity environment makes things a bit different, but my experience of a couple months suggests that making delicious bread is not rocket science - also more fun than rocket science. So far my favorite things to make are baguettes from my starter (doubly good on a tight budget), and my biggest challenge is to produce a wheat sandwich loaf to surpass what the grocery carries. Also challenged at using bread pans - my loaves seem to stick about 50% of the time no matter what I do.

I've been reading this site for a while and decided I ought to sign up and start talking.

proth5's picture
proth5

I bake in the Mile High City where the humidity is slightly greater than 0% :>)

There is an ugly rumor that you can't bake good bread at this altitude.  So untrue.

I have years of experience baking at sea level and find that, for bread, there is very little difference between sea level and this altitude.  I will say that the dry air allows me to work with a lot less flour on the bench and on the couche and I do need to be careful about keeping my dough in tubs during bulk fermentation and well covered during final fermentation.

As for the bread sticking to the pan - I use spray oil and have never had a problem.  My pans are heavy aluminum and this may make a difference.

Enjoy your baking in our beautiful weather!