Hi everyone! I’m back today with another high altitude post- this time we’re going over yeast breads.
Yeast breads have probably been my biggest struggle at a high altitude. I’ve tried to make tons of different recipes, and not only have I struggled with yeast issues that any altitude has, but my breads have almost always turned out super dense. On the whole, the experience always kind of sucked for me- after all that waiting for the several rises, just to have to an overly chewy end result is a bummer.
Basically, getting your yeast to bloom correctly is half the battle. Get yourself a thermometer, because it just can’t be done without one. I’ve read a ton of recipes that say you can get the right temperature just by feel, but why risk it really, it’s not like yeast is free people! Go by the temperature recommendation on your package of yeast above all else, but typically for active dry yeast, you’ll want your liquid to be between 100 and 110 degrees. Trust me, you’ll know when you have it right- your mixture will bubble and bloom up very visibly!
Now, on to the high altitude tips. When you’re above sea level, the most common problem is that you’re letting the dough over-proof, or over-rise. When you actually go to bake the bread, it will rise more in higher altitudes, and it will collapse, so to speak, and loose the light fluffiness because it’s gone past the rising point that we want.
That being said, you want to let your dough rise for less time than normal during each rise. Another way to look at it is that instead of letting the dough double in size, you’ll want it to rise to a bit less than double for the first two rounds of proofing, and even less than that for the final round. The dough will then continue to rise in the oven, and you’ll get that light, fluffy bread that you’re looking for.
You can even put your dough in the refrigerator for the first rise, and leave it overnight. By chilling the dough, you’ll slow down the rising process, which can help to avoid over-proofing your dough. Just be sure to give it some time to come back to room temperature before you move on to your next rise.
I’m sharing a great recipe for basic white bread today that works perfectly at a high altitude. If you are at sea level, simply go for a full rise each round, letting the dough double in size completely. At sea level, you may also need less flour to get the dough to pull away from the sides of your bowl, so be sure to add the additional flour slowly!
This is a great base bread recipe, and you can use to make dinner rolls, like I did, or you can even make a loaf of bread. You can also add different flavors if you’d like, and it’s a great way to start making bread from scratch!
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 tsp. active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water (100-110 degrees)
- 1 tbs. sugar
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup water
- 1 tbs. canola oil
- 1 tsp. salt
- 2 1/2 cups (to 2 3/4 cups) bread flour
- 2 tbs. milk
- Salt and pepper for sprinkling.
Instructions
- Mix together the yeast, warm water, and sugar. Let this sit for 5 minutes until the yeast has bloomed.
- Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, heat together the whole milk, 1/2 cup of water, canola oil, and salt until about 120 degrees.
- Pour the milk mixture into a stand mixture, or a large bowl. Add in 2 cups of flour to start, and beat together until combined.
- Add in the yeast mixture, and beat together for several minutes. You will have a lumpy, very wet mixture at this point.
- Add in another 1/2 cup of flour, and beat together. Continue slowly adding flour until dough leaves the sides of the bowl, and is no longer sticky.
- Then, pull the dough out onto a floured surface and gently knead in a little more flour until it's smooth.
- Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, and cover with plastic wrap. Let the dough rise for 50-55 minutes for the first round.
- After the first rise, punch down the dough, and knead on a floured surface once or twice. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover, and let it rise again for about 40-45 minutes this time.
- Once the dough has risen a second time, remove from your bowl, and shape the dough into about 2 tablespoon-size rolls.
- Place into a lightly greased pan and cover with plastic wrap. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
- Let your dough rise again for a final 20 minutes while your oven preheats. Then, brush the tops with milk, and sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until golden!
Hello and welcome! My name is Nicole, and Dough-eyed is a food blog for people who want to bake for their family and friends in high-altitude areas. Think of me as a friendly voice there with you in the kitchen, here to give you confidence when you’re baking, and to help you with the struggles of baking at high-altitude. Come back every week for new recipes, tips, and advice on high-altitude baking!
It was a success until the stage of sticky dough…I added I forgot so much bread flour and after it raised…still sticky…why? I am not pleased with this recipe.
Hi Rita! I'm so sorry this recipe didn't work for you! I've made it many times and not encountered that issue, however bread can be kind of finicky! If the dough is too sticky, you'll want to work in more flour before the first rise, kneading until you reach a smooth stage. Hopefully that helps!!
How many should this make?
It makes about 15 rolls.
I live in Wyoming and have been looking for a great roll recipe(especially with Thanksgiving right around the corner). I made these today and the only change I made was using 1 Tbs. of butter instead of the canola oil. They were delicious and I'm writing this recipe down in my "keeper" book! Thank you for sharing!
Hi Summer! I'm so glad these worked well for you! They are a favorite of mine as well! 🙂
Hi, That's great to substitute the butter.
. Canola oil is not good for you! My husband and several friends get very ill when they eat anything with canola oil.
This sounds wonderful. Thanks for all the tips for making bread. I was wondering if you place dough in refrigerator for about 2 days (Thanksgiving Day Eve) to help develop flavor? Punching it down to keep it from over rising.
Hi Connie! I'm not sure if my reply is in time- I'm so sorry! But I find that the dough rises too much if left that long- the rising is the tough part of bread at altitude so I would not suggest this method. I hope that helps, Happy Thanksgiving!
I live outside of Denver at 7,200 feet and have struggled finding a good roll recipe. This recipe was perfect!!!
Hi Jenn! That's wonderful, I'm so glad they worked for you! It's one of my favs for sure!
Thanks! This recipe worked great at 7000ft! I too added butter instead of oil and did not have whole milk so I added even more butter. The rise times we quite a bit less here at 7000ft! Have you tried making this as a loaf?
Hello! I'm so glad it worked well for you! I haven't made this one into a loaf actually, but I'm working on a loaf bread recipe so hopefully I'll have that ready very soon!!
I made these for dinner last night (5500 ft.) and they were AMAZING. My only sub was butter for the canola oil, other than that I followed the directions. Will make these again and again. THANK YOU!
Hi Therese! I'm so glad to hear they worked great for you!!
Nicole, you may be my new best friend. Finally, a high altitude bread recipe that worked for me. I'm in Calgary, Alberta (altitude 3,500') and have never successfully made buns or bread. I tried all kinds of Tips from others (with no success), but I followed your dinner roll recipe and it was a brilliant triumph. Unfortunately, there's no one here today but me, so I guess I have to eat the whole pan of rolls myself. Thanks so much, Nicole.
Hi Colleen!! Thanks so much for all the kind words, I'm so glad I could help! And it's almost better when you don't have to share. ????
I just made a bread dough but proofed it in an instapot on the yogurt setting of 4 hours. It was very sticky when I put it in the pot and I just didn't feel that it rose enough. I'm wondering if I should reduce the proof in the IP , I'm in Colorado Springs so at 7000 ft.
Hi there! I have never done a proof in the IP- so this recipe is made to rise at room temp. However, it shouldn't take nearly that long to rise. I would cut that in half at least and see how it looks! I hope that helps, though I've never used that method before!
Thank you so much for this recipe! I'm up in Truckee California where the elevation is almost 6,000 . I mostly followed the directions but added my own little things like instead of covering with plastic wrap, i covered with damp towel . It was my first time ever making dinner rolls so I'm so happy I found your site on pinterest! Thank you again. I'm so grateful for what you taught me! Definitely going to keep making this recipe.
I'm so glad to hear that!! I love these rolls! So happy you enjoyed them!
I moved from Texas to Wyoming about 4 years ago and I haven't been very successful with breads or cakes… which is a real bummer because, back home, I was known for my mile-high yeast clover rolls! I just found your recipe and am considering giving it a go for Thanksgiving but I do have a question…. can the dough be fashioned into balls for clover rolls? I would love to give my grandkids their first taste of granny's mile high rolls!
Hi there! Yes, you can definitely create clover rolls with this dough! I hope you love them, they are definitely a fav around here!
I moved from Texas to Wyoming 3 years ago. I made rolls all the time in Texas and they were always delicious. Here, at 5000ft. I struggle.
The house is always around 60 degrees. In the cold and high altitude I put my dough in the oven to proof. My oven has this option. My bread seems to taste flat and doesn’t rise well.
What should I do? I especially love potato rolls. Any hints for making these?
Hi there! I have a lot of really great bread recipes on this site that are developed at high-altitude. Since liquid evaporates faster at altitude, you may find that you need to add more salt to yeasted doughs to help with the flavor. As for the rise, if it's not rising well at all, you may need to replace your yeast. In general I find that bread doughs rise faster at high altitude, and in fact over-proofing is a more common issue. I hope that helps!
I tried this recipe yesterday and it turned out almost perfect! The only issue was the bottoms were almost burnt while the rest of the roll was great. Do you think altitude has anything to do with that? I'm at 8600ft. Or would that be an oven issue? I'm newer to high altitude baking so I'm still figuring this all out!
I live at 8,400 feet. What adjustments should I make, please?
You shouldn't need to adjust anything aside from the rise time- your rolls may rise a bit faster so look for the visual cues instead!