Baking – Why does adding extra flour help with high altitude baking

bakingflourfood-sciencehigh-altitude

When baking at high altitude it seems that most recipes advise to include a little more flour to the mix. Is it related to boiling point?

Best Answer

The air pressure is lower at higher altitudes; when you add extra flour to your baked goods, it prevents them from rising too quickly or too much.

ETA (about the water): Water boils at a lower temperature at higher altitudes, so the extra water called for in high-altitude baking is to compensate for all the water turning to steam faster than it would at sea level.