Q: Why did you start this blog?
A: I love baking, but I’ve pretty much always done it at sea level. As fellow sierra bakers know, the altitude in Quito is no joke. Water boils at a lower temperature and more quickly. It’s harder for sugar to retain its structure up here. Leavening agents don’t react the same. Baking temperatures and times shift. I’m no food scientist, but I quickly learned that many adaptations needed to happen to get my sea level favorites to work in Quito. The process of adaptation has been trial-and-error. I figure, if I’m going to the effort to adjust all these recipes anyway, why not share them?
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Q: Can’t I just use high-altitude blogs from the U.S. to make adjustments to my sea level recipes for the Ecuadorian sierra?
A: In my view, high-altitude blogs are a great start! I’ve found some great leads on recipes and I’ve relied on excellent adjustment advice from Mountain Mama Cooks and Curly Girl Kitchen, in particular. However, those bloggers developed their recipes at just below 7,000 feet, and 5,400 feet above sea level, respectively. In baking, a few extra thousand feet can make a world of difference. I started this blog to try to help bakers in Quito make it the rest of the way up the Andes. All my recipes have been tested at 9,340 feet.
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Q: What makes you qualified to run a sierra baking blog?
A: Absolutely nothing. I’m a lawyer with a sweet tooth and time on my hands. I come to you with lots of enthusiasm and zero formal training in the art of baking.
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Q: What’s with all the brand names in your recipes?
A: Particularly given the different brand names and brand variability I have encountered since moving here, I figured it might help to share exactly what I tested in my bakes. References to specific brands do not constitute endorsements. There may very well be many other (and better!) options to use to bake these goods.
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Q: Why are your measurements all over the map, ranging from oz. to tbsp. to grams to cups?
A: I try to report measurements based on the instruments I actually used to measure. Every now and then, when there’s a substance that can be kind of hard to measure using conventional means (e.g., grated carrots, which can vary in size and volume, or sour cream, which can be challenging to get into a measuring cup with accuracy) — I use my trusty little kitchen scale to tell you exactly how many grams I used.
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Q: Do you use the spoon-and-level method for measuring flour?
A: At sea level, always. Spoon-and-level helps avoid packing and an excess of flour. However, since we typically need more flour at high altitudes, I’ve just been using my measuring cup as a scoop in my flour canister. I know that ends up increasing flour content, but I feel like it’s the more, the merrier way up here!
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Q: What’s with the dog?
A: She is the executive chef. She supervises the proceedings and judges me silently as I do her bidding.
Altura Bakes 