And Pastries Home-tested for Baking at Sea Level - 000 feet (and Anywhere in Between).

I needed this book a few years ago while living at 7000+ altitude and loved it. Recently a friend moved to a similar location and was having problems baking...I had to send him this book and he said he is so glad I did.

I love this book! We recently moved to high elevation (over 9,000 feet) and I have successfully made 5 delicious desserts using these recipes. I appreciate the back story behind each recipe and the trial and error the author went through to perfect her recipes at each elevation.

As a baker when I moved to high country this became my baking bible! Very informative and lots of wonderful recipes that actually work!! Also provides measurements for high altitudes you will find across the world...tables that are easy to use and explanation of why there are differences! Highly recommend it!

We recently moved from sea level to 8800 feet. Baking has been a disaster up until now. I live between the 7,000 and 10,000 foot adjustments in the book. I used the 10,000 as suggested and have successfully baked brownies and muffins that turned out very similar to the sea level recipes enjoyed in the past. We just started a major kitchen remodel so I won't be able to bake for awhile but can't wait to bake more from this book in my new kitchen.

I like this book quite a bit, it really helped throughout the holidays! The only thing I found to be problematic is that making (pie) crust at my altitude is pretty difficult and I typically have to substitute some water with orange juice.

I have had this cookbook one month and it looks like I have had it for years. Absolutely love it and am enjoying learning to bake at 5000 feet after baking at sea level most of my life! Great book, great tips and recipes.

This book absolutely DOES tell you how to bake at high altitudes. Every type of baked good is covered, explaining the science behind the problems encountered and how to fix them. The recipes are very good as well. I have tried most of the books on this topic, and this one is the best.

Love this book because it has the measurements for all altitudes. I have had success with my baking results! I moved from flat land all my life to almost 8,000 ft and after two failed attempts at baking, I figured out why and bought this awesome book, which has saved me!

I've made a couple of things from this book - apple pie and sugar cookies. Both turned out excellent. I've had to add more flour than what the recipe listed but that's bound to happen with baking. Am looking forward to trying more things in the recipe. I'd trully recommend this book for all the baking newbie out there.

I'm enjoying this baking book a lot. The only criticism I have is that the ingredients are not given at the beginning of the recipe, but one must read through more than one page to know them. It's a matter of getting accustomed to this way.

Although I enjoyed the personality of the author, there just weren't enough recipes for a book this expensive. I know that baking at high altitudes is a tricky proposition, I just would have appreciated a greater range of recipes.

I wanted a cookbook with the basics converted. Seems all of the recipes either require special handling, equipment, or ingerdiants - definitely not a book for a snowy day - need to whip up something fast. The recipes sound delicious but they require planning. Also there are not many pictures. The author shares a lot about where the recipes were developed.

I received the package right on time. When I opened it, I realized the book jacket had a tear on the binding side like it had accidentally scrapped against something. It was a gift so I felt bad giving a damaged book and made sure let the person know I had ordered it online and couldn't return it on time before Christmas.

going from sea level to altitude in the kitchen is most definitely a challenge. This book has been excellent in helping me navigate the slight differences needed at 7200 ft. It's definitely a valuable addition to my library of cookbooks!

Really appreciate the specific changes in ingredients/amounts related to a variety of altitudes.
Would have liked more pictures of the completed recipes-seeing the finished product makes me eager to make and taste it!

This is a great cookbook. I live @ 8300 altitude and can't wait to try these different recipes they are delivered in altitude ranges so no matter where you live they are spelled out exactly what you need to do to get the best results, yeah!!

I received this book from the seller in a timely manner and in great shape.

The recipes need to be in some sort of order in an index. The pointless anecdotes are infuriating when one is in a hurry to find a recipe. I have baked in Colorado since I was a child and these recipes do not turn out well. The cakes are heavy and some of the recipes are crytic and incomplete. The general suggestions regarding modifications for high altitude can be found using any Internet search engine. This is a total waste of money and time.

I bought this heavy book and was disappointed with several recipes I made from it, most notably, the pecan pie recipe, which had poor flavor and, even with high-altitude adjustments to the sugar, etc., recommended by the book, bubbled and destroyed the surface of the pie. The nougat center had a nearly flavorless taste. I like the idea of Purdy's book, and I know she worked hard to compile it, and for that I am thankful. I would, however, recommend the book, High Altitude Baking, by Patricia Kendall, Editor, Colorado State University Cooperative Extension. Kendall's book is well researched and is a slender tome, at 190 pages. This concise book offers delicious recipes and there is also information about canning, deep-frying, syrup making, jelly making, etc., at high altitudes.High Altitude Baking: 200 Delicious Recipes & Tips for Great Cookies, Cakes, Breads & More : For People Living Between 3,500 & 10,000 Feet

While I completely appreciate the work Purdy put into this book, I had an issue with the formatting/instructions of the charts. Note that when a recipe says "in chart above" it may not be the chart directly above, but the chart before that. I found this to be the case in the recipe for challah, white bread, and baguettes. Cooking temps and times (and oven rack arrangement) were at the beginning of the ingredient list. Granted, I am not always perfect at reading every word of every recipe, but did actually follow all narrative directions on this one after prepping my mise en place. Heading back to the top of the ingredient list wasn't in my head. So this is user error, but one that might be noted for others who sometimes don't go back to the first steps.

(other than that, the challah turned out really well. Needed a little more flour to come together, but that was due to the weather/humidity not the recipe)

Many thanks to Susan for getting back to me with clarification.

While I haven't purchased this book, a friend of mine scanned and sent me the recipe for Boulder's Best White Bread included in this book. After sooooo many failed loaves of bread, I finally got this one to work and each loaf has been perfect ever since. My friends even bought me some cast iron loaf pans with ulterior motives to get me to bake more bread. ;) It has adjustments according to your home elevation - we're at 7000 feet here. >_<

My recommendation is to follow the recipes to the word. If it says set the yeast out for so long or bake for so long - do it. I didn't start getting perfect loaves until I started following the recipe word for word. You can adjust the recipe to your own style and preferences later.

The author took a rigorous, well researched approach to this book. Each recipe was tested at multiple elevations, and by multiple tasters. The recipes each come with a chart of specific adaptations for 5 different elevations: Sea Level, and 3000, 5000, 7000, and 10,000 feet above sea level.

This is the opposite of some cookbooks that have hundreds of recipes, but no indication that anyone has tested them (for example the "Fix It and Forget It" crockpot book). Instead, this book has a smaller number of baking recipes, tested at different elevations.

She also included guidelines for adapting any baking recipe, and included the reasons why. Her advice is more accurate and more specific, compared to older guidelines out there which were inadequate and and required lots of trial and error for elevation-newbies. One of my favorite sections of this book is "Twelve High Altitude Myths Brought Down to Earth".

For each recipe, there is a lengthy introduction, which I found interesting. Her style reminds me of the America's Test Kitchen cookbooks, but better.

Do not even attempt Pecan Pie at high elevation until you read this book. Otherwise, flaming explosion may result.

If you get this book, be sure to also read the errata list. The author posted a list of corrections within this reviews area for this book. If you sort the reviews by date, you can then look for her "review" dated On December 7, 2006. I think at that time, the the store web page did not have a specific area for an author to post comments.

This cookbook has a chatty style, which was OK with me. If you are bothered by chattiness, you may want to skip the 22-page section "Friends in High Places, which is near the beginning of the book. It discusses her travels, meeting people, and the process of developing recipes, including examples of what went wrong and what recipe types were especially challenging.

In the "Equipment" section of the book, she has some helpful advice. However, a minor quibble: I disagree with her advice about cookie sheets. She says do not use the double-layer insulated or cushioned cookie sheets at any altitude above sea level, to avoid cookies that don't brown enough. Our experience, is that cookies will spread out more, and over-browning the bottoms is a frequent problem. The double-layer insulated cookie sheets or jelly-roll pans result in better cookies in our opinion.

To Susan Purdy,

I just wanted to thank you for writing "Pie in the Sky." I found it on line, and it was a great investment. I live in Reno, NV., altitude about 4500 feet. I've been baking most of my life here, and have never had the success I've had since reading your book!

I love using the recipes and making them mine, but keeping your high altitude basics. The baguette recipe has evolved to the most successful French Bread I've ever made. The multi-grain bread is just delicious, and actually works! (I've tried many, and they almost always were too heavy to rise, or rose too quickly and fell.) I just made the oatmeal cookies, and never realized the implications of altitude even in cookies. My husband says these are definitely keepers!

The purchase of this book coincided with getting my first stand mixer as a gift, and my retirement. Consequently, it has unfortunately contributed to both my and my husband's expanding waistlines, but also to much deliciousness.

So, thank you again for filling a much needed niche in baking cookbooks. Up until now, high altitude instructions were so hit and miss, and not much help.

I've been baking successfully for years and fairly easily made the transition to 5,000 feet after living my whole life next to the Mississippi. That move was more than 15 years ago but I still keep an eye out for high altitude cookbooks.

My first attempt from this book was a cake. It was the most delicious cake I have ever tasted. The instructions were easy to follow and the results were fantastic.

My next attempt was a batch of chocolate chip cookies. As with the cake, I followed the instructions exactly. The results... not so good. The cookies did all the things that the book said were a problem with cookies at high altitude. Obviously, this recipe did not contain solutions to those problems.

So, is this a good book? I'm not sure. For me, this book needs more testing in my kitchen before I'm willing to buy it. I recommend you do what I did. Borrow the book from the library. Bake a few items from the book and if you get good results, buy the book.

I love to bake - plain and simple - I just love to bake! I never had a problem with it when I was growing up in Upstate New York or at sea level in Washington DC where I spent most of my adult life. It wasn't until I moved to New Mexico that I ever had a problem baking anything. My cakes would rise and fall like the Roman empire and my nut breads would still be undercooked after spending extra time in the oven. To my frustration, the only source of information were a few state extension service publications and that information was meager at best.

Then... along came Susan Purdy's "Pie in the Sky - Successful Baking at High Altitudes." Susan spent an amazing amount of time researching and testing scores of recipes at altitudes from sea level to 10,000 feet and everywhere in between. The result of her extensive efforts is a book that I would consider the single best reference on high altitude baking that has ever been written.

She includes a wide variety of recipes including cakes, breads, pies, cookies and pastries. All are mouth watering and very tempting such as her Daredevil's Food Cake with Mocha Buttercream Icing or the El Dorado Cheesecake with Glazed Mango Topping. The recipes are clear, concise and easy to follow. The book goes far beyond being just a collection of recipes. Each recipe begins with a story about it. She follows with a general discussion with tips on how to bake that type of item. She also includes any special notes and considerations. Aside from the discussions, the best part of the book is that it includes the differences in ingredients and techniques for baking at sea level as well as 3,000 - 5,000 - 7,000 - and 10,000 feet for each recipe! So, if you live in mountains of New Mexico or on the beach in Florida, you can use and enjoy this book.

To rate this book with only 5 stars just isn't high enough. It's clearly the high altitude baker's bible. The information is very informative, the recipes are wonderful and the theories she explains can be applied to successfully adapt your favorite baking recipes. If you love to bake and live in a high altitude this is a book that you MUST have. If you're in a lower altitude you can still find this to be a wonderful book to add to your library and enjoy using.

Note: I feel this book only deserves 2-stars due to the lack of good "standard" recipes included in it, but gave it 3-stars since many bakers will likely enjoy the variety of recipes included. The conversions and explanations on the various ingredients' reactions in higher altitudes is worth 4-stars. However for me, 97% of the recipes I could care less about. :(
-----------------------

I have recently moved to 8500ft after living at 5500ft for the last year, with most of my 30+ yrs. baking experience happening at sea level altitudes. I'm a pretty darn good baker and have many recipes that have become requested favorites with family and friends over the years. Obviously, being able to bake those with 100% success is something I want to continue to do. And I do want to try new recipes that grab my attention too.

My stint living at 5500ft caused baking problems - cakes just didn't rise properly; some dense recipes, like a beloved carrot/coconut/pineapple cake became way too moist and didn't rise much at all ... you get the picture. I researched online what to do for high-altitude baking and tried different suggested adjustments to various ingredients and/or oven temperatures but with not much better results.

Add to the fact I am vegan and also have many vegetarian friends who, like me, don't want to consume eggs, so baking without eggs truly adds to the disaster factor, even at sea level. I have tried using flax seed meal mixed w/water; usually use "Ener-G Egg Replacer" in place of eggs; have tried prune puree and/or applesauce too, but at 5500+ ft or more, these don't do what perhaps eggs would - helping the batter rise higher and stay that way after cooling!

Now that I'm living at 8500ft the challenge to get lovely "as hoped for" outcomes when baking cakes has become a real trial, but I'm determined to win and want to adjust my beloved favorites so they perform as they did at sea level. Thus my search for better and more reliable information for conversions lead me to this book.

Due to the various good-bad reviews, I decided to call the local library to see if they had a copy - I didn't want to buy this book and find it doesn't serve my purpose. Luckily, the library had it, which I just picked up this morning.

DISAPPOINTMENT!! I am glad I didn't buy this book due to reasons mentioned above, however the BIGGEST disappointment is that I specifically want to make 4-dozen cupcakes next week for a children's party and wanted to learn how to make great ones that won't collapse or come out a disaster. I can't believe it! The term "cupcakes" ISN'T EVEN INCLUDED in the index!! How can you write a book about baked goods without including cupcake recipes or cake recipes with cupcake conversion information, and other "cupcake success" how-tos??

Plus, I had hoped for some good, standard-type recipes - like simple yellow, white and chocolate cake, but nope. Yes, there is a "1-2-3-4" basic recipe (that other reviewers have said didn't turn out very well), and there is a "Chocolate Buttermilk" cake, and a couple others, but still, what about a simple white cake batter recipe? The "Anna's Butter Cake" may be the author's answer for a standard-type yellow cake, but I'm hesitant to bake it as it looks like it may produce too dense of a texture for cupcakes. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong on all of this but ...

Bottom line - not one mention about adjusting the cake recipes in this book for cupcakes, though I know it's not rocket science to do so, but still-in-all ... I won't be spending my money on this book as there aren't enough recipes that grab my fancy.

However there are many cookie recipes that look promising, bread recipes that look tasty (though I have no interest in making those) and pies, and souffles (which I also could care less about). To me, the biggest feature of this book is the author's effort to educate on the differences and adjustments needed to bake at various altitudes. For that, I give her credit for all the research and time she put into testing. I will see if following her recommendations will help my favorite recipes produce more desirable results.

But ... as other reviewers have said, more recipes (I want good 'ol standards and simplier ones that can be varied slightly for flavor changes) and less verbiage on a lot of her trial and error experiences would have made this cookbook one that I'd probably bought. But as is said, your mileage may vary and this book, as for many other 5-star reviewers, may be exactly what you're looking for. ;)

Happy baking, no matter what altitude you live in!

I've owned this book for about 3 years and have used it constantly. I moved from sea level to 9200 ft elevation and immediately found that very few of my baking recipes worked here. I did accumulate some recipes from friends and neighbors that have lived here for longer than me, but I was still lacking some.

I'm an engineer by education and by job, so I like when a cookbook author approaches recipe formulation with a scientific process (and explains it to you) as Ms Purdy does. Her recipes not only work at my altitude (I have to use the 10,000 ft elements), but she tells me why it's different, how to amend the recipe for more/different flavors and, from her text, I can learn how to change my sea level recipes so they'll work.

I recommend this book for all my friends that have moved from the "flat lands."

Last summer I moved to mile high living in Boulder County, Colorado, from sea level life at the Jersey Shore, and I found that some of my favorite recipes would just not work! I tried all the typical adjustments that people recommended to me (I even talked to a local baker), but my problems were not solved. Then my sister gave me Susan's book for Christmas! I have made several items from this book, and they all turned out well. I especially like the table layout of ingredient measurements, showing how much to use at any altitude. It's true that there are "only" 100 recipes in this book, but you can be confident these recipes will work! Also, Susan suggests using her recipes as guides for adjusting other recipes (e.g. adjust your dessert bread recipe according to the one she developed). This book contains great recipes and is an excellent reference for high altitude baking.

If, as L. Alexander suggests, there are problems with this book, it would be due to sloppy editing. I am sure that when they come out with the second edition of the book that those things will be corrected.

I must regularly bake at 6800 feet and 10000 feet, and this cookbook is a Godsend. Rather to sticking to the old "one-size-fits-all" high altitude instructions, Susan Purdy actually figures out what works best for each individual recipe. Adding extra flour and turning up the heat don't work for everything, and Purdy knows that.

In addition, Purdy includes an excellent reference section at the beginning telling you exactly how she wants you to measure flour in order to make the recipes work, brand names of ingredients that work best at altitude, and the scientific information that backs up her recipes (ie: like how the need for various amounts of sugar changes with different altitudes.)

My only hope is that now she will make a similar cookbook for making candy.

I did make the white bread recipe, and it turned out the most perfect white bread I have ever made at altitude -- and I've been baking bread for years now.

If you live at high altitude, get this book!!!

I do a lot of baking to share with friends and neighbors, and I always get rave reviews. The thing is, I bake almost exclusively from this book. I keep telling everyone, "It's not me! Buy Pie in the Sky and you'll see!" I'm a better baker at altitude than I ever was at sea level...because of this book. Every recipe has been simply amazing. I've tried over a dozen, from the oatmeal cookies to the coffee cake, from the fig and mascarpone pie (possibly our favorite dessert of all time) to the pumpkin pie, from the classic 1-2-3-4 cake (our favorite birthday cake) to the chocolate sponge cake with toffee cream (makes a great Bouche de Noel). Oh, and then there's the pumpkin bundt cake, or the Mexican wedding cookies, and--oooooo-yummy-yum--the Danish Oat cookies, or Boulder's best white bread, or the multigrain loaf, or... You get the idea. Delectable, every one.

If you need a reliable high-altitude cookbook for baking, this is your goldmine. It tells you exactly what to do at different altitudes (sea level-3,000-5,000-7,000-10,000 feet). The recipes are sophisticated but totally accessible to anyone with even a small amount of baking experience. I live at about 5,300 feet and the recipes for 5,000 feet are just right.

I live at 7800 feet and my cousin gave me this book as a gift. It is indispensible for anyone trying to bake at high altitude. The author not only gives you recipes adjusted for your altitude, but explains why.

Note: I feel this book only deserves 2-stars due to the lack of good "standard" recipes included in it, but gave it 3-stars since many bakers will likely enjoy the variety of recipes included. The conversions and explanations on the various ingredients' reactions in higher altitudes is worth 4-stars. However for me, 97% of the recipes I could care less about. :(
-----------------------

I have recently moved to 8500ft after living at 5500ft for the last year, with most of my 30+ yrs. baking experience happening at sea level altitudes. I'm a pretty darn good baker and have many recipes that have become requested favorites with family and friends over the years. Obviously, being able to bake those with 100% success is something I want to continue to do. And I do want to try new recipes that grab my attention too.

My stint living at 5500ft caused baking problems - cakes just didn't rise properly; some dense recipes, like a beloved carrot/coconut/pineapple cake became way too moist and didn't rise much at all ... you get the picture. I researched online what to do for high-altitude baking and tried different suggested adjustments to various ingredients and/or oven temperatures but with not much better results.

Add to the fact I am vegan and also have many vegetarian friends who, like me, don't want to consume eggs, so baking without eggs truly adds to the disaster factor, even at sea level. I have tried using flax seed meal mixed w/water; usually use "Ener-G Egg Replacer" in place of eggs; have tried prune puree and/or applesauce too, but at 5500+ ft or more, these don't do what perhaps eggs would - helping the batter rise higher and stay that way after cooling!

Now that I'm living at 8500ft the challenge to get lovely "as hoped for" outcomes when baking cakes has become a real trial, but I'm determined to win and want to adjust my beloved favorites so they perform as they did at sea level. Thus my search for better and more reliable information for conversions lead me to this book.

Due to the various good-bad reviews, I decided to call the local library to see if they had a copy - I didn't want to buy this book and find it doesn't serve my purpose. Luckily, the library had it, which I just picked up this morning.

DISAPPOINTMENT!! I am glad I didn't buy this book due to reasons mentioned above, however the BIGGEST disappointment is that I specifically want to make 4-dozen cupcakes next week for a children's party and wanted to learn how to make great ones that won't collapse or come out a disaster. I can't believe it! The term "cupcakes" ISN'T EVEN INCLUDED in the index!! How can you write a book about baked goods without including cupcake recipes or cake recipes with cupcake conversion information, and other "cupcake success" how-tos??

Plus, I had hoped for some good, standard-type recipes - like simple yellow, white and chocolate cake, but nope. Yes, there is a "1-2-3-4" basic recipe (that other reviewers have said didn't turn out very well), and there is a "Chocolate Buttermilk" cake, and a couple others, but still, what about a simple white cake batter recipe? The "Anna's Butter Cake" may be the author's answer for a standard-type yellow cake, but I'm hesitant to bake it as it looks like it may produce too dense of a texture for cupcakes. I don't know, maybe I'm wrong on all of this but ...

Bottom line - not one mention about adjusting the cake recipes in this book for cupcakes, though I know it's not rocket science to do so, but still-in-all ... I won't be spending my money on this book as there aren't enough recipes that grab my fancy.

However there are many cookie recipes that look promising, bread recipes that look tasty (though I have no interest in making those) and pies, and souffles (which I also could care less about). To me, the biggest feature of this book is the author's effort to educate on the differences and adjustments needed to bake at various altitudes. For that, I give her credit for all the research and time she put into testing. I will see if following her recommendations will help my favorite recipes produce more desirable results.

But ... as other reviewers have said, more recipes (I want good 'ol standards and simplier ones that can be varied slightly for flavor changes) and less verbiage on a lot of her trial and error experiences would have made this cookbook one that I'd probably bought. But as is said, your mileage may vary and this book, as for many other 5-star reviewers, may be exactly what you're looking for. ;)

Happy baking, no matter what altitude you live in!

I've owned this book for about 3 years and have used it constantly. I moved from sea level to 9200 ft elevation and immediately found that very few of my baking recipes worked here. I did accumulate some recipes from friends and neighbors that have lived here for longer than me, but I was still lacking some.

I'm an engineer by education and by job, so I like when a cookbook author approaches recipe formulation with a scientific process (and explains it to you) as Ms Purdy does. Her recipes not only work at my altitude (I have to use the 10,000 ft elements), but she tells me why it's different, how to amend the recipe for more/different flavors and, from her text, I can learn how to change my sea level recipes so they'll work.

I recommend this book for all my friends that have moved from the "flat lands."

Last summer I moved to mile high living in Boulder County, Colorado, from sea level life at the Jersey Shore, and I found that some of my favorite recipes would just not work! I tried all the typical adjustments that people recommended to me (I even talked to a local baker), but my problems were not solved. Then my sister gave me Susan's book for Christmas! I have made several items from this book, and they all turned out well. I especially like the table layout of ingredient measurements, showing how much to use at any altitude. It's true that there are "only" 100 recipes in this book, but you can be confident these recipes will work! Also, Susan suggests using her recipes as guides for adjusting other recipes (e.g. adjust your dessert bread recipe according to the one she developed). This book contains great recipes and is an excellent reference for high altitude baking.

If, as L. Alexander suggests, there are problems with this book, it would be due to sloppy editing. I am sure that when they come out with the second edition of the book that those things will be corrected.

I must regularly bake at 6800 feet and 10000 feet, and this cookbook is a Godsend. Rather to sticking to the old "one-size-fits-all" high altitude instructions, Susan Purdy actually figures out what works best for each individual recipe. Adding extra flour and turning up the heat don't work for everything, and Purdy knows that.

In addition, Purdy includes an excellent reference section at the beginning telling you exactly how she wants you to measure flour in order to make the recipes work, brand names of ingredients that work best at altitude, and the scientific information that backs up her recipes (ie: like how the need for various amounts of sugar changes with different altitudes.)

My only hope is that now she will make a similar cookbook for making candy.

I did make the white bread recipe, and it turned out the most perfect white bread I have ever made at altitude -- and I've been baking bread for years now.

If you live at high altitude, get this book!!!

I do a lot of baking to share with friends and neighbors, and I always get rave reviews. The thing is, I bake almost exclusively from this book. I keep telling everyone, "It's not me! Buy Pie in the Sky and you'll see!" I'm a better baker at altitude than I ever was at sea level...because of this book. Every recipe has been simply amazing. I've tried over a dozen, from the oatmeal cookies to the coffee cake, from the fig and mascarpone pie (possibly our favorite dessert of all time) to the pumpkin pie, from the classic 1-2-3-4 cake (our favorite birthday cake) to the chocolate sponge cake with toffee cream (makes a great Bouche de Noel). Oh, and then there's the pumpkin bundt cake, or the Mexican wedding cookies, and--oooooo-yummy-yum--the Danish Oat cookies, or Boulder's best white bread, or the multigrain loaf, or... You get the idea. Delectable, every one.

If you need a reliable high-altitude cookbook for baking, this is your goldmine. It tells you exactly what to do at different altitudes (sea level-3,000-5,000-7,000-10,000 feet). The recipes are sophisticated but totally accessible to anyone with even a small amount of baking experience. I live at about 5,300 feet and the recipes for 5,000 feet are just right.

I live at 7800 feet and my cousin gave me this book as a gift. It is indispensible for anyone trying to bake at high altitude. The author not only gives you recipes adjusted for your altitude, but explains why.

Every recipe I have tried at 8000 feet has gotten raves from my family. I bought this book at a local bookstore in the Eastern Sierra, and after several years it is our high altitude baking bible. The hints for baking a successful apple pie are particularly good.

I love to bake, I live at 5,200 feet, and I like to eat healthy even for dessert sometimes. Well, this book is wonderful - the recipes I've tried are the best I've had in my baking experience, and they're smartly arranged to follow for your elevation level (even sea level). In my mind, making a snack cake (the honey cake) with three eggs plus a cup of oil is pretty indulgent.

If it's for a party, or at least more than a party of two, it's awesome. Just don't expect to find anything health-conscious. I still highly recommend it!

I purchased this book shortly before moving to Cochabamba, Bolivia. Having spent time in Bolivia previously, I knew my baked goods needed help. While I am an accomplished baker, during previous visits, my brownies were both burnt and undercooked and my pie crust too dry. Suggestions from the Joy of Cooking and other sources for high altitude changes were not enough. Not anymore! Even in my small, non-consistent oven that only has "high, medium, and low" settings, I have made delicious brownies, apple pie, peanut butter cookies, gingerbread, tarts, and bread. My ex-pat friends are delighted! Many people, Bolivians included, don't bother baking here since it almost never turns out the way it should. Now my friends and Bolivian family are all asking me for recipes. I follow the directions for 7, 000 feet asl and have had great results.

In Bolivia, I sometimes have to be creative with ingredients and equipment, but nonetheless I have produced only successful baked goods. As another reviewer said, the different pans etc. you are expected to own in order to use this book is a little excessive. However, with some creativity, I think you can make most things work.

I also love that Susan Purdy explains the science behind everything. There is not better way to learn chemistry than through baking! I love how organized this book is, especially that each recipe has a table with temperature, equipment, and ingredient adjustments for sea level, 3000 feet, 5000 feet, 7000 feet, and 10, 000 feet. You can tell Purdy did her homework and really tested the recipes. Her recipes and ideas mean you can adapt your much loved sea-level recipes to altitude, especially with her trouble shooting guide at the back. This book has many other useful features including metric conversion for common ingredients, ideas for substituting key ingredients, and which equipment works best at altitude.

A fantastic book for avid bakers living well above sea level in all parts of the world!

Susan no only gives many wonderful recipes in this book, but she teaches you how to bake your own family recipes by explaining the science and art behind baking at high altitudes. I feel like I just took a college course on the subject after reading her book. It is a wonderful resource. She details cakes (even boxed cake mixes), which is why I read the book, but also covers breads, pies, cookies, and pastries. Thank you Susan!

I live at 6500 feet. Which means that I can rarely follow the recipes for cakes etc. in stuff like "Joy of Cooking" etc. I am so glad I found this book. LOVE the chart for each recipe! That way, you can bake whatever you want whether you're at home in Denver or Santa Fe (you would use the 5,000 feet directions for Denver and the 7,000 feet directions for Santa Fe) or at working at a ski lodge in the Rocky Mountains (you'd use the 10,000 feet directions).

This book is amazing. I have make the best cakes I have ever made - beyond even the ones at sea level - as a result of this book. I've been struggling with the altitude's effects on baking ever since moving to the Denver area 6 years ago. But since moving up to 7200ft, I decided it was time for serious action. This book is great, because not only does it include divinely delicious recipes, it also provides general rules of thumb and conversion suggestions for adapting other recipes to high altitude locations. I'm totally sold. THANK YOU, Susan, for a wonderful guidebook, and for the yummy cakes!!!

Susan Purdy, "America's Julia Child," has come up with her best idea yet. I'm sure everyone knows that baking at high altitudes sometimes leads to embarrassing and tasteless flops in the oven. Nobody except the top physicists knows why this is true, but it's one of those things many home bakers try to compensate for. Finally, a recipe book which tells you exactly what to do, no matter if you're cooking at sea level, or ten thousand feet, or five thousand feet or two.

Even experienced chefs sometimes come a cropper when trying to calculate how much or how little baking soda or sugar to include in a new oven. Purdy quotes Ross Parsons, LA Times food columnist, to the amusing effect that so frequent were his culinary screwups in Albuquerque (New Mexico--5,000 feet above sea level) that he pretty much swore off baking. "Early trauma made me a reluctant baker. I'm still afraid to bake and hardly ever try, even though I have moved to sea level in Long Beach, California." Ross, I'm sure you will be the first to purchase a copy of PIE IN THE SKY, but you won't be the only one.

Susan Purdy and her staff have cooked every one of one hundred dishes at all four altitudes and have provided a flaw-proof recipe for each one. Handy charts show you the way. At last, no matter where you live in the USA (and remember, there are 37 states which have high altutude locations), you can cook the Susan Purdy way--without a glitch or a fallen souffle. And oh, the recipes themselves! All our favorite pies, cakes and brownies, and more!

Anna's Butter Cake--a traditional Swedish favorite. All the butterfied goodness of Scandinavia in one cake.

Colorado Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Forsting--two ways to go wrong and Susan deftly avoids each one! And she even tells you the best way to fly with this cake in your lap! For when sending desserts UPS it's often not the jostling that spoils the surprise it's the altitudes of the cargo planes they send to ship your sweets with!

Susan's own favorite out of all the recipes here is her version of Flourless Chocolate Espresso Trufffle Cake. "I love it warm from the ooven," writes Piurdy, "when it is soft as a just-set pudding, and I like it even better chilled--or straight from the freezer--when it has the consistency of a velvety truffle." She reminds us all that the quality of the chocolate is essential to the success of the dessert.

And finally, if you're into biscotti, and want to make perfect biscotti every time, even though you live in Boulder or Aspen, just step this way. The "Pie in the Sky" (don't you just love that title, shared by at least fifteen other books over the years according to my copy of BOOKS IN PRINT) has the answer and the solution to all your altitude problems.

I can't really say enough about this cookbook. Originally, I checked this out from the library, but quickly realized it needed to be a permanent fixture in my kitchen and purchased my own copy. As the author notes, there are no blanket altitude adjustments that work for all recipes. Essentially, what she has done is all of the (costly) experimenting. I've used numerous recipes from the cookbook, with every result being fantastic. Most impressive, so far, are the coconut and chocolate cake recipes which I've used for wedding and baby shower cakes. I will note that all of the recipes I've tried have required more oven time than the author calls for but, I suspect, that's an issue with my oven. I am truly grateful for and delighted with all of the work the author put into this fabulous cookbook.

I am from the south and love to bake. I recently moved to Colorado and I have been frustrated with recipes I have found online for high altitude baking. It was simple baking near sea level. This book was recommended to me by a friend and I am so happy I bought it. She has some very good recipes in this book that you can add things too to spice them up like the basic cornbread recipe, you can add peppers, etc...The black and white cookies are too die for. I can finally bake cookies that are fluffy and chewy instead of them coming out flat and crunchy!! This book is great for any altitude really, she has tested each recipe in her book at different altitudes from sea level to 10,000 feet above sea level and has listed a recipe for each level you may be cooking at. No matter where you live you will be able to use this book. I highly recommend it!!

Thank you Susan Purdy! After my oven caught fire with the pecan pie acting like Mt. Vesuvius, I had no inclination to bake 20 more pecan pies to find out WHY and fix it, but Susan Purdy did. I was also sick of chocolate chip cookies that behaved like florentines. This book includes a spreadsheet type format for each recipe, which I found brilliant and useful. Also includes what to do with cake and brownie mix after the box leaves you hanging at about 6,500 ft.

Though there are not a lot of recipes, I have found myself able to convert my sea-level favorites using the information detailed on similar recipes she has adapted (ie: my pumpkin gingerbread turned out great using the modifications she makes to the El Rancho Gingerbread) and I've always been irritated by cookbooks with a lot of not-very-good recipes, so this is not an issue.

ONE minor complaint? issue? would like to ask Susan for help on - the Independence Pass brownies and I are having trouble. The first time, overbaking? Trying for the 'moist crumb' test meant another 7 minutes in the oven, at which time the edges were too hard. The second time around, accepted total 'raw' center at test at the max time (22 min)and this is better but not perfection, and as I reread the preface, she states "The secret: cocoa plus choc chips and brown sugar." - but there is no brown sugar called for in the recipe. So I used brown instead of granulated anyway, am hoping for clarification.

Brownie confusion has not affected my overall recommendation - this is my new baking bible and I am sincerely grateful to Susan for doing this monumental project. If you have had issues with baking and you arent at seal-level, this book has real answers.

Here at last is a guide to successful baking at high altitudes which will delight cooks who reside between 3,000 and 10,000 feet above sea level and have found their breads flat and their cakes collapsed. Baking at high altitude is challenging, yet only a handful of small-press cookery titles and regional offerings have addressed the special challenges of baking at high altitude, until now. Purdy has stayed at five different locations and elevations across the country to adjust recipes to perfection: Pie In The Sky presents reliable recipes to replace questionable conversions of the past.

We just moved to Colorado and went from living at sea level all my life to 8,000ft. I have always been a baker and was not looking forward to the trial and error that I was going to have to go through to learn to bake at such an altitude. After buying this book I have made two recipes and both have come out perfectly. I am very happy with the book

PIE IN THE SKY by Susan G. Purdy (HarperCollins Publishers) Thanks you for your interest in my book.

CORRECTIONS below for typographical errors in first edition. Corrections are made in reprints; I want you to have celestial results, so please check your book. Have fun baking!

pg. 119,Chocolate Buttermilk Cake, step #3:Baking SODA is correct! NOT baking powder.

pg. 196, Lemon Sponge Cake, step 6, add: ...fold in flour... "along with previously whipped whites."

pg. 250, Brownies, introduction: cross out reference to brown sugar in first line, only white sugar is used.

Pg. 123, Mocha Buttercream: Use 6(six) cups confectioners' sugar and only 5 to 6 tablespoons coffee instead of 1/2 cup . Also, make these adjustments on pg. 124 in procedure. Note that volume of frosting varies slightly depending on whether made with processor or mixer.

pg. 192, at 7,000 feet, bake coffee cake at 350 degrees not 375.

pg. 176, step #3: at sea level use 1/2 cup sugar , not 1/3 cup.

I really like that Ms. Purdy is so meticulous about researching these recipes at different altitudes--it seems that the other high-altitude cookbooks are more general. She also includes a lot of helpful advice--I refer to this book all the time, especially when trying to adapt a recipe to high-altitude. I also once e-mailed her a question, and she responded, something I respect in an author. I've had mixed results with the recipes--some have turned out kind of dry, such as the cornbread, the blueberry muffins, and the Trout Dale Oatmeal-Raisin Cookies. The chocolate buttermilk cake was kind of bland, the Classic 1-2-3-4 Cake was dense, the pecan pie took quite a while to set, the lemon poppyseed loaf got too brown on the sides. Sometimes it's hard to know if it's the recipe or perhaps some mistake I've made or a bad pan or overheated oven or something. I've found sometimes I have to play with the cooking times. But other recipes have been successes, such as the buttermilk biscuits, the applesauce cake, the gingerbread, the blueberry scones, the sour cream streusel coffee cake, the Danish Oat Cookies, the brownies, the Plum Good Crumb Pie and the Peach-Ginger Crisp. Of these, I'd say the Danish Oat Cookies, the buttermilk biscuits and Peach-Ginger Crisp are my favorites.

I was really hoping this book would solve all of my high-altitude baking problems, but it has not been as useful as I wish it were. First, I struggled with the numerous errors/typos in my first edition. While I was glad to see the corrections on here recently, I think I basically had tried to make every recipe that turned out to have an error. Very frustrating. Beyond that, the Independence Pass Brownies were not very chocolatey, the chocolate/white chocolate chip cookies spread just as much as any non-adjusted recipe, and the Buttermilk Chocolate Cake (even after I figured out that the directions should say baking soda insted of baking powder) had a really coarse grain. Therefore, overall it has been disappointing for me.

I live in Vail, Colorado elevation 8,150. I've been using this cookbook since 2005 when I met Ms. Purdy at the Savory Inn for a cooking demonstration. My cookbook is lovingly, well used. I've made almost every recipe in this book and every recipe has baked perfectly. I have several altitude cookbooks, but this is always my go-to book. I only wish Ms. Purdy would publish another!

I live in Denver, and I used to use Julia Child's baguette recipe. It was good but it didn't rise good enough. Since I got this book I am baking baguettes every week! Easy, fast (3hrs) and delicious!
I am super super happy with this baguette recipe.

I live at about 6,500 feet in California's eastern Sierra, and this book is great! All of the recipes I've tried so far have been excellent, and work as directed. Sure, the format is a bit clunky, but a necessary evil to provide such comprehensive and detailed directions for baking at different altitudes. This is the book to have if you live high, and like to bake.

I am very happy I purchased this book and am sure I will find it beneficial. My main disappointment is the small number of actual pie (dessert) recipes; thus the title and cover illustration are misleading to those of us who expect a book to relate closely to the title. I also expected that it might contain more of the "classic" pies with high altitude adjustments. The recipe format is rather distracting-I will have to transfer my favorites to a simpler card form. I do appreciate the depth of research she did writing the book and would love an invitation to help next time.

I have lived in Denver, Colorado, for 28 years, and have tried many high-altitude baking cookbooks because I love to bake. This is absolutely the best ever. Every recipe I have tried is excellent and the texture is better then most things baked at this altitude. What is even better is that the recipes use less sugar and butter then you would normally find in recipes. I recommend this book to anyone who bakes at high altitude.

I have learned to bake from greatest pastry chefs around. Rose Beranbaum, Francois Payard, Jacques Torres, to name a few. Whisk in one hand, cookbook in the other, and a scale in the other ;) As a result, although I own some, I using avoid cookbooks that do not include weights, knowing that my first task will be to convert and risk conversion errors. Often double conversion errors, as the chefs develop the recipes by scaling ingredients then the publisher (or someone) converts these to volume measurements. Often horribly. So add the publisher's mistakes to mine and you have double conversion error. Now, I find myself at 1646 meters, yes 5,400' and in need of trusted advice on the way to bake at altitude. More than the usual, "Here are some suggestions but you have to experiment." I am really happy to have this book. I am really shocked to read silly volume measurements like 1 1/4 teaspoons plus 1/8 teaspoon and believe me there are worse examples. I realize that many of us who love to bake learned from watching others who used volume measures. But that is not a reason to insult so many who love to bake by, in effect, telling them, "You're not smart enough to learn to do things in an easier, more accurate way." (I was actually told this by a cookbook author.) If weights are included, bakers have their choice of using volumes or weights. I have also been told that including weights lowers cookbook sales, as the books look "too complicated". This book is so chock full of data that I can't imagine that anyone who would be scared off by the inclusion of weights would buy this book. Not having baked from the book yet, but having converted a recipe to bake tomorrow, I give the book 4 stars.

Yeah that about sums up this book. The author did an amazing job in figuring out excellent recipes for high (and low) altitudes, and has given priceless tips on how to bake with any other recipes you have personally at high altitudes, & its hardcover, which to me is always a plus for a cookbook :)

I moved from sea level on the humid SE US coast to 5500 feet in New Mexico and though I am an experienced baker, and am doing fine with both yeast and instant breads, have struggled with cake here. This book appeared to be the answer, but it was not.

I read all the tips and scrupulously followed the directions for 5000 feet for the "Classic 1-2-3-4 Cake" (a butter, layer cake). What a mess! It overbrowned in spots (bubbles) on top. The center bottom did not fully bake and the center fell when taken out of the oven. Why did I not notice this with the toothpick test? Perhaps the uncooked batter got wiped clean off the toothpick when withdrawn through the thick, rubbery, outer skin that formed over the whole cake. The part that did bake was heavy and tough, with big air holes. The texture was like an overcooked steamed pudding. And as if that wasn't enough, it had almost no flavor.

Seeing so many good reviews for this book is puzzling. Maybe I picked the one bad recipe, but for all the talk in this book (which is excessive - I'd rather just have recipes that work) . . . this cake went into the garbage can. Too much was wrong with it for me to feel encouraged to try another recipe from this book.

Recently moved to Albuquerque, NM (5000 feet elevation) from the Boston, MA area and most of my baking was not working. The adage of just adding a little flour for altitude baking was not giving me great results. This book includes recipes with adjustments for sea level, 3000, 5000, 7000, and 10000 feet. My brain has been whirling with looking at the changes in recipes and have started experimenting with my favorite recipes and getting great results.

After living at an elevation of 8000 for over 30 years, I can finally make a pecan pie that doesn't boil over. Where has this book been? I heartily recommend this book to anyone who lives at higher elevations, especially if you are a recent resident and haven't figured out why your cakes fall in the middle.

Lots of helpful suggestions for newcomers to high-altitude baking as well as those who have been working at altitude for several years. I found the general comments for various altitudes particularly helpful.

Normally, I do not find it appeasing to write reviews of books I own, but this one i felt rather vehement about. I received this book for a gift over the holidays. Over father's day, I thought I would make the Lemon Meringue Pie recipe from this book for my father-in-law as a gift. I started to make it, and realized that the recipe called for a mixture of ingredients it failed to tell me how to make. Granted, I know a lot about baking and cooking and at high altitudes (I am a chef and live at almost 8,000 ft), but still, when I am trying to follow a recipe that is incomplete it is impossible!!! I gave up that recipe and just decided to go with a different recipe that I know is tried and true. Furthermore, today (Aug. 11) I tried to make the Independence Pass Brownies, and once again was shocked to see how poorly written these recipes were. Ms. Purdy should really take up a new profession, as I have found cookbook writing to not be her forte. Not only in the brownie recipe she writes about how nice the brownies are, not too sweet (made with brown sugar) etc, but when she lists the ingredients, brown sugar is not mentioned, but white granulated sugar is. To ice my cake, the brownies need A LOT longer than she states in her book as the cooking time. Needless to say, I will NOT be using this book again as I have found it to be as its title states truly a "pie in the sky" as all the recipes are just that.

I NEEDED SOME HELP SINCE I AM CURRENTLY AT 7500 FEET AND FOUND BAKING A CHALLENGE FROM THE 200 FT ABOVE SEA LEVEL I USE TO LIVE AT. THANKS TO THIS BOOK...I HAVE OVERCOME THE BAKING CHALLENGES.
THANK YOU.....

I moved from Sea Level to over 7000 ft. I needed a book to help me learn to bake at this higher altitude. This is not a good book for that. It gives a lot of recipes only two of which I could find the ingredients to try. Almost every recipe calls for buttermilk. They do not sell Buttermilk in the country where I now live. The two cakes I made turned out badly. The Angel food cake was like styrofoam after a day. The other chocolate cake had all the chocolate flavor of a brick. I am very unhappy with this purchase.

The book is full of stories from the author on her high altitude mistakes. I did not make this purchase for stories..

I have been successfully baking at high altitudes 5000-6000 feet for about 33 years and am known as an excellent baker. Always wanting to improve I bought this book and made three of the cakes. The Chocolate Buttermilk was gorgeous to look at and tasted like sand. The Hot Springs Honey Cake had excellent flavor but it, too, was too dry to enjoy. And the Porterfield Pumpkin Bundt Cake is in my freezer and will taste it with trepidation. I will not recommend this book to my baker friends.
Very disappointing results. I'm going back to my usual manner of baking at high altitudes and am sorry I purchased this book. I think the author had her head in the clouds.

I live at 7,300 ft. My daughter wants to learn to bake and I know nothing about baking. Everything we tried had failed because I didn't know how to modify them at high altitudes.
We've only made the bread, but it has turned out amazing everytime. It doesn't specify wheat, but it turned out good with that too. I'm so happy with those results. I only gVe it 4 stars because of the lack of standard recipes. If you just want to bake something for picky kids, forget it. But will try to use the info in this booke to help us with other recipes.

When I retired to the Rockies from the Midwest flatlands I was mortified that my enviable baking skills did not work at all for pies, cakes, or cookies. This is the most helpful and most consistently tasty among the high-altitude recipes I've read. Best brownies I ever made; likewise, the pecan pie. Follow the pecan pie technique carefully and voila! Pecan pie that will not explode in your oven.