Mike Brown wrote:
> Greetings assembled gurus. I am here to seek knowledge.
>
> I followed a SD recipe from the LA Times and I got virtually no oven
> spring. The boules were wider than they were tall (barely 3" tall at
> the center).
>
> I spoke with a lady in a restaurant supply store who does a lot of
> baking. She told me to do it again "with quite a bit less flour"
> since I'm in Edmonton Alberta and the elevation is almost 2200 feet
> (vs sea level for Los Angeles). When I followed her rather vague
> instructions and used a higher hydration, I got much better results.

More hydration = more steam = more oven spring, regardless of altitude.

Theoretically, at higher altitude loaves rise better because there's
less air pressure to counter the CO2 produced.

I don't think altitude is your problem. I'm at 4000 feet and have lived
up to 7000 feet and haven't had altitude issues with baking bread
recipes from sea level. Other factors are dominant: temperature,
hydration, dough development, etc.

And as you'll hear from this group no doubt, oven spring is not a goal
but a means. You may get well-formed loaves without it and you may get
poorly-formed loaves with it.