How to Measure Flour

Who's protesting? Every time I've seen a discussion on the topic, the majority votes for weighing (quite rightly;).

Who's protesting? Every time I see a discussion on the topic, the majority votes for weighing.

Forget the measuring cups. Get a good digital kitchen scale and weight dry ingredients. One cup of flour = 125 grams, 1 cup of sugar = 200 grams. It makes for faster prep time too.

Like Doughpuncher, I'm a professional baker. More people than ever own kitchen scales now, even (and especially) enthusiastic n00b bakers; I think it's about time we acknowledged this and at least offer people the choice and the chance to improve their skills and the end result. I recently tested a recipe for a food & lifestyle site and, as they insisted on publishing in cups, converted the ingredient quantities to weight; the difference in volume was dramatic and would have created a completely different finished product. Even if metric seems off-putting to some people, surely weight in oz. is manageable ? If you don't give people the opportunity to learn a better way, they never will.

When the amount of flour REALLY makes a difference i.e. BAKING, I do as I learned from my mother...SIFT, then spoon into measuring cup, sweep off top with a straight edge.

That said, I much prefer using a scale...O SO MUCH EASIER and quicker....and recipes are always reproducible...

As an American who has lived in the UK for 23 years, I find weighing in grams to be precise and unambiguous. Converting recipes from American pounds/ounces to grams and vice versa shows just how ballpark the former are. Getting away from pounds/ounces/cups will open up a whole world of recipes from around the world where metric measures are the norm. I know Americans can't let go of pounds and ounces but scales can be purchased reasonably from Walmart that will offer both American and metric at the touch of a button. Don't even get me started on the weirdness of cups of broccoli...

Learn how to Spoon and Sweep, then buy a gram scale and reproduce results. Convert every baking recipe to weight.

Gourmet magazine did a video about this a few years back.
http://www.gourmet.com/food/testkitchen/2008/07/ruggiero_flourtip

Although I've been baking using ratios and not recipes more and more of late, I do keep a small chopstick (7" - the kind many Asian take out places give you) in each of my large flour canisters, to use for sweeping. It's very handy, as I don't need to take out a knife for that purpose. When measuring by volume and not weight, I prefer the dump and sweep method because (a) you can fill your canister all the way to the top, whereas with the scoop and sweep method, if you fill to the top, it's not possible to whisk; and (b) I invariably use smaller quantities of dry ingredients when baking, e.g., barley flour, wheat germ, potato flakes, oats, etc., and even when I'm working by ratio, I have smaller measuring cups out anyway. ;o)

As with most things human, we become habituated to not necessarily the best ways of doing things. I'll bet you get a ton of noise regarding weight v. cup, but having switched to the scales, I have become a far more competent baker. I can replicate past success rather than hoping for luck.

Besides, it's one time that looking at the number on the scale is fun.

I am a professional baker, which of course means that I weigh the flour for most of my baking, but when I am making a recipe at home that calls for cups of flour, I always use the dump and sweep method. My wife, who is a professional food and cookbook writer, uses the scoop and sweep method. Naturally, we disagree about who is measuring "correctly." I would be curious to try both methods side by side with say 10 cups of flour and weigh them both to see if they are comparable. Have you tried that?

I do it correctly but would rather weigh it!!!!