In Merles double cornbread recipe she uses gram equivalents that are very different from the ones King Arthur FLour suggests. For example, she asks f

she asks for 1 cup or 200 grams of cornmeal - KAF says 138 grams. For 21/2 cups of flour she says 350 grams, they say 300. What do I use?

phyllisc
  • Posted by: phyllisc
  • November 11, 2017
  • 3014 views
  • 3 Comments

3 Comments

phyllisc November 12, 2017
I was only using Merles recipe. I usually use the KAF conversion table for baking and noticed that their equivalents were really different from Merle's. At any rate, I followed Merle's to a T and it worked perfectly. Thanks for all the help!
 
Amy November 12, 2017
Is it the same recipe, just converted by Merles? Or are they two different, but similar, recipes?
If one recipe is not the same as another, my mantra is always make it the way the recipe says the FIRST time, the way it's written, and then make adjustments to your liking after that. Both may be very similar, but have minor differences due to the liking or disliking of the baker.

I'm a pastry chef and I like to use www.convert-me.com for imperial/metric conversions (on the left side of the page, click on "cooking"). Not perfect, but the best I have found so far. Thing is...different ingredients weigh differently. 1/4 cup of flour does not weigh the same as 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and so forth. And it also depends on how it was measured. Was the flour sifted or not? Was the brown sugar packed, or not? So those variances matter a lot when you are converting from metric to imperial and so forth. It also depends on who measured and scaled. Was it a level cup vs heaping?

Make it both ways, and see which you like better.

 
Nancy November 11, 2017
Not sure what you're asking, but here are a couple guesses.
You many want to know whether one or both recipes will turn out, and which measurements to use. Also, it sounds like you're going back and forth between two recipes and maybe (I don't know) intend to combine them or use both.
I could identify one (Merrill's double corn corn bread) but not the other (KAF has several cornbread recipes):
https://food52.com/recipes/8195-double-corn-corn-bread-with-fresh-thyme#comments
and maybe:
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/recipes/maple-cornbread-recipe
Here's what I know, for your use:
1. Not all recipes on food52 are tested, but since Merrill describes hers as originating with pastry chef Joanne Chang and made for years in a professional bakery, we can see that this one has stood the test of time.
2. Same too for those at KAF.
3. Yes, conversion factors (volume to metric) sound very different.
4. Maybe they used different products, weighed on days with different weather. Maybe someone made an error. No way to know (until perhaps Merrill weighs in. Sorry/not sorry - pun.)
5. Don't mix and match recipes (that is, use KAF conversion factor in Merril's recipe or vice versa).
6. If you like and have time, wait to hear from Merrill. Maybe write to KAF.
7. If you don’t have time to wait, choose one recipe and make it. See how you like. Repeat or not. Make other recipe.... keep baking and enjoy.
Your friend in cornmeal (veteran of cakes, polenta, hush puppies, etc),
Nancy
 
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