Do you know how to measure flour?

This may seem like a silly question but there is a right way to measure flour.

How do you do it? Do you pour the flour straight from the bag and bang the cup on the bench?

If your answer is yes I am sorry to say you are using the wrong method! You may end up with dry cake or crumbly cookies.

I have done a little home made test to prove my point. The images on the top are the “wrong way” and the bottom the “right way”. For the top example, I have poured the flour straight from the bag and banged the cup a little on the bench.

There is a difference of 15 grams for one cup. I hear you say “Fifteen grams?! That’s nothing!”. Well it as actually an error of about 10%. If you need 2 cups of flour in a recipe and you measure it incorrectly it’s like adding and extra 1/4 cup! No wonder the texture of your dessert will change.

So what is the correct way? Simple:
1. Use a knife to aerate the flour
2. Scoop flour in the cup and over fill it
3. Use a knife (flat side) to level the flour

If you have a scale you can verify you technic. You should be close to 140 grams.

And if you have different sets of measuring cup it worth it to check the difference. Doing that home made test I have discover that my fancy looking stainless cup actually contain 150 grams…… Well, it doesn’t matter as I usually weigh my ingredients. See this post for my conversion chart.

Happy baking!

Tracy
Owner of Sugar Treat
Home Baking on the Gold Coast
Desserts from scratch for any occasion
sugartreat.gc@gmail.com