Techniques › Baking and pastry
Weighing ingredients for baking
Beginner Baking and pastry
Weighing ingredients for baking is measuring baking ingredients by weight on a kitchen scale instead of by cups and spoons.
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How do you do it?
- Set a bowl on a digital scale and press tare so it reads zero.
- Add the first ingredient until the scale shows the weight in the recipe.
- Press tare again and add the next ingredient to the same bowl.
- Use grams if the recipe gives them; they are finer than ounces.
Why does it work?
A cup of flour can weigh anywhere from about 4 to 6 ounces depending on how it was scooped. Baking depends on ratios of flour, fat, sugar and liquid, so weighing gives you the same result every time.
What are the common mistakes?
- Scooping flour straight from the bag — packs it in, giving dry, dense results.
- Forgetting to tare — the bowl's weight gets counted as ingredient.
Still stuck? Watch someone do it on YouTube.
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