I thought weighing flour was a waste of time until my sourdough disaster

For years, I just scooped flour straight from the bag with a cup measure. My bread was always a bit off, sometimes too dense, sometimes flat. I figured it was just my starter being moody. Then, about three weeks ago, I made a loaf that was a complete brick. I finally bought a $20 digital scale and measured everything by grams for my next batch. The difference was night and day. The dough felt right, it rose perfectly, and the crumb was exactly what I wanted. I was measuring almost 30 grams more flour per cup than the recipe called for. Now I weigh everything, even for simple cookies. Has anyone else had a specific recipe that totally failed until you switched to a scale?

4 comments

4 Comments

amy_anderson1mo ago

My grandma's biscuit recipe needed 127 grams of flour, not a cup, to stop being hockey pucks.

tessa_murray3d ago

So @amy_anderson, did you ever try to make them before you figured out the weight? I can picture it now, trying to saw through one of those biscuit pucks with a steak knife, and it just skitters off the plate. You'd chip a tooth and then stare at this sad, dense lump that was supposed to be breakfast. That 127 grams wasn't just a number, it was the secret handshake to the good batch.

victor_robinson1mo ago

I read a baking blog that tested flour in measuring cups. They found a cup of all purpose flour can weigh anywhere from 120 to 150 grams depending on how you scoop it. That's a huge difference for something like biscuits. Your grandma's 127 grams is probably the exact weight she used from her own specific flour bag. Using a scale takes out all the guesswork and stops you from packing in too much flour by accident.

the_linda1mo ago

That blog test is wild, a 30 gram swing is crazy. My cookies were always hit or miss before I got a scale lol.