I'm in a quandary about what flour actually weighs

M

marilynfl

Moderator
I recently scored some fresh blocks of yeast (Yea, Pittsburgh!!) and decided to work out issues with the tangzhong version of my grandmother's sweet bread (paska). Basically, it was too wet to knead using the 75% hydration ratio I'd calculated.

I use a scale. Always. A good scale that toggles between grams and ounces although I tend to use grams more often because it makes the math easier. For quite a while (years, actually) I've used the King Arthur specified amount of 120 grams for 1 cup of their All Purpose flour. But back in NC, I successfully made 5 batches of Joanna Chang's master brioche recipe and she specifies 1 cup of flour = 150 grams. You wouldn't think that would make a big difference, but it's actually 3/4 of a cup more for the 3 cups I needed:

1 cup of KA flour = 120 grams

120g x 3 = 360g

1 cup of Joanna Chang weight for flour = 150 g

150 x 3 = 450g

difference is 90 grams and that is 3/4 of a cup for KA.

My grandmother's recipe simply specified 3 cups of flour with no explanation about whether to add more to knead, etc. And knowing her tiny kitchen, that cup was probably a coffee mug...and I would bet a babuska that she didn't level off the top.

I started with the KA weight, but ended up using the 450 grams plus an additional 75 grams (1/2 C) just to get the dough kneadable. So in King Arthur realm of measurements, I used 4 3/8 C of flour while Joanna Chang would say I used 3.5 C of flour.

It's on its first rise now so we'll see how this one reacts. I made the other adjustments I wanted (doubled the sugar and the salt and will double the raisins. Used large eggs rather than jumbo and reduced the milk by 2 TBL.)

I would like to get this recipe accurate. Anyone else dealing with totally non-life threatening issues?

 
Mine today: Should I finish off the dark chocolate covered salted caramels . . .

that I got at Aldi's yesterday? I ate half the tub yesterday. . . Half of what was left WITH lunch. I had a whole 3, count 'em, 3 pieces left. For tomorrow?

Hail NO. It was a no brainer. I finished them off. And I don't regret it a bit.

 
I don't know but does your ambient humidity enter into it? In the bread class

I took from Peter Reinhart he was pretty clear that you started with a measurement and then you adjusted the final product with more flour or liquid by the way the dough looked after kneading--soft as a baby's bottom or the stretch test.

 
No, my question is how many grams do I use to equal one cup of flour.

I know I have to make adjustments per the weather, the time of year, the kind of yeast, how cranky the Gods are that day, but this is a simple "give me a number so I can write it down on my container and use it consistently" kind of problem.

I've use 120 grams for 1 cup (as specified by KA) for years, yet Joanna Chang is a pastry chef with a Harvard degree in Applied Mathematics and Economics and SHE uses 150 grams for 1 cup. So far be from me to sneer at her value. And following her recipes and weights have worked out perfectly.

For small amounts in a recipe (1 or 2 cups) this isn't that big of a difference, but if I scale up a recipe for 4-6 C of flour, it becomes a matter of adding additional CUPS of flour depending on which value I use.

(it's times like this that my anal retentiveness is just plain annoying)

 
Tangzhong Paska Attempt #2

This recipe made the following adjustments:
fresh yeast (versus package of dried Fleishmann's original)
1 tsp of salt (doubled)
2/3 C sugar (doubled)
1 C raisins (doubled)
large eggs (versus first attempt which used Jumbo)
Reduced milk by 2 TBL (1 C + 1 TBL from 1 C + 3 TBL)

Flour amount is still in question, although it was much easier to get it to a kneadable state than the first wetter attempt.

Texture is a bit air-ier than the first try, but it's still tender. I'm happy now with the salt and sugar amounts, but there still aren't enough raisins for me.

https://recipeswap.org/fun/wp-content/uploads/swap-photos/Paska2.jpg

 
You are not alone, read a blog post a few days ago where the poster said she was convinced KA used

sifted flour for their conversion of 120 grams to a cup. I did a little sleuthing and found this. It’s about as good an explanation as I’ve seen. However I have a bit of OCD and I wish all baking recipes called for a weight instead of a measurement. Guess the answer is look for the ones that do from a trusted source.
I think some that do call for a weight don’t actually weigh, they just insert whatever standard they choose which in many cases is the KA which many don’t find to be accurate.

https://pastrieslikeapro.com/2017/04/frustrating-facts-measuring-flour/#.XqmWdxBOmhB

 
This has worried me, too, where standard weight to volume conversions are used

as actual measurements without disclosing that's what has been done. Colleen

 
But I think your question is how much does a scoop C of flour weigh?

Because grandma didn’t weigh it, pretty sure she scooped from what you’re inferring.

Let me know if you want me to scoop (without doing the Martha Stewart stir with a whisk first) some flour and weigh it. I have both ap and bread flour, so can do both.

 
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