Question: How much does 1 cup of flour weigh?

A. 4 ounces?
B. 5 ounces?
C. 6 ounces?

Answer: All of the above.

Huh?

Volume measurements work well for some things. It would make far more sense to measure out a 1/2 cup of chopped basil than 1 ounce of basil. But for other things, such as flour or sugar…you’ll need more accuracy if you want to get consistently good results in the kitchen.

Flour can weigh anywhere from 4oz. to 6oz. per cup.
What makes the difference? Moisture, age, type of flour, etc..

Consider this:

Let’s say you are making a recipe that calls for 4 cups of all-purpose flour. Knowing that flour can vary between 4oz. and 6oz. per cup makes that 4 cups of all-purpose flour weigh anywhere from 1lb to 1.5lbs. That’s a half-pound variable in just 4 cups of flour! You can start to see why it’s easy to get inconsistent results when baking things.

More and more great cookbooks and recipe guides are listing ingredients by weight rather than volume and that’s because it’s so much more accurate. It makes your life so much easier too.

When I am making bread, I simply put my mixing bowl right onto the scale and zero out the weight of the bowl. Then I add in my flour. The bread I often make requires 20 ounces of flour and 12 ounces of water. These measurements couldn’t be easier on the digital scale.

There are so many applications where a digital scale is so useful, I’m confused as to how I managed without one for so long. These digital scales are especially useful if you are implementing ratios into your cooking rather than just recipes. I use 20 ounces of flour and 12 ounces of water for bread because the recipe is a 5:3 ratio. 5 parts flour // 3 parts liquid. (5oz. flour : 3 oz. water) – or – (10oz. flour : 6oz. water) – or – (15 oz. flour : 9 oz. water) – or – (20 oz. flour : 12 oz water)

Are you picking up what I’m putting down?

Again, the book RATIO helps tremendously with this. Michael Ruhlman is going to owe me some serious commission for all the attention I’ve been giving this book…it’s just that good.

Check out this video:

Ready to buy that scale now? I’ll tell you what. How about a chance to win one?

I’m giving away one of these puppies:

I actually own a Taylor food scale and it’s pretty decent. There are a couple of things I don’t like about it though and this one from is highly reviewed and loved.

To enter this contest, simply leave a comment below listing the person or people who have most greatly influenced your cooking ability. This could be an author, your grandma, or even a Food Network personality. Who has taught you to cook better?

Also, please take the time to subscribe to this blog if you’re interested in more information and giveaways such as this. —->SUBSCRIBE via RSS<—–

I will randomly choose a winner tomorrow morning and post the results shortly after. Good luck!