How do you measure your flour? I bake often so I keep a canister of flour on my counter with a scoop in the canister for measuring into a dry measuring cup. I never use the measuring cup to scoop the flour from the canister. King Arthur Flour has a video that explains why it’s important to not scoop the flour from the canister or bag:
I enjoy the precision of baking and don’t mind the extra step it takes to measure flour this way. If you want to stick with your scooping method, just remember you probably will need to add less flour to your recipes. Or if you really want to be precise with measuring your ingredients the new digital scales are great.
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I love to bake, especially cookies, cakes, and pies. I’ll post my adventures in the kitchen, my favorite new recipes, as well as our family favorites.
Barbara, this world of baking can be complex & I am grateful for pros like you to nudge me in the right direction!
This is a great video! I learned the hard way and started spooning and scraping after I realized that this way it weighed the right amount, but if we aren’t used to weighing we would never know. Thanks, Barbara, great post.
wow, that’s a huge difference! Great video!
Great video, Barbara! Thanks for sharing!
Wow! I never knew that! Thanks for sharing
Thanks for the info, Barbara. I have 4 one-cup measuring cups and recently measured the flour they hold. They all contained a different amount of flour, enough to change the outcome of many baked goods. Weighing ingredients is always the best, most accurate way to go. It’s worth the minute or two it takes.
Thanks Cathy. I find myself weighing flour more often now too. It really doesn’t take much more time and makes me feel more confident about the results.
best tip ever! i’ve never been the best baker, and i don’t know if i ever will be, but i think this could really help me a lot!
Sometimes I’m lazy, but this tip is so crucial to the product turning out “just right”!
I especially love my digital scale! Great post, Barbara!
What a great video, same way they teach us in pastry school to measure flour.
I feel relieved that I’ve been doing it correctly-I never thought that it made a difference but it does! Thanks mum!
xxx
As a bread baker, I’ve discovered that measuring by weight increases my chances of a perfect loaf of bread! I never heard of this way to measure flour until KAF came to my neighborhood and taught a free class on Artisan bread baking. Thanks for sharing a note-worthy post!
Thank you so much for the great tips!
How flour is measured makes all the difference in the success of so many recipes, doesn’t it? Thanks for the video and the info.
Great idea! Always love your ideas!
Your so right with this Barbara, the world of baking is indeed a precision thing if you want to get great results again and again from a recipe, love the tips here, thanks for sharing.
Barbara…thank you so much for sharing the video…I am always learning
Great video! Really shows the difference! Thanks for the tip.
There is always something new to learn. Thanks Barbara for sharing!
Something so simple…yet I really didn’t know! I need baking tips like this. Thank you!
I never really thought much about it. I will now have to be better about it all. Great video.
It’s definitely a little more time consuming to measure flour the right way, but it’s so worth it! I’ve actually started to rely more on the measurements when I can.. nice informative post
Great post Barbara!
Thanks for the tip!
Wow! I never knew it would make that big a difference. Thanks for sharing this video…now I’m going to be so paranoid when I bake.
No need to be paranoid. Just something to be aware of. Thanks for commenting!
I fluff the flour up in the canister, Barbara, but must admit I measure right from there…and don’t use two bowls. Guess I better rethink that one!
I don’t use two bowls either. I just use the scoop in the canister to put the flour into the measuring cup and then level off the flour back into the canister. I think it’s harder to do from the bag, but you certainly could and you don’t need to use the bowls unless you want to weigh the flour.
I imagine you’ve been doing it just right!
This is such a key point in making sure baking mixtures come out right. I have started to rely more and more on my kitchen scale but, depending on the recipe, can’t always use it.
I just got a kitchen scale last year for Christmas and I geek out weighing things (like flour) all the time. Great find on the video– I might repost this on my site too. Great knowledge to share. Thanks, Barbara!
Hi Barbara – thanks for stopping by my site, I’m so glad to have found yours! I cannot bake to save my life and will definitely refer back to your site for tips. I want to make my family’s congo bar recipe … last time I made it I overcooked the bars and they were hard, not soft and chewy like they’re meant to be. Sigh.
Great advice!
I’m with your technique Barbara…and too make sure…sometimes, I do find myself using my handy digital scale.
Though, growing up…my Mom and Grandma used to scoop up the flour from the canister ;o)
Flavourful wishes,
Claudia
Wow! All these years I’ve been doing it wrong! THANKS for posting this.
Oh heavens I needed this advice and have clearly been on the wrong track for decades. I’m always so devil-may-care about measuring, and it’s no wonder I occasionally get unexpected results when making baked goods. Thank you, thank you Barbara!
Watched the video – that is an amazing difference in the amount of flour! I’m definitely not going to be scooping from the bag anymore. Thanks for sharing.
I have the devil may care attitude too as I have used the cup measure for years. That is about to change now. I ♥ how we are always learning. This is really essential to baking, and it’s time I made greater use of the scale. Thank you for the nudge!
I love my digital scale and always use it when recipes offer amounts by weight. I’m geekily thrilled by how precise it is!
Growing up, I was taught to fill a cup, and to use the flat side of a knife blade to “even off” the top. I still do it today, too. Though, I am going to invest in a food scale so I can get EXACT measurements.
it’s amazing how when you first learn to cook that this is one of the most important tips to know. I always fluff mine up first just like in the video. This is a great tip for new cooks and bakers!
Hi Barbara – thanks for stopping by my site, I’m so glad to have found yours! I cannot bake to save my life and will definitely refer back to your site for tips. I want to make my family’s congo bar recipe … last time I made it I overcooked the bars and they were hard, not soft and chewy like they’re meant to be. Sigh.