How to Measure Flour
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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.
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.
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!
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.
I love my digital scale and always use it when recipes offer amounts by weight. I’m geekily thrilled by how precise it is!
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!
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.
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!
Wow! All these years I’ve been doing it wrong! THANKS for posting this.
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
Great advice!
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.
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!
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 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!
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!
Thanks for the tip!
Great post Barbara!
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 🙂