[Sca-cooks] measuring flour and pound equivalents

[Terry Decker]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "terry l. ridder" <terrylr at blauedonau.com>
To: "Cooks within the SCA" <sca-cooks at lists.ansteorra.org>
Sent: Sunday, December 09, 2007 9:58 AM
Subject: [Sca-cooks] measuring flour and pound equivalents


> hello;
>
> it seems nearly every year around the holiday season
> there are questions concerning how to measure flour.
> there are those who just push the measuring cup into
> the canister and pack the flour into the cup; than
> there are those who spoon the flour out of the canister
> and gently into the measuring cup and level the measuring
> cup off with a straight edge. i am the spoon the flour
> into the measuring cup type of baker.
>
> when baking cookies one can get away with more or less flour,
> when it comes to yeast bakegoods, more or less flour leads
> to disasters.
>
> the second part to the above is there is in many cookbooks
> the pound equivalents table. i even have two kitchen
> magnets with the pound equivalents table on them. all these
> tables have that 4 cups of flour is equivalent to 1 pound.
>

Flour weighs roughly between 4 and 5 ounces per cup.  Properly measured, 
flour is sifted into the measuring cup to produce the the correct volume. 
In small batches, the differences in the weight ratios usually don't matter. 
In large batches, measurement should be by weight rather than volume.

> this weekend has been a christmas cookie and treat baking
> weekend with my adult children. the general question asked
> is;
>
> how do i know which way the writer of the recipe measured
> the flour?
>
> my response is normally i assume spoon and level until proven
> otherwise.
>

It's not so much the amount of flour, but the ratio of flour to liquor by 
weight.  Measure however you choose, but if you wish maximum volume accuracy 
and to feel virtuous, sift the flour into the measuring cup.

> then the questions start about do all flours weigh the same.
> do 4 cups of gramdma best flour from aldi (http://www.aldi.com)
> weigh the same as 4 cups of king arthur's unbleached all-purpose
> flour? how much does 4 cups of whole wheat flour weigh? how much
> does 4 cups of rye flour weigh?
>

How dry is the flour?  How finely is it ground?  Most U.S. flours are very 
dry, but if you obtain a freshly ground flour with higher water content, it 
can throw off your estimates.  A really dry flour can use more liquor than 
the recipe calls for.  This is where measuring ingredients by weight makes 
things work.

Fine milling reduces the air space in a given volume, increasing the weight. 
Not usually an issue for off the shelf flour.

IIRC, rye is a denser grain than wheat and is slightly heavier in the 
equivalent volume.

Check the bag.  Weight per cup information can often be found there.

> lastly, the question comes. is there really a difference between
> grandma best flour from aldi and king arthur's unbleached all-purpose
> flour?
>

Yes.  Specialty flours tend to be a mix of wheat flours that best serve the 
type of baking they are designed for.  All purpose flour is a usually 
mid-range flour that can be used in recipes that call for hard or soft 
flour, but not necessarily producing a superior product.  That being said, I 
tend to use AP flours for most of my baking.

> my middle daughter, uses king arthur's flour, i am the use whichever
> flour is the less expensive or on sale.
>
> if recipes were by weight there would be no issue. ;-)
>
> how do members of the list intrepret flour measure in recipes they read?
>
> -- 
> terry l. ridder ><>

I tend to use the recipe as written, then use experience to determine 
whether or not to modify the resulting dough.  I also tend to take more care 
with enriched doughs, which are harder to adjust.

Bear