Measuring Flour

I always measure flour by lightly scooping it up, fluffing it, sprinkling it into the measuring cup, and finally leveling it with the back of a knife.  All of my recipes are based on this method.  If you instead scoop your measuring cup into the flour, it will be more packed down. This results in too much flour and therefore a drier end result.

On February 5th, 2021 the LA Times ran an article written by Ben Mims titled What Does a Cup of Flour Weigh? It’s Surprisingly Complicated. Quoting the article: “A reader recently asked me, after reviewing the first recipe we published with our new metric weight measurements, why our weight for “1 cup all-purpose flour” — stated as 142 grams — was different from another publication that listed a cup as being 120 grams. Is there not a standard? And if so, who’s right and who’s wrong?”

“Some recipe developers reach their weight measurement by spooning flour delicately into a cup, while others call for scooping the cup into a canister, which obviously makes the measurement a little heavier.”

The article stated that measurements ran from 120 grams (King Arthur Flour) to142 grams (Cook’s Illustrated). That 18% difference is huge. If possible, I recommend weighing your flour to get the most accurate results - but if you don’t have a scale, please sprinkle and level when following my recipes because that’s the way I measure.