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Flour weight

post #1 of 10
7/22/09 at 7:56pm
Thread Starter 
I would like to know the weight equivalent of one cup of Flour. I have been told it is more accurate to go by weight than cup measurement.
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post #2 of 10
7/22/09 at 8:53pm
Actually, it varies based on authority cited. Plus the moisture content of the flour, on any particular day, can affect the average weight.

For what it's worth, Peter Reinhart uses 4.5 ounces as the standard equivilent of one cup. Because much of my bread baking is based on his methods, I've adopted that figure.

You can accept any of the published figures. Or, a better way, is to weigh ten cups of flour, then figure the average and use that as your standard when substituting weight in recipes that use cups.
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post #3 of 10
7/22/09 at 8:54pm
That can be something of a moving target depending on how you scoop and level. I just weighed some flour and here's what I found:

Scooping straight from the flour bin and using my preferred stainless 1 cup measure the flour weighed 5.25 oz.

However, I always "fluff" the flour before scooping because while it sits on the counter it will compact over time and affect the weight of a given volume. In this case the fluffed cup of flour weighed 4.875 oz. That's a 3/8 oz difference.

Then I used an old plastic cup measure that I have in the drawer and that cup of fluffed flour weighed 4.625 oz. In this one experiment I had a 5/8 oz difference between the heaviest and lightest "1 cup" measure.

To answer your question though, I use 5 oz/cup as a general rule and that always works for me.
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post #4 of 10
7/22/09 at 8:56pm
One other point, Sweetpickle. Weight is important for professional bakers and serious home bread makers because they use formulas rather than recipes.

For the typical home cook, who's only baking one or two loaves at a time, using volume measurements is perfectly OK.
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post #5 of 10
7/22/09 at 9:02pm
I agree. Although I'm a total geek about these things and I have to know this stuff.
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post #6 of 10
7/24/09 at 2:50pm
Thread Starter 
Thank you for your answers. I will go with 4 1/2 to 5 oz. I know Flour weight is diff on diff days because of moisture content. I live in the Desert and my Flour is mostly very dry exept now in Monsoon season. I do make a lot of Bread and usually fluff and scoop. Will try these diff methods. Thanks again.
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post #7 of 10
7/28/09 at 9:38am
I find even getting an ounce to gram ration is a moving target. Granted it doesn't make a difference in most quantities but in very small or very large - it does. I've seen everything from 1 ounce = 1.25-1.75 grams.
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post #8 of 10
7/28/09 at 11:58am
Hm, I've always understood 1.0 oz = 28.3495 g
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post #9 of 10
7/28/09 at 1:24pm
Me too, Pete. I've never seen it expressed as anything less precise than 28 grams (other than chemists and other lab types, everybody rounds it off).
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post #10 of 10
7/28/09 at 7:55pm
It depends on the flour you're using. One cup of pastry flour weighs a lot less than one cup of high gluten flour (bread flour). In other words you've asked a very very loaded question that begs for nebulous replies. And then there's moisture content to consider. How old is the flour you're using.
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