Did you know that there is a right way to measure flour?
I didn’t. When the recipe said 1 cup of flour, I simply just scooped the flour into a measuring cup.
It took me a while to finally learn that this is not an accurate method (Don’t worry, that was my pre-blogging days).
The WRONG Way to Measure Flour
When you measure by volume using a measuring cup, the actual amount of flour you use varies based on different factors:
- The way you scooped the flour.
- How tightly you packed it.
If a recipe calls for a cup of flour, you could end up with a different amount each time. And this can affect your final results, especially when it comes to baking recipes.
Many of us learn how to measure flour just like how I illustrated below. Turns out it is an imprecise (incorrect) way. 🙅🏻♀️
Let’s take a look! One cup of flour was 145 grams (5.1 oz). I tried it again, and this time was 141 grams (5 oz). Give it a try and see how much flour you get with this method.
Now, The RIGHT Way to Measure Flour
First of all, you must remember this:
1 cup of flour = 120 g (4.2 oz)
Do you remember that the wrong method above gave me 145 grams of flour? That’s 25 grams (roughly 3 tablespoons) more flour than what I needed!
Now, scroll down and I’ll show you the right way to measure flour with step-by-step pictures below.
My Favorite Kitchen Scale
To test my recipes precisely, I use a kitchen scale for baking because weighing flour with a kitchen scale will give you the most accurate measurement every single time.
Most Popular JOC Baking Recipes
- Japanese Souffle Cheesecake
- Japanese Strawberry Shortcake
- Earl Grey Chiffon Cake
- Matcha Marbled Pound Cake
- Green Tea Cookies
- Shokupan (Japanese Milk Bread)
Wish to learn more about Japanese cooking? Sign up for our free newsletter to receive cooking tips & recipe updates! And stay in touch with me on Facebook, Pinterest, YouTube, and Instagram.
How to Measure Flour (The Right Way)
Ingredients
Any of the flours below
- all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- cake flour
- bread flour
Instructions
- Fluff up the flour in the bag or container. Flour is tightly packed inside the bag or container. To avoid packed flour, you need to fluff it up with a spoon before you measure it.
- Using a spoon, sprinkle the flour into the measuring cup. Gently pile it in until it forms a heap above the rim of the measuring cup. Never pack the flour down.
- Scrape a knife across the top of the measuring cup to level the flour. This way, you’ll get rid of excess flour on top of the cup without packing down the flour inside.
- 1 cup of leveled all-purpose flour should weigh 120 grams (4.2 oz).
Did you make this recipe?
Tag @justonecookbook on Instagram so we can see your delicious creation!