How to measure flour

Have you ever weighed a cup of flour to see if you’re measuring it properly? Chances are, you're adding too much flour to your cup. This quick tip video will show you the most accurate way to measure flour: using a scale. Accurate measurements ensure the best results with our King Arthur Flour recipes.


Instructions: Begin by fluffing your flour. Sprinkle flour into your cup measure until it's overflowing. Using a knife or the back of your scoop, level off the top of the cup measure. A cup of flour measured with this method should weigh 4 1/4 ounces.

Scooping a cup of flour – rather than sprinkling it into the cup – renders a heavier cup, which can greatly affect the way a recipe turns out.

Leave your comments, questions, and thoughts below – we want to hear from you! Our Baker’s Hotline is here to help.

[austinseph]

Honestly measuring things in grams is just so much more accurate and I don't waste time cleaning measuring cups and spoons... It's just a superior way of doing things. One person's cup is never going to be the same as another's, but no matter where you go 100g is the same. I started out with cups/spoons but after I started using a scale it was as easy as pouring everything in and going. I'll never go back and everything is always consistent!

[mack.attack]

I actually gasped at the much higher scale reading, haha. I wasn't expecting it to be that much of a difference!

[firthmirth]

The number ONE mistake most people make when baking bread is having too much flour kneaded into the dough. For most recipes, the dough should still be fairly sticky prior to the first rise. After that first rise, it may have lost 99% of the stickiness (after kneading for a minute). For normal table bread, I find that it turns out best if you use even less flour, aiming for dough that is still a bit sticky after that first rise. Measure carefully and tune it for each batch, taking pencil notes right in your cook book for how much liquid (measure exactly) and flour you used.

[eggxecution]

my number one mistake is not using weighing scale. I never knew I needed it until I realized that most recipes are measured in grams not cups

[gobadgers]

Thank you so much for this simple video. After having failed repeatedly to make bread I realized that I've been measuring the flour all wrong, basically packing it into the measuring cup. Thanks!!

[ncvital]

Oh wow, thank you for this video absolutely needed that. Just started to bake my own bread and followed a recipe I found and could not figure out what went wrong. From the start I was measuring incorrectly. I will be watching your playlist of how to bread. Thank you! Where can I find a container like that to hold my flour?

[kfirefly]

I had my theories about this and your video confirmed, time to get out the scale!! Thank you! This also explains the inconsistencies I was experiencing in my baking projects

[johnwilde]

I recently used the preferred method, with a soup spoon instead of a scoop, and I think I ended up with too little flour by weight. I give up. I just ordered a food scale.

[SwearMY]

That's what I did wrong. Hadn't baked for years and forgot that.

[firthmirth]

Wow... I've been baking for 45 years (and 3 wives) and this is EXACTLY how I measure flour ... it's the only way that produces a consistent cup of flour. Scooping with the measuring cup is wrong (packs it too much). Measure it like this and the recipe you make will turn out right ... measure it by scooping and your recipe will be dry and hard (I'm thinking in terms of bread here). This is why pro (and advanced amateurs) weigh their flour instead of measuring by volume ... and even that varies by season due to changes in humidity. In any case, the method shown here is the fastest method to measure a 98% accurate cup of flour :)

[luizcarlosmezomo]

Good morning. I am from Brazil and I started watching the King Arthur Flour videos. I would like to know how/where to buy the recipient that is keeping the flour in this video. Regards

[soniacharlessc]

When a recipe call for 1.6 of flour how do I measure that without a scale?

[sambaseck]

Fuckkkk I have to watch this for school

[markles]

Do I still have to fluff it if I am going to weigh it at 4.25 ounces anyway?

[GlenAndFriendsCooking]

Worldwide - so if the recipe is in 'cups' make sure you know what size cup.