I thought weighing flour was a waste of time until my bread stopped failing

For years I just scooped flour straight from the bag with a cup. My sourdough was always a bit off, sometimes too dense or flat. A baker friend in Portland told me to weigh it, so I bought a $20 scale. The first loaf I made with 500 grams of flour, exactly, came out perfect. It was the same recipe I'd used before, just measured right. I guess that little bit of extra flour from scooping really does add up. Has anyone else had a simple change fix a long running problem like that?

3 comments

3 Comments

adams.linda23d ago

Ever think about how humidity messes with your flour weight? I had a week where every dough felt wrong, sticky one day and dry the next. Turns out my flour was absorbing moisture from the air on rainy days. Weighing it still helps, but now I check the weather before I bake. That scale showed me the flour itself can change weight before it even goes in the bowl.

king.wyatt23d ago

Oh man, I feel this so much. I fought getting a scale for ages, thought it was just extra fuss. That little bit of extra flour really does throw everything off, doesn't it? Such a simple fix for such a frustrating problem.

angela_grant15d ago

What finally convinced you to get one? I held out for years too, stubborn about just using cups. Did you have one total baking disaster that broke you, or was it a slow build of messed up recipes?