Measuring Ingredients

When you bake a few loaves you will start to realize the variables involved with baking. Time, temperature, humidity, weight, density, yeast concentration, water impurities, salt and water %.

One of the biggest variables in creating a good loaf is the percentage of water to flour. This percentage should be in the 65%-85% range.

As one of my favorite publications (Cooks Illustrated) published: Almost No-Knead Bread which is only the recipe, but the accompanying article described that going closer to the 65% water percentage actually helps with the no-knead recipes.

I find the best way to maintain this percentage is to weigh my ingredients vs measuring them. The best example of this is demonstrated in the picture below.



There are two cups of flour that look identical, but one is compacted and weighs 135 grams and the other weighs 180 grams. The 45 gram difference comes from the density of the flour.

I recommend weighing your ingredients for the most accurate baking results. If you don't have a scale handy, at least aerate your flour before use!

-Matt the Weekend Baker