Today I went to visit my sister and to teach her how to make bagels, which, if you follow my blog or know me at all, you would know that I make bagels, I eat bagels, I teach bagel making, and I dream about bagels. You would also know that I have probably made several thousand bagels at this point in my life, and I intend to make several thousand more. Somehow… I, the cake decorator, have become a bagel maker… And I have loved every minute of it, and can’t wait to learn how to perfect this process more and more.
One thing I’ve noticed during this process of learning, however, (and especially because I make different amounts at different times) is that… Baking by weight, when it comes to flour measurement especially, is WAY more dependable than baking by volume.
I grew up baking by volume, and there is a part of me that loves it because it’s “The way my mama does it,” and really, it’s pretty simple. Still, I tried it one time… and depending on how you scoop it, 1 cup of flour can range anywhere from 110 grams in weight to 175 grams in weight. That is a SUBSTANTIAL difference! To break it down, that means that if I make my basic bagel recipe expecting to get five 110 gram cups, measuring by volume could give me up to 325 grams MORE flour than I want, which is about 3 cups extra flour added to my recipe! That is TERRIBLE! By that math, a nice, smooth dough can turn into an unworkable, dry mass of dough. Not ideal at all.
The reason this is on my mind at the moment is because today, baking with my sister, we made bagels – and we ended up with dense, heavy cups of flour (measured by volume), which resulted in a pretty dry, stiff dough. The bagels turned out ok anyway, since we added extra water to moisten it a bit… But wow, does measuring by weight ever make a difference! If you haven’t done it before, today is the day to begin (especially if it involves bagels) – And really, if you aren’t used to it, don’t worry. It isn’t hard: just throw a bowl on a scale, and then shovel in scoops of flour until the weight measures to the right amount.
For your reference, 1 cup of flour on my blog will always be equal to 140 grams.
What’s your experience baking by weight or baking by volume? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Back soon,
–Naomi
[…] When you measure flour by volume (cups), sometimes you end up with more than you need, so your dough… If this is the case, you might need to add a little extra water to this recipe, up to 4 Tbsp. If your dough looks dry, add 1 Tbsp extra water at a time (mixing or kneading after each addition) until the mixture comes together into a well-incorporated dough. Stop adding water when it looks like your dough is coming together, and finish mixing or kneading until it's smooth and elastic, 10-15 minutes as per the directions in step 1. […]