Part one: Measurements
Revised March, 2011
After two years of misadventures in bread making I (Mr Nut) have learned a lot, mostly the hard way. It is time to reflect and clarify some of the information needed to understand bread ingredients. The sources that have helped over the last two years are:
CookWise by Shirley O. Corriher ©1997.
My bread, the revolutionary No-Work, No-Knead Method by Jim Lahey, © 2009.
Ratio by Michael Ruhlman ©2009.
On Food and Cooking by Harold McGee ©2004.
Kneadlessly Simple by Nancy Baggett © 2009.
Cook’s illustrated Magazine & website.
Today let’s review basic measuring equivalents.
Be careful, remember:
Fluid Ounces = Volume measurement Dry Ounces = Weight measurement
Point of Interest: Tablespoons and teaspoons are a volume measurement. Also Tablespoons are not all the same size: the Australian tablespoon is 20 ml; The British Tablespoon is 17.7 ml; The Canadian tablespoon is usually 15 ml; the American tablespoon is 14.2 ml
Conversion Chart
Dry (Weights) measurements (approximate)
1 ounce = 30 grams (28.35 g)
16 ounces = 1 pound = 454 grams
1 kilogram = 2.2 pounds/35.2 ounces = 1000 grams
Fluid measurements (volume)
3 teaspoons = 1 tablespoon = 5 ml
4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup 59 ml
5 1/3 tablespoons = 1/3 cup = 79 ml
8 tablespoons = 4 fluid ounces = 1/2 cup = 118 ml
16 tablespoons = 8 fluid ounces = 1 cup = 237 ml
Converting fluid ounces to dry ounces: Water is the bridge
1 cup of WATER = 8 fluid ounces = 8 dry ounces = 230 grams (226.8 g)
In cooking, foods are usually measured by one of two means: weight (expressed in ounces or grams) or volume (calculated by how much space an ingredient occupies). The term ounce is familiar to most as a measurement of weight, but when used in the phrase “fluid ounce” it is a volume measurement of liquid, such as water or milk.
If you inspect the side of a liquid measuring cup, you will notice that 8 ounces is exactly 1 cup. This means that 1 cup of milk or water—or a liquid of similar density—weighs 8 ounces. You quickly get into trouble, however, if you use this method with heavier, viscous liquids such as honey or corn syrup or if you use a liquid measuring device to measure dry ingredients by weight. To measure ingredients by weight, use a scale; a liquid measuring cup is good only for measuring by volume.
Measuring Flour: professional bakers weigh the flour rather than just scooping cups of flour. In all my recipes the flour is weighed since I want to be professional. If you use a different flour than called for in a recipe, be prepared to adjust the amount of flour or liquid to get the described dough consistency.
The theory stuff (boring) will be interspersed with the adventurous stuff, like tomorrow making
Cheese Pizza dough will be explored.
À bientôt,
Mr Nut
