Comments on: The Right Weigh http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/ Notes from my kitchen, in which I bake bread and raise a few other matters Mon, 06 Oct 2008 20:00:26 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.1 By: blog from OUR kitchen » Rats! sour wild bread again! http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-3488 blog from OUR kitchen » Rats! sour wild bread again! Wed, 28 May 2008 09:46:07 +0000 http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-3488 [...] Eeek!!! Might I have to follow Susan’s (Wild Yeast) advice to weigh the ingredients? [...] [...] Eeek!!! Might I have to follow Susan’s (Wild Yeast) advice to weigh the ingredients? [...]

]]> By: Johanna http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2932 Johanna Sat, 22 Mar 2008 06:36:48 +0000 http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2932 I see the sense in what you say but I am wedded to my cup measurements. However I have recently got electric scales and am starting to weigh more so things might change. Unfortunately I am proof of the wisdom of scales - yesterday I made hot cross buns which required 4 cups of flour which the recipe said was 600g and then I made bread which required 4 cups of flour which the recipe said was 450g! I did a double take and knew something somewhere was wrong. I think one of my problems is using Australian cup measurements which are slightly different to American ones. Both buns and bread taste good so I am now confused about which one should have been different! I see the sense in what you say but I am wedded to my cup measurements. However I have recently got electric scales and am starting to weigh more so things might change.

Unfortunately I am proof of the wisdom of scales - yesterday I made hot cross buns which required 4 cups of flour which the recipe said was 600g and then I made bread which required 4 cups of flour which the recipe said was 450g! I did a double take and knew something somewhere was wrong. I think one of my problems is using Australian cup measurements which are slightly different to American ones. Both buns and bread taste good so I am now confused about which one should have been different!

]]> By: zorra http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2791 zorra Tue, 04 Mar 2008 10:04:39 +0000 http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2791 I'm 100% with you. I hate cup recipes. ;-) I’m 100% with you. I hate cup recipes. ;-)

]]> By: Allison http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2783 Allison Mon, 03 Mar 2008 20:08:26 +0000 http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2783 I have to say since I have been baking recipes from your site - that baking my bread by weight gives me a much more consistent product. I was thinking how great my scale is just the other day. So thanks! I have to say since I have been baking recipes from your site - that baking my bread by weight gives me a much more consistent product. I was thinking how great my scale is just the other day. So thanks!

]]> By: Susan http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2778 Susan Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:57:41 +0000 http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2778 Slothbear, since grams are, as you say, a measure of mass, if I took my gram of flour to the moon and "weighed" it on the moonling's scale, which would be calibrated for moon gravity, it would still read one gram. Slothbear, since grams are, as you say, a measure of mass, if I took my gram of flour to the moon and “weighed” it on the moonling’s scale, which would be calibrated for moon gravity, it would still read one gram.

]]> By: slothbear http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2777 slothbear Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:47:06 +0000 http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2777 I love your blog, and your photos always inspire me to bake. I've been making all the bread for my family for a year now, and love using the scale. I'm always using a new recipe (so many to try!); consistent weight is not so important to me. I do enjoy the Mad Scientist Feeling I get as I'm upending bags of flour and bottles into a single pot. Speaking of science, since this article is about accuracy, I feel compelled to mention a significant technical inaccuracy. While 'the moon' makes for great alliteration, a gram is not a gram on the moon*. Gravity on the moon is about 1/6 that of earth gravity, so your "gram" of flour on the moon would weigh 6 grams on earth, transforming your bagel into a bowl of dry flour with a lump in the middle. If you're still somewhere on earth, weights do change a bit as gravity varies by latitude, geology, altitude, and topography (among other things). No practical difference though, so I'll stop boring you. Here's an interesting article on Feeling Lighter on a Mountain: http://www.npl.co.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.2092 * The gram is a measure of mass, which *is* the same from Minneapolis to the moon to Mimas. It is commonly used as an expression of weight, and you're safe as long as you stay home on Earth. I love your blog, and your photos always inspire me to bake.

I’ve been making all the bread for my family for a year now, and love using the scale. I’m always using a new recipe (so many to try!); consistent weight is not so important to me. I do enjoy the Mad Scientist Feeling I get as I’m upending bags of flour and bottles into a single pot.

Speaking of science, since this article is about accuracy, I feel compelled to mention a significant technical inaccuracy. While ‘the moon’ makes for great alliteration, a gram is not a gram on the moon*. Gravity on the moon is about 1/6 that of earth gravity, so your “gram” of flour on the moon would weigh 6 grams on earth, transforming your bagel into a bowl of dry flour with a lump in the middle.

If you’re still somewhere on earth, weights do change a bit as gravity varies by latitude, geology, altitude, and topography (among other things). No practical difference though, so I’ll stop boring you. Here’s an interesting article on Feeling Lighter on a Mountain: http://www.npl.co.uk/server.php?show=ConWebDoc.2092

*
The gram is a measure of mass, which *is* the same from Minneapolis to the moon to Mimas. It is commonly used as an expression of weight, and you’re safe as long as you stay home on Earth.

]]> By: Susan http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2773 Susan Mon, 03 Mar 2008 06:54:39 +0000 http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2773 Ulrike, my tablespoon holds 14 g of oil. Another example of why we need weights! Baking Soda, your scale sounds perfect and the brushed steel wouldn't bother me, I think I'd rather like it. Gretchen Noelle, my voice is getting hoarse, thank goodness it's not all for naught! Tanna, I mark up my books the same way, in pencil as I'm working then in pen once I know it's right. Lien, agreed, metric units are so much easier to work with than pounds and ounces. But if the scale can switch to either one it's not so bad. Vicci, glad you found me, welcome! Laura, I do same as you, try to use the same measuring method as the author. Otherwise I estimate at 140 g per cup. Abbey, thanks. Can you give a link to that info? Let me clarify that I am not necessarily endorsing the above scales (except the i5000, which I have and love). I hope that anyone considering a purchase would research it to his/her satisfaction. My list was simply by way of saying that there are a number of scales out there that meet the criteria that I would minimally look for if I were going to purchase one. Ulrike, my tablespoon holds 14 g of oil. Another example of why we need weights!

Baking Soda, your scale sounds perfect and the brushed steel wouldn’t bother me, I think I’d rather like it.

Gretchen Noelle, my voice is getting hoarse, thank goodness it’s not all for naught!

Tanna, I mark up my books the same way, in pencil as I’m working then in pen once I know it’s right.

Lien, agreed, metric units are so much easier to work with than pounds and ounces. But if the scale can switch to either one it’s not so bad.

Vicci, glad you found me, welcome!

Laura, I do same as you, try to use the same measuring method as the author. Otherwise I estimate at 140 g per cup.

Abbey, thanks. Can you give a link to that info? Let me clarify that I am not necessarily endorsing the above scales (except the i5000, which I have and love). I hope that anyone considering a purchase would research it to his/her satisfaction. My list was simply by way of saying that there are a number of scales out there that meet the criteria that I would minimally look for if I were going to purchase one.

]]> By: Abbey http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2771 Abbey Mon, 03 Mar 2008 01:59:17 +0000 http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2771 I totally agree with your post Susan, except for one little part: I wouldn't recommend the Escali scale, based upon what I read about the lack of consistent quality (large quantities of no-name scales are purchased cheap and have the Escali label slapped on them, and voila, the Escali scale) of the Escalis in a digital scale online magazine. I totally agree with your post Susan, except for one little part: I wouldn’t recommend the Escali scale, based upon what I read about the lack of consistent quality (large quantities of no-name scales are purchased cheap and have the Escali label slapped on them, and voila, the Escali scale) of the Escalis in a digital scale online magazine.

]]> By: Laura http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2770 Laura Mon, 03 Mar 2008 01:17:06 +0000 http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2770 I love weighing ingredients--I vastly prefer it. But thanks to so many US cookbooks only providing volume measurements I found I was better off searching for how that cookbook author measured the flour and then emulating that for that recipe. I used to use King Arthur's measurement (in ounces) for flour but it became apparent they are on the skimpy side for a lot of other recipes. What do you do when you are baking from a recipe that only gives volume? I love weighing ingredients–I vastly prefer it. But thanks to so many US cookbooks only providing volume measurements I found I was better off searching for how that cookbook author measured the flour and then emulating that for that recipe. I used to use King Arthur’s measurement (in ounces) for flour but it became apparent they are on the skimpy side for a lot of other recipes.

What do you do when you are baking from a recipe that only gives volume?

]]> By: Vicci http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2768 Vicci Sun, 02 Mar 2008 19:36:47 +0000 http://www.wildyeastblog.com/2008/03/02/weigh-your-ingredients/#comment-2768 I couldn't live without my scale-- I even take it on vacation (where I also bake since being on vacation is no excuse to start eating store-bought bread...). I just found your site and love it! :) ~Vicci I couldn’t live without my scale– I even take it on vacation (where I also bake since being on vacation is no excuse to start eating store-bought bread…).

I just found your site and love it! :)

~Vicci

]]>