Measuring Dry Ingredients

When baking pastry, cakes and the like, measuring the dry ingredients accurately is critical. Unlike other cooking methods, where measurements are often just a guide and you should taste and adjust seasonings as you go, when baking there is no room for such personal flourishes. The chemistry of baking is such that it is vital to stick to the quantities given. Baking is so easy once you know how to get the measurements right. Hints for getting it right:

• Use one standard of measurement only. Don’t swap and change between metric and imperial in the one recipe.

• Keep a laminated copy of a Conversion Chart handy.

• One of my favourite cookbooks is the brilliant Cake Bible, by Rose Levy Beranbaum, where quantities in all recipes are given in ounces and grams, but I still come across recipes where I have to convert measurements.

The Village Baker’s Wife by Gayle and Joe Ortiz gives the following hints for measuring dry ingredients:

• Do not measure over the mixing bowl.

• Measure dry ingredients by fluffing them up with a large spoon, then spooning them into the measuring container, one spoon at a time.

• Use a flat knife to remove excess by levelling the top.

• Do not tamp down or shake the measuring cup during this process. (The usual exception is brown sugar which is often packed into the cup.)

• When a recipe calls for ‘1 cup sifted flour’, the flour should be sifted before it is measured. Sometimes you may need to mix this sifted flour with other dry ingredients, like spices, so sift again to mix them together. On the other hand if the recipe calls for  ‘1 cup icing sugar, sifted’,  you should measure first and sift afterwards.

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