Steven wrote:
>I assume that 1 cup of flour is equal to 8 ounces or 228 grams). However
>converting liquid measures from teaspoons, tablespoons and cups to grams
>has left me scratching my head.
I have been weighing my ingredients for a while now (I usually make 4
loaves at a time) and the weight of 1 cup of flour depends greatly on the
type of flour. I can tell you that Peter Reinhart states the 1 cup of
flour is 4.5oz or 127.6g - I measured 1 cup of my flour (freshly milled
whole wheat) to be anywhere from 130 to 150 depending on how much I tap it
down (fresh milled has a lot of air in it and should be tapped down) so it
really depends on how you measure - I can say this, since I started using
the 4.5oz measure I have been a lot happier with my bread - think I was
adding too much flour before.
I do liquid measures in ounces (I actually do all my measures in ounces -
it's much easier for me to use baker's percentages that way) 8 oz of water
is a cup. When I have small measure (like tsp/tbls) I still use tsp and
tbls because my scale is only accurate to 1/4 ounce or 5g - that's not
granular enough to measure small amounts and I don't want to shell out big
bucks for a better scale (just yet anyway :) But 1 tsp of salt will weight
less more than 1 tsp of flour so it's a matter of getting to know your
ingredients...look at the label it should say serving size (like for salt
say 1/4 tsp and then in parenthesis how many grams) that can give you an
idea - or else measure the amount first and weight it - then record it for
future reference. If you don't have a granular enough scale, stick with
the spoons. (to figure tsp/tbls I just assume from 48 tsp in a cup for
liquid or dry and go from there)
It takes a bit of getting use to but for larger measures (1/4 cup and
higher) it works well for me.
Reinhart treats milk, buttermilk and water as the same (8 oz per cup) - oil
and honey is a bit different. Again I measure in a cup and weigh it to use
going forward.
One final question today if I may. I find it easier to fit bread-making
into my schedule when retarding dough than when proofing it at room
temperature. I usually use a total of 2% yeast in my recipes (benchmarked
against the flour). Should I reduce the amount I use for dough's that are
retarded? If so by how much?
Good question - I have not attempted artisan loaves just yet (since we
don't eat processed food, it's enough keeping up with our sandwich bread
needs) However, I have used poolish and biga to good effect (especially on
flavor) and I think the 2% rule total yeast is a good one (what kind of
yeast are you using?) - I posted a question about yeast amounts when
converting a same day sponge to an overnight biga - perhaps you can provide
some input there...anyway am interested in figuring out weather retardation
of the final dough would provide additional benefits in my standard dough
(it is enhanced with honey and such so not sure if I can retard the final
dough)
Thanks!
Sandra