How to Measure

When I bake, I prefer to measure most ingredients by weight because it's so much more accurate than measuring by volume. When it comes to ingredients that provide the structure of a baked good, such as flour, sugar, butter, eggs, and leaveners, accuracy is especially important. However, since I know not everyone has a kitchen scale, I use volumetric measurements when listing ingredients in the recipes I post.

The following charts will assist you in converting volumetric measurements to weight measurements for any of the recipes I've posted. If you'd like to see an even more comprehensive list of ingredient weights, check out this chart created by King Arthur Flour.

If you decide that you'd still rather use volumetric measurements, here are a few things to remember:
  • Use dry measures for dry ingredients and liquid measures for liquid ingredients.
    • Measuring cups and spoons are used for dry ingredients such as flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt, dried fruit, nuts, baking chips, etc. They are also used for wet ingredients that are not liquid, such as butter, shortening, sour cream, and yogurt. 
    • Liquid measuring cups are used for liquid ingredients such as water, milk, vegetable oil, and buttermilk. If a recipe calls for only a small amount of a liquid ingredient, such as vanilla extract,  you can either use measuring spoons or a small liquid measuring cup, like this one.
  • When measuring dry ingredients, ensure accuracy by overfilling the measuring cup or spoon and sweeping off the excess with the back of a butter knife. Ingredients such as brown sugar, shortening, and sour cream should be packed tightly, whereas ingredients such as flour, cocoa powder, and baking chips should  be allowed to settle naturally.
  • When measuring liquid ingredients, ensure accuracy by reading the measuring cup at eye level.

Questions about measuring?