December 3, 2020 - 6:30pm
Weight Measurements in Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book
I just purchased a copy of Laurel's Kitchen Bread Book. I was thumbing through it and found that the weight measurements for flour were 25% higher than the King Arthur weights (150 g per cup vs 120 g per cup). Should I follow the recipes as written using the weights provided, or should I use the more common 120 g per cup? At 150 g per cup, the hydration seems a little low.
Any info from actual bakes will be much appreciated.
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Check in your book. I think she has a method of contact. May she will reach out to you.
Good catch. “A loaf for learning” is worth the price of the book. Wished she would have written a version for sourdough.
Danny
Lots of the older books were using the "scoop and sweep" method for a cup of flour, where you just dipped your cup in the flour and swept off the top to equal a cup. The newest version is the "spoon and sweep" method where you spoon your flour into the cup and sweep off the top to equal a cup. There can be quite a difference, as you have seen.
Back in the early part of the 2000s "Cooks Illustrated" magazine had AP flour at 5 oz and Bread flour at 5.5 oz per cup. I think King Arthur was a little closer to today's measurements and listed 1 lb of flour as 3.5 to 4 cups.
With that in mind, your best bet for experimenting is to error on the heavy side of weight and take good notes.
Dave
Rock is correct that Laurel recommends the "scoop and sweep" method of measuring flour. Her cup probably weighs more that the King Arthur figure.
EDIT: Thinking more about this matter, if Laurel uses proportionately more flour, she probably also uses more liquid. I've made many recipes from her book and they usually turn out fine (with any fault lying with the baker, not the author!).