Switching from measuring baking ingredients by volume (cups) to measuring by weight (grams) will improve your baking. Weighing ingredients makes recipes more reproducible and measurements more precise, so results are more consistent from one batch to the next.
If you’re unsure about changing your routine, this article explains why weighing often leads to better outcomes, how to make the switch, and when volume measurements can still be appropriate.
Note: product recommendations are mentioned for clarity, but no external links are provided.
What’s the best way to measure your ingredients in baking?
The tools you use to measure ingredients—measuring cups or a kitchen scale—are largely a matter of habit and where you learned to bake. Technically, if you use any tool correctly and consistently, you can produce good results. That said, many modern professional and home bakers prefer weighing ingredients because it reduces variability. For that reason, recipes increasingly include both volume and weight measurements to suit everyone.
Baking by volume
Baking by volume remains common, especially in countries like the United States and Canada where recipes traditionally list cups and fluid ounces. In metric countries, recipes may list millilitres. Measuring cups are convenient and familiar, and they work well when used consistently—provided you use the same technique the recipe author used. Common sources of variation are whether the flour was sifted before measuring, whether you spoon or scoop, and how compacted the ingredient is.
Baking by weight
Weighing ingredients requires a kitchen scale but delivers greater accuracy and reproducibility. Some modern publications and recipe authors include both grams and cups; this helps bakers of all preferences. Classic recipes like the pound cake are naturally weight-based—traditionally one pound each of butter, sugar, eggs, and flour—which illustrates how straightforward weighing can be when scaling a recipe.
A reliable digital kitchen scale that measures in grams is the most useful tool for baking. Many scales allow you to switch between metric and imperial units, and some models detect very small increments, which is helpful for precise recipes.
Why it is better to weigh baking ingredients
While properly used volume measures can work, cup measurements introduce variability that can affect outcomes—especially in sensitive recipes. Flour is the best example: a cup of flour can range widely in weight depending on how it is measured. If a recipe specifies 100 grams of flour, anyone following it on a scale will measure the same amount. If a recipe calls for 1 cup of flour, that cup might contain anywhere from under 100 grams to 150 grams or more, depending on technique and the measuring tool.
Different reputable sources use different conversions for a cup of all-purpose flour, illustrating how inconsistent volume measurements can be:
- Some cookbook authors and test kitchens list a cup of all-purpose flour between about 125 and 145 grams.
- Other references give lower or higher values depending on whether the flour was sifted or packed.
Because of this variation, weighing flour and other dry ingredients removes ambiguity and improves the likelihood that your results match the recipe developer’s intentions.
For small quantities, stick to measuring by volume
Although I encourage weighing most ingredients, volume measurements can be more reliable for very small quantities—typically under 5–10 grams—such as small amounts of baking powder, baking soda, or salt. Many kitchen scales are not accurate at extremely low weights; inexpensive scales may only be reliably accurate down to about 5–10 grams. For precise small measurements, use a scale designed for fine increments (some precision scales detect 0.5 grams) or use measuring spoons when appropriate.
If you need to weigh tiny amounts frequently, consider investing in a precision scale designed for small increments; hobbyist coffee scales and some dedicated precision models offer finer resolution than standard kitchen scales.
Ratios
Weighing becomes especially useful when working with baking ratios. Ratios expressed by weight clearly define relationships between ingredients. For example, a basic biscuit or shortbread ratio often taught by bakers is 1:2:3 by weight. For a biscuit that would mean 1 part fat, 2 parts liquid, 3 parts flour by weight—easily scaled: 100 g butter, 200 g milk, 300 g flour, or 150 g butter, 300 g milk, 450 g flour.
1:2:3 by weight vs 1:2:3 by volume
Measuring a 1:2:3 recipe by volume instead of weight can produce very different results. I tested a biscuit recipe using 1:2:3 by volume and ended up with a batter more like a thick pancake mixture rather than a dough. When converted to grams, that volume version contained far less flour than the weight-based version, resulting in a cake-like, overly buttery product rather than a proper biscuit. This illustrates how ratios must be interpreted in the same measurement system they were developed in.
Ratios that were developed for volume
Some traditional recipes are intentionally volume-based and were built around a specific container—for example, the French gâteau au yaourt, which uses a yogurt pot as the measuring unit. This cake typically follows a 1:2:3:4 type formula in volume terms (oil:sugar:flour:eggs with the yogurt added as well). In these cases, following the original volume-based method preserves the intended balance of ingredients.
In summary: weighing ingredients gives you precision and repeatability and is particularly valuable for flour and other dry ingredients. Keep volume measuring for small quantities or recipes that were intentionally developed with a particular volume unit. When possible, use the same measurement system the recipe author used, and consider a digital kitchen scale to make your baking more consistent and predictable.
I also have additional writing on the importance of accurate measuring for recipe development and troubleshooting that explores these ideas in more depth.