Hi guys

I've been reading the forums and I see a lot references to the pros of baking by weight instead of measuring cups etc.

I have done a google search as well a search on the forums, but both come up with confusing results, so I apologise if this has been answered elsewhere before.

Can someone explain how to measure by weight, and does it apply to liquids as well or just dry ingredients?

I've heard of some complicated maths equation, but thats not something I want to get into (I suck at math haha) so the simpler the better.

Hope this makes sense, thanks in advance!

Get a scale!! I have an OXO Digital scale. It measures ounces and grams. I just noticed you are in South Africa and I'm not sure what youre measuring unit is there. For imperial you can just go online and find a chart to convert imperial (1cup=8 ounces, 1/8 cup = 1 ounce, etc...) and then way it on a scale and make sure you have exactly the proper weight needed. Or find a chart converting imperial to metric (1 gram = 0.035 oz.).. You can either do the math yourself (which I do not like to do) or plug in the measurement you have into a conversion table and they will convert it for you and then you use your scale to weigh.The website I went to is ...
www.asknumbers.com
...but there are many websites out ther that do the same thing.I hope this helps

Yes I have a scale

We use the metric system in SA (ie cups, grams, kilograms, not ounces or pounds).

So basically its just finding out the weight equivilent of something and remembering that when weighing it? Hmm, isnt it time consuming to convert all your recipes and/or remember the equivilents?

But seems like I already do the conversion thing so perhaps I'm on the right track

Thanks! (PS any more info is always appreciated)

I SO MUCH prefer measuring by weight. Since everyone does things differently, my 1 cup of flour might not be as much as your 1 cup of flour based on how you scoop it.

This is my favorite place to reference... http://www.sweetnapa.com/volume-to-weight-ingredient-conversion

I LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOOOOOVVVVVEEEE my scale!!!!!! I took a day and measured everything with a measuring cup about 5 times each. I took the #s and came up with an avg weight, so now I know that one cup of flour is 6oz....(example, do not use this measurement, not sure if thats right I am not looking at my chart!) Anyways, I will start with my flour, put my bowl on the scale, dump it in until i get the weight I need. I have another small bowl for sugar....I still use a measuring spoon for things like vanilla or salt though....its faster and easier just to do it that way over measuring out one teaspoon of vanilla!! Get a scale and start playing with it, and keep a record of every time you measure, and calculate an average weight for each item. HTH!!

Look for conversion charts on line there are a lot of them available. Then just smiply convert your recipes to weight. You end up with a much more uniform product with weight then with any other kind of measurement.

I write all my weighted measurements right on the recipes in my cook books.

Tails, my favorite go-to conversion website is www.convert-me.com - it has specifically cooking conversions for weight vs volume, etc. All the best!

You guys rock!

using a scale is great, not just for the ingredients, but i also put my cake pan on the scale, zero it out and then pour in the batter to a certain amount that way all cake sizes have the right amount of batter.

I use a scale. I premeasured ingredients that I use the most. Also, bulk mixes come with weight directions-even the water and oil. I also like to weigh each pan to make sure they have equal amount of ingredient before baking.

Thanks for that idea, sweetcakes....I need that and never thought of it, hehe.