Working with Flour
Chances are you have flour stored somewhere in your house, and you probably measure it out for recipes quite often. But are you doing it correctly? Read on to find out.
Storing Flour
To make measuring neat and easy, we recommend storing flour in a large wide-mouthed airtight container. Whole-wheat flour contains more fat than refined flours like all-purpose and can turn rancid quickly at room temperature. For this reason, we recommended storing all whole-grain flours in the freezer. We keep refined flours in the pantry away from light and heat. Of course, refined flours certainly can go into the freezer, too. However, make sure to bring all flours kept in the freezer back to room temperature before using them. (Cold flour can inhibit rise in bread and yield dense loaves.)
Weigh Like the Pros
The way you measure flour can make a big difference in your recipe. Too little flour can turn out baked goods that are flat, wet, or lacking in structure. Too much flour can result in tough, dry baked goods. A digital scale will give you the most accurate measurement and is the method professional bakers use. In addition to flour, we also recommend weighing sugar.
The Dip-and-Sweep Method
For the ultimate in accuracy, nothing beats weighing flour, but our research has shown that the dip-and-sweep method is also reliable. (You might be surprised to learn that if you are spooning your flour into a measuring cup and then leveling it off, you could end up with 20 percent less flour than the dip-and-sweep method.)
To use the Dip-and-Sweep Method: Dip the measuring cup into the container of flour and sweep away the excess with a straight-edged object like the back of a butter knife or small icing spatula.
