Baking for Dummies #1: How to Measure Ingredients Correctly

 Measuring Ingredients Correctly

Welcome to the first post of my blog, Baking for Dummies! Today, we will be diving into one of the first things you should probably know when you start to bake. How to measure your ingredients correctly is key to being able to create baked items that don't look (or taste) utterly ridiculous. We will go over the two main ways to measure certain ingredients: how to measure dry ingredients and how to measure wet ingredients. And yes, there is a difference.

Dry Ingredients

The dry ingredients of a recipe consist of things such as flour, sugar, cocoa power, and much more. They are usually the first things to be measured out in a recipe and are the most basic ingredients found in any type of baked goods. To measure these, you should use measuring cups, which are small handheld scoops that have a certain measurement on them. The most basic ones have labels such as “1 cup”, “1/2 cup”, “1/4 cup”, and so on. In addition, to measure dry ingredients such as baking powder, baking soda, and salt, you use measuring spoons. These are the same type of design as measuring cups but are much smaller in size and have labels such as “1 tablespoon” or “1 teaspoon”.

Now, when you have all your ingredients set out and are ready to start measuring, first make sure you are measuring the correct ingredient with the corresponding measurement! All recipes will have something along the lines of “you need 2 cups of flour” or “measure 1 tablespoon of baking soda” in it, so make sure to follow those instructions carefully. When you have your ingredient and measurement amount ready, let’s say 2 cups of flour for example, scoop your measuring cup into the bag of flour until the measuring cup is full. Then, take a knife and scrape off the excess (remember, you want the exact amount)! Boom! You successfully scooped out one cup of flour! You can then put it into your bowl you will be mixing the rest of the ingredients in and get your other scoop of flour.

 

Wet Ingredients

The wet ingredients of a recipe consist of things such as water, milk, oil, vinegar, and more. To measure these, you really use the same method as the dry ingredients, but with liquid measuring cups! These types of measuring cups are usually made of glass and have the measuring amounts along the sides in big lines. To measure wet ingredients, follow the same steps as the dry ingredients, but instead of scooping pour your ingredient into the cup until you reach the desired measurement. It is best to measure when your eye is level with the line that you want to fill your ingredient to because it makes your measurements more precise.

Well, that should do it. You now know how to measure ingredients correctly. 

See you all again next week for another blog post. Happy baking!