How I measure flour using the “scoop-and-sweep” method

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When people write to tell me that their dough seems “too wet,” the first question I ask is: how are you measuring?  Because I measured with the “scoop-and-sweep” method, not the “spoon-and-sweep” method.–view the video to see exactly how I do it.

American recipes usually are based on volumes, measured with standardized measuring cups.  If you press down into the flour bin (use a flour bin, not the flour’s bag), you’ll compress and get too much flour.  If you use the “spoon-and-sweep” method, where a spoon is used to gently fill the measuring cup before sweeping, you’ll get too little flour into the cup.  Likewise, don’t “aerate” the flour by mixing it or whisking before measuring; that will lighten the cup.

If you do it the way I tested it (and use flours like the standard ones I tested with), you’ll get results like you see in our photos and videos.  You can also consider weighing flour, using the weight equivalents that appear in all our books starting in 2009. There’s more about using weighing flour in this post; I use this scale.

Side issue: ignore what I said in the video (made some years ago) about bleached flour absorbing less water than unbleached–it’s not true anymore. Modern bleaching doesn’t include anything that decreases protein content. I prefer unbleached flour just to avoid the chemicals and because I love the richer color of the crumb that you get with unbleached, but it won’t affect the measuring or the ability to absorb water.

Note: BreadIn5.com is reader supported. When you buy through links on the site, BreadIn5 LLC earns commissions.

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122 thoughts to “How I measure flour using the “scoop-and-sweep” method”

  1. My last few batches have been wetter and I always use a smaller cup to fill my measuring cup. I’m going to try it this way to see if it helps. Thank you for the great tip!! I was always worried I’d get too much flour this way.

    1. Yes– this has been very common among our readers, and it’s taken us a while to figure out that a lot of people have had trouble with it.

  2. On my last batch of dough, I had trouble getting a smooth cloche on top. It kept breaking apart. I’ve made many batches and it’s never happened before– any ideas?

    1. Hi Sarah,

      Sounds like this dough may have been a bit drier than the previous batches. This can also happen if the dough is particularly cold, letting it sit on the counter for several minutes before shaping can often help.

      Thanks, Zoë

  3. Containers such as the one Jeff is showing are readily available at your local restaurant supply house and retail-type food service stores. Containers and tops are available in a few different materials and in round/square shapes. Tops are typically sold separately.

    For flours, I use a round 4qt. (no corners for the flour to get stuck into), which has enough room for perhaps 7# of flour. I use a square 6qt for dough.

    While there, buy a nice stainless & wood bench knife for $3-4. They sell for $15+ at most stores. They are great for cutting a portion of dough from the square container.

  4. Hi Jeff,

    Love your gluten free recipes – worth the price of the book alone! My initial attempts resulted in a very wet dough (I have watched the video). I was wondering if you could tell me how much a cup of brown rice flour, a cup of sorghum flour and a cup of tapioca flour weighs? I believe the volume of the cups we use in Australia are different to the ones you use in USA – 250 mls/cup in Aust as opposed to 240 mls in US? This may be the cause of my wet doughs?

    Thanks for you time.

    1. Bronwyn: I don’t have any of those flours in the house at the moment and can’t test them– unfortunately we never did weight equivalents. Let me do a few things and get back here…

    2. Hi Bronwyn,

      Here are the weights for the flours you requested.

      Tapioca: 1 cup = 4 1/4 ounces = 122g

      Sorghum: 1 cup = 4 3/4 ounces = 133g

      Brown Rice Flour: 1 cup = 5 1/2 ounces = 158g

      Corn Starch: 1 cup = 4 1/2 ounces = 128g

      Thanks, Zoë

  5. I’d been hoping that the “healthy” version would have the weights listed in the recipes themselves. That’s been my only real complaint with these books – otherwise they’ve been great.

    1. Hi Dave,

      We agree that weights are the best way to go and it is very exciting that many more people are baking by weights. Thank you for the feedback, we will be sure to bring it up with our publisher for book #3.

      Thanks, Zoë

  6. What about including weight measures? It is quite easy to stick the bucket on top of the scale and add flour until it reaches the correct weight.

    I appreciate recipes that include both so I can take the guesswork out of conversions or scooping!

  7. Before I measure, I use a table fork to “fluff” up the flour. This has improved the consistency of my dough.

    1. Hi Debbie,

      We usually tell people not to do this because it may be overly aerated, but if you are getting a great result we can’t argue with that! 🙂

      Thanks, Zoë

  8. Zoe said: “We agree that weights are the best way to go and it is very exciting that many more people are baking by weights. Thank you for the feedback, we will be sure to bring it up with our publisher for book #3.”

    I think the ideal would be to put both weight and volume measurements so that the reader can choose the method. Not everyone has a scale, but those of us who do find it difficult to translate volume measurements because different sources give different weights for the same volume of a particular ingredient.

    If people want to continue volume measurements they can, but they might get inspired to use weight instead.

    And for your international readers, metric weights make sense (also for American readers–metric is so much easier to deal with). American volume measuring cups and spoons are not always readily available in other countries.

  9. I agree with Dave. I always use weight and the 5 ounce per cup on the AP flour. This always gives me perfect results.

  10. I love your Artisan Bread in 5! One trick I’ve tried is to let my loaf rise on cornmeal sprinkled parchment paper & then transfer that to the baking stone. You don’t need a pizza peel then! Makes for easy clean up, also.

  11. Hi Zoe and Jeff,

    Thanks for your very quick responses to my query about GF flour weights. I made a new batch of the GF crusty boule dough today and it was perfect (even if I do say so myself!). Baked perfectly – couldn’t wait to refrigerate it overnight – and tastes wonderful!

    Thanks so much, Bronwyn.

  12. Like Dave, I’ve been a bit frustrated that I have to calculate all of the weights by hand.

    It would be incredibly helpful if you would post a supplementary PDF to the website that has _all_ of the weight/volume conversions. I’ve tried to use the table from the second book, but it’s missing many ingredients. The table also only includes one entry for each ingredient, and it would be more helpful if, say for whole wheat, an entry for 7 cups, another entry for 6 cups, etc.

    As is, it usually takes me 10 to 15 minutes each time I try a new recipe to multiply out the numbers that are in the table, and then to find some volumetric scoops to figure out the conversions for the other ingredients. This would go so much faster if there were a complete table that I could slip in the book cover.

    Thanks for everything you’ve done with the book. It’s been well worth the trouble of multiplying out the measures. 🙂

    1. Hi Andrew,

      The feedback we are getting on this is very helpful and will no doubt shape how we do the next book. We will start to compile all of the data to make a comprehensive list.

      Thank you, Zoë

  13. I made up a cheat sheet of my favorite bread recipes and taped it to the inside of a cabinet. I did the weight conversion one time for the cheat sheet.

    As I try more recipes and have more successes, I plan on adding them to the list.

  14. Hi Zoe and Jeff,
    I am IN LOVE with your first book! I found out about it recently and have been baking bread nonstop ever since. I’m a graduate student, usually way too busy (and lazy!) to cook decent meals, so baking bread never even entered my mind as something I could do myself at home. Your book totally changed my life! Anyway, enough gushing… I had a question about your olive oil dough recipe – you have a recipe for focaccia with onion and rosemary, and I was wondering if I wanted to just make focaccia using the olive oil dough recipe but without the onion, could I follow still the recipe as is, or would certain steps be different, like the oven temp?

    Thanks!!!

    -Adeline

    1. Adeline: There’s a chance the rosemary might have a tendency to brown without the protection of the onions. Could turn down the heat a bit, or bake closer to the bottom of the oven. But it might not make a diff at all.

      Thanks for the kind words!

  15. I’ve found that generic unbleached flour yielded a very wet dough. It looked like the protein content was the same as the national brands so I thought it’d be fine but that wasn’t the case. I used it up by mixing it with a national brand, but I won’t be buying generic again.

    Thanks Jeff and Zoe for making it all so easy!

    1. Janet: Add that in to the files of the “bread mysteries completely unexplained.” Probably the grind? Who knows, but I’m glad it’s working for you. Jeff

  16. Zoe and Jeff,
    Is there a way to reduce the strong flavor from the yeast required in the recipe? I find it has a very strong taste in the final product. I am using the amount indicated in the recipes. Perhaps some brands have a stronger taste than others. Can you provide any insight to this? I really don’t like the taste. It adds a wine/vinegar flavor to the bread

    1. Michael: Click on the FAQs tab above, then look for the question about decreasing the yeast. You may be one of those folks who are sensitive to the flavor or commercial yeast, and we use a full dose in the recipes; it can easily be decreased. Check it out and see what you think.

      Also, be sure you are venting the container in the 1st 48 hours.

  17. I just bought your book and so far I’ve made your basic white peasant loaf, a sandwich bread, and some cinnamon rolls. I love the method, I’ve always felt really intimidated by kneading and its kept me away from bread baking. The flavor is great but nothing is seeming to rise the right way and it’s quite dense. Looking at some pictures you’ve posted it looks like after you mix it yours rises quite a bit, and is really bubbly and watery, mine isnt bubbly at all, it seems much thicker and doesnt double in size, though it does grow a bit.
    I am using the method described above to measure my flour (i used unbleached all purpose white) and after reading the FAQ I tried adding 1/3 cup extra water to no avail. My kitchen is quite drafty and cold and increasing the rise time did seem to help some but not enough.
    Any tips?
    PS I just ADORE the book and all my friends are tryign to get a copy now too!

    1. Courtney: What brand of flour are you using? Have you seen the FAQ on dense results (see tab above). Something is different, we’ll try to help figure it out with you. What’s the temperature in your kitchen? Jeff

  18. I just bought the Healthy Bread book and have a question. Several times on the website and in the book it mentioned freezing the dough. But I can’t find how you recommend freezing the dough. Could you give any hints on this?
    Thanks

    1. Kori: Wrap it well in plastic– I use ziplock bags. Airtight plastic containers are another possibility, I sometimes do that. Most effective way is to freeze in 1-pound portions so you can overnight-defrost the dough in the fridge and you can use up the entire piece. It’s not as effective to freeze-defrost-break off a piece-refreeze. Each refreezing causes a little loss of rising power.

  19. My kitchen is fairy cold, probably 65 degrees? And my flour is generic. Im almost out so perhaps I will buy one of the brands you use and leave the rest of my generic for pancakes and cookies.

    1. Hi Courtney,

      When you add the water is it warm or on the cool side? If you use cold water it just takes much longer for the yeast to activate. Your kitchen is a touch cool so the warm, but not hot, water may help.

      When you form the loaf let it rise for an extra 20-30 minutes to see if that helps the dense crumb.

      Thanks, Zoë

  20. this is a really stupid question but here goes: is there any way to salvage the recipe for whole wheat mixed berry bread (HBI5) if I forgot to put in the yeast? (The dough has been resting now for 2 hours and I just realized why it’s not rising….)

    sigh.

    1. Hi Polly,

      Make a wet paste with the yeast and 1 tablespoon of water. You can put the dough in a stand mixer and slowly add the yeast mixture to the dough. Mix until the yeast is incorporated and then allow the dough to sit for the 2 hours.

      Thanks, Zoë

  21. My bread has “wet” or undercooked streaks. I have added more flour but no improvement. What am I doing wrong?

    1. Hi Linda,

      How old is your dough? Are you finding it to be kind of soupy in the bucket, or does it feel normal when you are shaping the loaf? Let me know and I can help you figure this out!

      Thanks, Zoë

  22. I recently attended your presentation in Arlington, Mn. and thoroughly enjoyed it. I now have 2 questions following making some dough. First, what is the utensil that Jeff used to mix the flour/water mixture? Secondly, after I mixed my dough, I had some areas that did not mix together very well even after I used my hands to continue with the mixing. Would you suggest that I use more water or continue to mix a bit longer? Thank you for your reply and I have already got my son using your recipes and techniques. Needless to say, I was very impressed.

    1. Hi M. Schneider,

      Thank you for coming to see us, what a great evening we had in Arlington!

      Here is a post about mixing the dough with the Danish Dough whisk: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1616 If your dough looks much drier than what I have in these pictures you might want to add a couple more tablespoons of water. What kind of flour are you using?

      Thanks, Zoë

  23. This has been a wonderful find in our home. I have two comments: I was able to find a plastic lidded bucket (round) for food at the 99 cent store and it’s perfect. The other thing is that I mix with my hands and it’s very fast, plus you can readily feel where any dry spots are. And of course, clean up is much faster and easier. I splurged on my kitchen weight on Amazon ($19) and now can dump it into the bowl that sits on top without having to measure or scoop. My PAP flour is about 4.5 oz. Grits on the bottom of the “peel” which is just a thin baking sheet works great and adds a beautiful corn flavor (I think it was Zoe’s mom who also did this). Tossed in some walnuts and dried figs the other night and it turned out beautifully…especially when used for grilled cheeses.
    I can’t thank you enough for this book. I’ve recommended it to many of my friends.

    1. Hi Janet,

      Thank you for the lovely note. We are so happy you are baking so much bread. I can’ wait to tell my mom that you too are using grits! 😉

      Enjoy, Zoë

  24. What size Cambro container are you using in the video, Jeff? I am thinking about getting one, because I think scooping straight out of the bag is giving me a cup of flour that’s too tightly packed.

    I get great results by weight, but I would like to be able to scoop the flour too, so I don’t have to translate every recipe in HBin5 to weight — I plan to make them all, and translating them all could take a while. 😀

  25. Hi jeff n zoe,

    I love wheat breads with no sugar or honey. Can I add more than 1 cup of whole wheat flour and less all purpose flour for the Light whole wheat bread recipe?

    I can’t find durum flour in my country. Is there a substitude? I’m making the Italian Semolina Bread. Thanks

    1. Liv: You should be OK with that switch, but there’s a chance you’ll need another quarter-cup of water.

      If you can find flour labeled “semolina” in an Indian or Pakistani foodstore, you should be able to substitute, but those flours are typically a little on the coarse side. May be a coarse or dry result, so we tended to specify Durum. Jeff

  26. Im back!!! Here is my question. I just recieved a new kitchen aid from my mom and i want to use it for your bread recipes. I have been told many a times that when the dough scrapes clean from the bowl and onto the hook, the dough is done. Now, with your method, will the dough scrape clean from the bowl or is there to much water?

    Thanx

    Matt

    1. Hi Matt,

      Our dough is much too wet to scrape clean from the sides, in fact, you should use the paddle attachment and not the dough hook. The dough hook will just spin around and not mix the dough well.

      Thanks and enjoy your new kitchenaid! Zoë

  27. I’ve just bought your book and finally made me first loaf of the 100% whole wheat breat. What, generally, should be the length of the baked loaf? Just wondering if I did everything right – it seems a little small…;)

    1. Barb: Our standard loaves are on the small size. Assuming you made a one-pound free form, oval-shaped bread, I’d say about 7 inches long. Just use more dough if you’d like something more sizable.

  28. Fabulous! Then I think I did most everything right. I think I should have let it rise maybe a little longer as it was a little cool in my kitchen. The holes in the bread are pretty small and maybe it’s a little dense, but it tastes great!!

  29. Barb: Yes, try a longer rise. 40 min was pushing it for convenience-sakes. 60 minutes or even a little longer, will give you more rise. Even longer in a very cool kitchen.

  30. I just found your books, both of them, and love them!! Before I starting using your method, I’d taped a flour volume to weight conversion table I found on the internet to my flour container. Really useful. Unfortunately I didn’t use it for my first two batches and my dough came out a little wet. I will for the next one!

  31. I baked the soft whole wheat sandwich bread from the healthy bread book. My bread turned out dry and crumbly. Could you tell me what I may have done wrong? I used all the correct ingredients.
    Thanks.

    1. Michele: are you measuring with the scoop-and-sweep method (see the video here https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1801)? That’s the most common problem.

      Second most likely problem: Are you using “stone-ground” whole wheat flour? Many people find that too dry. Switch to a typical U.S. commercial flour like Gold Medal and you’ll be happier with the result.

      Finally, your dough may be too dry and you just need to add a bit more water.

      Where are you located, what product brands are you using? Jeff

  32. Thanks Jeff.

    I may be using too much flour. I am trying to use the scoop and sweep but after watching the video realize that I am scooping out of the bag!

    I am using Pillsbury Whole Wheat and Unbleached flours. If the dough still seems to dry after trying the scoop and sweep method I will add a little more water. I will look on the website for a video to get an ideo for the consistency of the dough. I am excited to be baking my own bread. It takes so little time!

    Michele

    1. Hi Linda,

      You can add more flour to the dough and let it sit to absorb the excess water and redevelop air bubbles.

      Thanks, Zoë

  33. 1st attempt @ HB Master Recipe, it rose nicely. I thought I could leave it out for 48 hours (oops – only 24 when I reread the recipe). It’s soupy and won’t hold form. I just refrigerated it for a few hours and am trying again. I just read in the 1st book to avoid Whole Wheat Pastry Flour. Why is that? That’s what I used.

    1. Hi Free,

      The dough should really be refrigerated after 2 hours, but it can handle being left out for longer if need be. Leaving the dough out for 48 hours will accelerate the fermentation and it may have an alcohol smell and taste.

      Pastry flour has a lower protein content than regular whole wheat. The protein (gluten) is what gives the dough its structure and stretch. The reason your dough will not hold its form is because of a lack of protein. You can add more vital wheat gluten to the dough, but you have to mix it with more flour to avoid clumping. Stir together 1 cup of flour and 2-3 tablespoons vital wheat gluten, then mix it into the dough.

      Hope that helps, Zoë

  34. Hi, I am grinding my own wheat just before I mix the dough. I have just started trying out your book “Healthy Breads…” so I am just becoming familiar with the process. But I was wondering what adjustments I need to make with the flour grounds only moments before. I suspect it is fluffier then the flours used. I first though maybe my dough was a tad dry, but after using some I suspect my dough is a tad wet, since the dough spreads when resting and I never have to cut it off when grabbing it. It just breaks off. But I don’t really know. Thanks!

    1. Lynelle: We’ve had mixed results with freshly-ground flour– as you suggest, the outcomes are unpredictable. Sometimes you need more water, sometimes less. I assume because commercial flours are dried to a very uniform moisture level; what you do at home, is not.

      See my post on using a semi-commercial fresh-ground flour (https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1165 )— it didn’t require any adjustment, but that’s not what readers tell us when they do their own. All I can say is that you’ll have to do lots of trial and error. No way to advise you since we’re not working with what you have. Jeff

  35. “There is a chart on page 36 of Healty Bread in Five that gives the weights for most of the flours.”

    Why not publish the contents of that page on this website in the FAQs or under it’s very own tab? If that page includes the flours and ingredients used in ABi5 that is. This would have been a very useful addition to ABi5, and you could help out your readers (people who bought ABi5) by publishing this info. Even though I’m American, I always prefer weights in recipes, even for things like vegetables (after all, what’s a medium potato or onion?), but specially for baking, where the precise amounts are crucial for success of recipes.

    1. J: Many US books publish only volumes, but we decided to develop our own set of equivalents for the second book, in part so that buyers of that title would feel they were getting something extra, of value, by deciding to buy the book– something that wasn’t already in the first book that many of them already owned. So we’re not able to publish that table here on the website– our publisher would kill us if we put all the extras in the books out here on the web. But it sounds like you’ve been successful using the book as-is…

      Jeff

  36. Hi –
    I want to use your Deli-Style Rye in ABin5, but substituting whole wheat and a bit of gluten flour (& more rye flour?) for the unbleached all-purpose flour. Is that possible? Will that distroy the wonderful process you’ve developed?
    I am in search of good completely whole grain breads – due to health concerns in my family. I hope this substitution works, but I await your comments!
    Thanks.

    1. Pam: You absolutely can do this, and we do exactly that in a recipe in our second book, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day, on Amazon at https://bit.ly/3wYSSN . Given your nutritional concerns, that book might be a better fit for you than our first book.

      Result will be different, but delicious. Love rye. Jeff

  37. Hi Jeff and Zoe,

    My kitchen got certified by the state to bake and sell my breads to the public! You two opened up a whole new world for me. I plan to sell my breads at the Farmer’s Market starting late Spring. ( A variation of “teach a man to fish….” THANKS.

    I am getting my recipes together, and have planned on making some of the AB5 master boule and HB5 breads. Since bread sales are price competitive at the Farmer’s Market, I was dissappointed to find such a price difference in flour between bleached and unbleached flour. I can buy 5 lbs KA unbleached for about $4. I think GM and Pillsbury are $3 for 5 lbs ($15 for 25 pounds)

    However, I notice that all the large bags of flour at Sam’s Club and food service in this small town are bleached flour! All purpose bleached flour is $7 for 25 pounds, and bread flour is $8 for 25 pounds.

    I have read your posts that bleached flour doesn’t work that well in your recipes. However, I was wondering if there’s an easy and inexpensive adjustment I could do. I am hoping that the bleaching process doesn’t change the taste much, either….

    Thanks so much,

    Judy

    1. Judy: Nice to hear about your fledgling business…

      Bleached flour can work, so long as you decrease the water slightly: maybe 1/8 to 1/4 cup per batch, you’ll have to experiment. May spread sideways more than you’re used to. Jeff

  38. I should add that I most likely will be making loaf breads with your dough. People in this part of Appalachia don’t like crusty breads much. A shame.

  39. Thanks so much, Jeff! I’ll pick up some bleached flour, and give it a try.

    I may not have to worry about sideways spread. People in Northeast Tennessee don’t seem to be fans of crusty breads, so I’ll be using your recipes for loaf breads.

    For myself and for special request, I’ll use unbleached flour. I guess I’ll just have to get out there and see what people want.

    THANKS!!

    Judy

  40. I just made a batch of dough for the roasted garlic recipe in the second book and it was so wet and gluey I couldn’t shape it at all. It just stuck to my hands like glue. The same thing happened with the spelt and olive recipe in the same book (the first recipe I tried, the basic whole wheat one, came out perfectly). I’m using Gold Medal unbleached flour. Any suggestions on what might have gone wrong? After wrestling with gluey dough and ending up with a big mess, I’m a little frustrated.
    Thanks,
    Deborah

    1. Hi Deborah,

      Hmmm? It seems you are doing everything right. The only difficulty we have had with spelt flour is when people are using the “light” variety, which is even lower in protein and causes the dough to be too wet.

      If your dough ever seems to be too wet you can always add more flour to the mix. When doing so you want to let the dough rest a while to allow the new flour to absorb the excess water.

      You may also need to use more flour when shaping: https://artisanbreadinfive.com/?p=1715

      I would ask if you are baking at high altitudes, but that would have also effected your first loaf, which you said was just fine.

      Thanks, Zoë

  41. Hi Zoe,

    Thanks so much for your response – I especially appreciate that on a Saturday morning!

    I watched the video and my dough was MUCH wetter than that. It was virtually impossible to shape.

    I live at sea level, so altitude probably isn’t the issue, but it might be the spelt flour I used. I bought it in the bulk section at a local grocery store. Maybe it was the light variety you referred to.

    It would make sense that the spelt flour might be the problem, since the first batch I made didn’t have spelt flour in it and turned out just fine.

    I also used your method for scooping flour, but maybe it somehow got overly aerated. Otherwise, I followed the recipes to a T.

    I think I’ll get some different spelt flour and see if that helps.

    Thanks!
    Deborah

  42. Hello. I have all three of your books (well, Amazon still has the pizza book), and like everything about them, except for the imprecise “Scoop and Sweep” measurements, where measurement is so critical (in baking). From the looks of the Q&A’s, it seems like you (Zoe) are going to give us some modern measurements (weights), that can be easily and accurately duplicated. Thank you in advance (and please hurry :o).

    1. Richard: For better or worse, Americans bake with cup-measures, outside of a small minority. If we’d released our books in the European manner (all weights), no one here would have used them. Pizza book will have equivalencies for all the Master recipes. 2nd book has a weight chart you can use to convert anything you like.

      Problem with the internal temp approach is that the inexpensive “instant-read” thermometers are not really instant-read. So you need to leave them in place too long for our liking. But if you like this approach, use 185 degrees for your enriched doughs (challah, brioche), and 205 for your lean doughs. The other trick is that you really need to get the tip right to the center of the loaf or it’s meaningless. I use color, firmness, and experience and find it’s superior to the typical thermometer.

      Pizza book is available on 10/25…

  43. I just posted, but forgot something. While you’re thinking about supplying measurments by weight, please consider measuring and passing on to us the internal temperatures of finished loaves. (Scales and instant thermometers, what blessings they are to bread baking!) Thanks, again!

  44. Hi Jeff, I may have a clue to the yield question I asked earlier today. I switched to bread flour in my recipe, but didn’t adjust the weight of the flour.

    The weight’s not in the book, and I can’t find it in your posts. I finally found it in a snippet that I pasted to the front of AB5, along with other weights, from a post.

    So it’ 27.5 oz of all purpose (5oz x 5.5), but 30.25 oz of bread flour(5.5oz x 5.5cups). I think I’ll go with the bread flour and skip the VWG next time.

    BTW, one of the reasons this customer likes the rye bread is that most breads (with bleached flour) cause him digestive problems. Not mine, because of the unbleached flour.

    THANKS SO MUCH for all your help!

    Judy in TN

  45. I’d like not to have another battery operated (or electric) device in the kitchen. My mom use to bake/cook everyday & made all kinds of sandwich & dessert breads (I should have paid attention :-)) w/out a scale & it was delicious. She received many a blue/purple ribbon at the cty fair. I kept her old cookbooks & just checked “Woman’s Home Companion Cookbook”, copyright 1942, used volume as expected. I haven’t bought “Artisan Bread in Five Minutes” yet. I’m checking first to see if a novice bread maker can follow the recipes w/out buying additional kitchen gadgetry. Shelf space is limited. I see in the TOC, Chapter 13 lists equipment, unfortunately that page is not listed at Amazon. What equipment is necessary for the Master Recipe? Thank you.

    1. Hi dj,

      You can bake a great loaf of bread on a cookie sheet. Eventually you may want to invest in a baking stone, but that can wait. No gadgets are required.

      Enjoy, Zoë

  46. Hi Jeff and Zoë!

    I have HB in 5 and have been thrilled so far 🙂

    I’ve only made one recipe of the boule from ABin5, and the crumb was a bit dense so I’m treating myself to an Escali scale and oven thermometer. My theory is I’ll pay for it in savings with all the home made bread! I’m definitely going to keep trying the boule, but can’t decide between Semolina and Challah for my second container.

    I think I might recognize you both from my days as a cashier at Linden Hills Co-op in Minneapolis. It would have been a number of years ago, is that possible? Love the site, and I hope you’ll have more MN events in 2013!

    Cheers!

    Liz

    1. Hi Liz–Linden Hills is the best! Easiest intervention on the density issue– just increase the resting time. 60 or even 90 minutes.

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