Learning how to measure flour is key to baking a great cake or pie.
Countless television shows and videos feature a baker dipping a measuring cup into a large canister of flour and leveling it off before using it. Personally, I find this method highly inaccurate as scooping the ingredient with your measuring cup causes packing. The absolute best way to measure dry ingredients is with a scale. Don’t fret if you don’t have a food scale handy because ingredients can be measured accurately without a scale using the following technique. Stir flour to fluff it up. Use a large spoon to scoop the flour into a measuring cup. Run your knife along the top to remove excess. Do not tap or smash flour.
1 cup of all purpose flour
It is worth noting that you should only use dry measuring cups when measuring flour. Using a measuring cup that is intended for liquid will give inaccurate results
Whether to sift flour before or after measuring largely depends on the recipe which should spell out the actions that you should take. Personally, I usually measure and then sift dry ingredients together. The best method will all depend on what the recipe calls for.
1 cup sifted flour = sift then measured
1 cup flour, sifted = measure then sift
Check out other baking tips and tricks here!