Janet Bostwick wrote:
>
> > wrote in message
> ...
> > Sure it will. King Arthur does it. It is to be assumed that they did some
> > fluffing and did not just dip into a bag of flour or compact it. They have
> to
> > do something to come up with such a figure. And they do explain it.
> Someone
> > (Janet?) posted it a short time ago.
> > Bert
>
> That's the weakness in our country's early dependency upon volume measure.
> Unless a recipe author tells you how many ounces is meant by a cup you must
> hope that what you measure is the right thing. All the arguments about
> adding flour until you judge the dough is right, only means that you have
> successfully made a bread by your particular standards. If the author was
> trying to convey something different, you have missed it. You'll notice
> that King Arthur says that they decided upon 4.2 ounces for their purposes.
> They didn't say it was a standard or the correct number.
>
> In the last several years, some baking books have been published that
> include both volume and weight measurement, but that it not the norm. Some
> cookbooks/baking books will tell you how much flour to the ounce in the
> beginning of the book. Some books will give you a clue by telling you that
> flour is either scooped, sifted or spooned. I'd stay away from any books
> that don't tell anything as there is a good chance that the recipes are not
> tested.
>
> Janet
>
> Janet

I agree, totally. The back of the bag of KA AP flour has a paragraph
"Important information about measuring flour" where they describe how to
measure flour. Here it is:

"All flour is presifted, but it settles during packing and shipping. For
accurate measurement of your flour, use a spoon or scoop to fluff it up, then
gently spoon it into a measuring cup. Without shaking or tapping the cup, or
packing down the floour, scrape the excess off the top with a knife or flour
scoop. Using this measuring methoc will give you the best baking results."

Sounds to me that they are describing a close approximation of the method they
used to come up with the 4.2 ounce per cup figure they mention elsewhere.

Bert