I often get asked, "Can the right equipment improve my baking?" The short answer is yes, using proper tools will certainly aid your baking endeavors. However, it doesn't mean you have to spend a fortune on expensive or unnecessary equipment. The Baker's Toolbox will be an occasional feature of this blog, detailing items I find useful - or even indispensable - in my pastry making. I'll explain why I find this tool so important and what features to look for when you look for the same thing.
One of the tools I first got that has improved my baking the most is a kitchen scale for measuring ingredients. Most American cookbooks give volume measurements in cups and spoons, perhaps assuming they are the most familiar to home bakers. However, once you realize the importance of precision in baking, you'll begin to realize how frustratingly imprecise volume measurements can be.
For example, take measuring a cup of flour. Some bakers may use the dip-and-sweep method, where you dip a cup into a bag of flour, then sweep a ruler or other straight edge across the top of the cup to level off the flour. Other bakers use a spoon-and-sweep method, where you spoon flour into the cup to avoid compacting the flour, then sweep a ruler across the top of the cup. Do you shake the cup when scooping out flour to even out the flour in the cup (actually a mistake, since it compacts the flour too much)? Do you sift the flour before you measure it, which aerates it and results in less flour filling up the cup? If you get a scale, try measuring out flour using these various methods and you'll be surprised how much a "cup of flour" can vary in weight. This may be one reason why when home bakers say, "But I did follow the recipe and measure accurately!", they may not get the desired result because the author of the recipe might have measured out her ingredients differently.
Using a scale takes away all of this uncertainty. You simply measure out your ingredients according to the unit weight of each ingredient; there's no room for inaccuracy. Although you can buy an old-fashioned spring scale, digital kitchen scales are fast, accurate, and these days are relatively inexpensive - you can find ones for less than $30. Most scales will weigh out in ounces and grams; be sure to find one that has a capacity of at least five pounds; you'll be surprised how often you'll go over the one pound limit.
But how do you know what a cup of flour weighs, when the cookbook is only providing volume measurements? Some scales come with handy conversion charts that show how many ounces or grams one cup of flour or sugar weighs; many cookbooks will also have conversion charts, and you can find conversion calculators online. Here are some basic conversions:
1 cup all purpose flour = 5 ounces = 125 gram
1 cup granulated sugar = 7 ounces = 200 gram
1 cup brown sugar = 8 ounces = 220 gram
1 cup powdered sugar = 4 ounces = 120 gram
1 cup butter = 8 ounces = 227 gram
1 cup water = 8 fluid ounces = 237 gram
1 cup milk = 8 1/2 fluid ounces = 245 gram
1 cup vegetable oil = 7 1/2 fluid ounces = 218 gram
Try using a kitchen scale for your next baking endeavor, and you'll discover how quickly you'll come to rely on this indispensable baking tool!