Scales

I am a major proponent of weighing ingredients rather than measuring for baking. In fact, I once wrote an article on its virtues for the Los Angeles Times entitled “Weigh to Bake.” Most recently I updated it and published it on my blog. I am updating it yet again here because it is so central to successful and enjoyable baking. I can’t imagine life without a countertop scale to weigh ingredients! If I wrote books or recipes just for myself, I wouldn’t even include cup measures. While I’m going out on a limb, I might as well admit that given my druthers, I would use only the metric system. It’s so much easier, faster, and more reliable. Can you imagine how crazy-making it is to create and proof all the ingredients charts in my books that list each ingredient in volume, ounces, and grams? But I’ve got to cater to those resistant to weighing because as far as I’m concerned, it’s better to bake by volume than not to bake at all. And baking makes me happy, so I want to share it with everyone.