Metric Formulas and Recipes

Appears in
Professional Baking
Professional Baking

By Wayne Gisslen

Published 2008

  • About

American industry will probably adopt the metric system someday. Many recipe writers are already eager to get a head start and are printing metric equivalents. As a result, you will see recipes calling for 454 g flour, 28.35 g butter, or a baking temperature of 191°C. No wonder people are afraid of the metric system!

Kitchens in countries that use the metric system do not work with such impractical numbers any more than we normally use figures like 1 lb 1¼ oz flour, 2.19 oz butter, or a baking temperature of 348°F. That would defeat the purpose of the metric system, which is to be simple and practical. If you have a chance to look at a French cookbook, you will see nice, round numbers such as 1 kg, 200 g, and 4 dL.