Measuring by Weight

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Published 2008

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A good balance scale should be accurate to ¼ oz (0.25 oz) or, if metric, to 5 g. Dry ingredients weighing less than ¼ oz can be scaled by physically dividing larger quantities into equal portions. For example, to scale oz (0.06 oz), first weigh out ¼ oz, then divide this into four equal piles using a small knife.

For fine pastry work, a small battery-operated digital scale is often more useful than a large balance scale. A good digital scale is relatively inexpensive. It can instantly measure quantities to the nearest ⅛ oz or the nearest 2 g. Most digital scales have a zero or tare button that sets the indicated weight to zero. For example, you may set a container on the scale, set the weight to zero, add the desired quantity of the first ingredient, again set the weight to zero, add the second ingredient, and so on. This speeds the weighing of dry ingredients to be sifted together, for example.