So, you’ve got a fabulous recipe in mind, and you get everything ready – only to discover that you don’t have any scales! You need to know how to weigh flour without scales, and we’re here to help.
How To Weigh Flour Without Scales
Whilst using scales is definitely an easier and more convenient method, you can actually measure flour without them.
If you have an American-style measuring devices, such as cups, you can easily measure the amount of flour you need – simply convert the recipe by googling how many cups is how many grams.
You can even weigh flour with a spoon – yes, you read that right! A tablespoon (heaped) is roughly equivalent to 20 grams of flour.
This is probably the easiest method; just bear in mind that the total might be out by a gram or several, depending on the size of your tablespoon.
You can, of course, construct an elaborate weighing machine using string and weights, but this is far more tricky than the other two methods!
Using measuring spoons – the ones designed to hold different weights of foodstuffs – is also a great way to measure without using scales.
What Can I Use To Weigh Flour?
It can be tricky, if you are just starting out on your cooking journey, to visualise what 100g of flour actually looks like.
Of course, a set of digital scales is the most accurate way to weigh flour, as you can pinpoint the exact amount you need.
You can also use the old-fashioned types of scale – the ones where you place weights on one side, then add what you are weighing to the other side until they balance.
If you don’t have any type of scales, it is still perfectly possible to weigh flour – just bear in mind that the results won’t be as spot-on accurate.
You can measure the flour by volume as well as by weight, as you do when you measure using a spoon – but this comes with its drawbacks.
Different flours have different densities, so what is exactly 100g of one type of flour might be more or less of another.
How Can I Measure Flour Without Scales Or Cups?
If you don’t have something to weigh your ingredients, you might be feeling a little bit at a loss.
You don’t want to resort to just guessing, in case you ruin the entire recipe, right? And building your own scales may be a little complicated…
It’s actually pretty simple – if not as entirely accurate as a digital scale might be – and you can do it with things you already have lying around your house.
- Take a standard tablespoon, dip it into your flour container and bring it out with a fairly heaped mound of flour on it.
- This is the equivalent of roughly 20g of flour, so if you needed 100g, for example, you would measure out 5 spoonfuls in this way.
- Use a coffee mug. A standard-sized coffee mug is roughly the equivalent of 120g of flour, filled to the brim.
- Choose the most average sized mug, and avoid using overly large ones, or small cups used for tea.
- Use a teaspoon to measure out approximately 5g of flour. Work out how many teaspoons you will need (for example, for 50g you will need 1o tsp).
This method takes a little time, but it’s also a relatively accurate way of measuring out the amount of flour you need.
If you are in a tight squeeze and your scales ran out of battery at the critical moment, these methods may just save your bacon (or should I say baking?)
How Can I Weigh Something Without A Scale?
If you don’t even have scales, you may be feeling at a total loss for how to weigh your cooking ingredients.
If you want to be slightly more accurate than using a spoon or a coffee cup, why not have a go at making your own scale?
First, find something that is the weight that you want to measure – for example, if you want to weigh 500g of flour, find a packet of something that weighs 500g.
Now, take a hanger – a metal coat hanger is ideal for this, as it also has a hook in the middle so you can see when it is balanced.
Hang the control packet on one side, then carefully add the flour – or whatever you want to weigh – into a bag attached on the other side.
Once the hanger is not leaning to one side or the other, you have found your target weight.
Here’s a short video showing you how to make a weighing scale with a coat hanger:
Can You Measure Grams With A Spoon?
In short, yes you can. A spoon is actually a pretty useful way of measuring things, as they are generally of a standard size.
A tablespoon is generally a good way of measuring out flour, as they fit around 20g, meaning that you can easily work out how many spoons you would need to meet your recipe.
You can also measure using smaller spoons, but you will find that you might have to do a little more maths!
A standard sized teaspoon holds roughly 5 grams, so if you only have smaller spoons then you can still use this method – it just may take a little longer!
Some spoons – generally plastic ones that come attached to a ring to hold them together – are specially designed to measure out different weights of foodstuffs.
If you have a set of these then you may as well not bother getting a set of scales – they are pretty accurate, easy to use and very easy to store in a kitchen drawer.
It’s really frustrating when you’re ready to create a culinary masterpiece and your equipment lets you down, isn’t it?
If the batteries have died on your digital scales – or you just don’t have any – use some of our ideas and you’ll be weighing with accuracy (and no scales!) in no time.
