FoodBanter.com - View Single Post - Problem converting volume to weight (flour and cocoa)

U.S. Janet B.

On Sun, 02 Apr 2017 20:52:23 -0400, wrote:

>On Sun, 02 Apr 2017 15:23:08 -0600, U.S. Janet B. >
>wrote:
>
>>On Sun, 02 Apr 2017 15:18:32 -0400, wrote:
>>
>>>Dave Smith wrote:
>>>>
>>>>I can picture someone using a measuring cup to scoop out flour for
>>>>weighing. Thinking that the 4.2 oz they need is how much a cup of flour
>>>>weighs, they get out their measuring cup, level it off and dump it onto
>>>>the scale. Bingo... 4.2 oz. Voila.... weighing is more accurate. ;-)
>>>
>>>On a humid day that 4.2 ounces will consist of less flour and more
>>>water. Professional bakers judge by sight, sound, and feel, not so
>>>much by weight or volume... When a recipe calls for 100 pounds of
>>>flour they tend to hold back about 5 pounds and they'll adjust by
>>>adding some of that bench flour as needed. Baking is really no more
>>>precise an enterprise than cooking.
>>>Keep in mind that flour is made from grain, a produce crop, every
>>>batch/lot is different and behaves differently... a bakery is not a
>>>phamaceutical endeaver.
>>>
>>
>>Sheldon, mills these days analyze the flour output and adjust to make
>>it conform to specific standards.
>
>Nonsense! Mills deal with grain as it comes from the fields, lot
>numbers are stamped on the packaging and how it's used is totally up
>to the bakers. Mills make a small attempt to analyze different wheat
>crops for protein content but in the end the grain is what it is, they
>don't make any effort to chemically change it's analysis, that would
>be highly illegal in the US. However the USDA and major suppliers
>check for chemfert levels; insecticides and chemical fertilizers. In
>the US you buy hard wheat, soft wheat, winter wheat, etc. but within
>parameters that's what you get, however content varies as all crops
>vary... have you ever seen a Vitamin C content on a bag of oranges at
>the stupidmarket?

I'm sorry, but you are very wrong. You think (example) Wonderbread is
going to risk a couple of train car loads of flour making a mess of a
week's worth of production? I never said anything about using
chemicals to change the profile of a flour.
Janet US