February 21, 2012 - 2:16pm
Should I buy a scale?
I already have the Escali Primo Digital Multifunctional Scale, was wondering if this was adequate for both the larger weights and the smaller weights (.01 grams) for things like salt, yeast, etc.?
Should I have to purchase another scale or something or should this suffice? What do you guys usually use for scaling?
Share
I believe the key is "you are weighing your ingredients" - that is a GOOD thing. Really the only way to be consistent ...
I am sure there will be opinions other than mine but I will give you mine. I have an OXO which I love and use all the time. It only goes to gram increments - some would say you need to go to 1/10 or 1/100 or a gram but I am not one of those folks ... it is just bread (just said that to make sure everyone was a wake ...).
I think you are fine - so just bake and enjoy what you make ....
Ben
Ditto what Ben says. All my measurements are to the gram, I round up or down.
I have yet to see any formulae that call for itsy bitsy quantities of anything. My personal opinion is, with a few exceptions, that if an ingredient is used in such a small quantity, it's exact scaling is not all that vital to the finished product.
At home I use an el-cheapo digital scale that I bought for C$9.99. It has a 5kg max and is accurate to a gram. Close enough for anything I might do. I have found it so easy and useful that I bought 6 of them for the shop as well.
Mind you, if you make 1 or 2 loaves at a time (and why would you?) a more precise scale may be called for. For example, if you were to make a half-batch of Jeffrey Hamelman's "Baguettes with Poolish" using the home weights, you would need 0.2g of instant yeast for the poolish. A scale accurate to 1/100's would then be best. Of course, you could also just convert the weight to a "pinch" and move on.
Cheers
I have an Escali. It works great for home baking purposes.
Occasionally I want something bigger, when I'm making a lot of bread for family or something, but accuracy has never been an issue.
Recipes in Hamelman's book call for very small weights of yeast and salt... smaller than can accurately be measured with my usual scale. I bought a small scale (which I also use to weigh doses for my espresso machine) for those ingredients. I found that scale on eBay, based on a recommendation from a coffee forum.