Lesson 3 Time and Temperature

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Seadog on 28 Dec 2019 at 05:01

 I am sure someone else must have raised the question of conversion of this recipe in this lesson from cups to metric but I could not find a link to it?

After looking at many conversion on the internet I wanted to ensure I am using the correct conversion for the recipe before adding my own mistakes.

I would be grateful if someone could confirm that I am using the correct amounts e.g

1 cup = 120 g   flour (not sure if this for whole wheat flour as well)

1 cup =240 ml  water

1 teaspoon 5 grams

1/4 teaspoon of yeast is that fresh or dried yeast ?

Many thanks.

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Day 1

1 cup of flour
1/4 teaspoon of salt
1/4 teaspoon of yeast
1/2 cup of water

 Day 2

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup whole wheat flour (this can be regular flour. I used whole wheat flour simply because I like it!)

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon yeast

1 cup of water

 

Here's something official from NIST, National Institute of Standards and Technology.

https://www.nist.gov/pml/weights-and-measures/approximate-conversions-us-customary-measures-metric

It depends how you round things.  To just 2 decimal places, 1 cup = .24 liters, or 240 milli-liters.

But a fluid oz = 29.57 ml (rounded to two decimal places).  Multiply by 8 to get cups, = 236.56 ml.

if you round that fluid ounce up to 30 ml, then (multiply by 8 fl oz per cup) 1 cup gets called 240 ml.

The difference, 3.44 ml, is 1.45 % of 236.56.

(A ml of water weighs so close to a gram, that we can't detect the difference with home equipment. See below.)

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Because  tsp is volume, and gram is weight ("mass" to the science geek), you can't convert between the two unless you specify the _substance_ being measured.

A teaspoon is 1/6th of a fluid ounce. (3 tsp per tbsp, then 2 tbsp per fl oz).   ("Fluid ounce" is volume, plain "ounce" is understood to be weight, as in 16 oz per pound.)

So a tsp of WATER is 1/6 of 30 ml = 5 ml = 5 grams.

1 ml of water weighs 1 gram "for _our_ intents and purposes".   But for the science-geek, that is not absolutely exact, and, AFAIK, the difference cannot be detected by home-use equipment.

But, a tsp of SALT or Yeast is another matter entirely, and depends on the size of the salt and yeast granules.

Commercial _dry granulated_ yeast that I've seen is labeled as being 2.25 (two and a quarter) teaspoons per 7 gram packsge.

7 / 2.25 = 3.11 grams per tsp.

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The "Table salt" that I have is labeled 1.5 grams per 1/4 tsp, or 6 grams per tsp.  But I don't know the rounding. It might be .1 gram or .5 gram.  I guess I should go weigh a sample,

A tsp of salt will vary in weight depending on the size of the grains. A tsp of coarse salt will usually weigh less than a tsp of common variety table salt.  

Volumetric recipes calling for "salt", with no further specification, in home-use settings, can be assumed to be using common table salt.

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For the uber-geek, go here: https://www.metric-conversions.org/volume/us-cups-to-milliliters.htm

and under "Accuracy" ("select resolution"), click "7 significant figures", then look at the chart below, and you see 236.5882 ml per cup.

 

Thank you idaveindy for the very comprehensive answer to my conversion question, I am glad I did not start without a proper understanding of the conversions.

find out where the recipe is coming from and what is their "cup."  Countries and especially older recipes may have a lighter or heavier version of a "cup".   Not all cups weigh 240g of water.  In a recipe book, look for the paragraph or page that explains how the volume cups were measured, where was the book published?  

When converting cups to grams, I dig out the cups and spoons and measure, measure properly, then pour the ingredient into a clean container set on the scales with the scale set to zero.  Repeat at least 3 times, add up the weights and divide by 3 to take an average.  Write it down!   After converting the recipe, check to make sure it all makes sense then put the recipe together and see how it comes out before making any tweaks.  I like to check hydration, salt % , sugar and fats along with total dough weight before jumping into a recipe.  Tweaks will often change these basic percentages.

Take the time to play with the ingredients you have in your pantry, the products you prefer and like to eat.  Write down your conversions as you may find variations from printed conversion tables.

 

"... I dig out the cups and spoons and measure, measure properly, then ..."

Ah, yes.  How to "measure properly" flour by volume is yet another discussion.   

Scoop and shake? Scoop and level with back of a knife?   Spooned/poured into the measuring cup?   Was the container of flour sifted, or recently sifted?  Was the container shaken to un-do any settling effects?

(I use scoop-and-shake when measuring by volume.  FLour is usually "pre sifted" before it is retail-packaged in the US.  And I usually pour from bag into a hard container that I keep on my counter-top -- so there has been some "un"-settling of the contents.)

Dan-o had the simplest/quickest answer!  That was bookmarked.

Thanks Mini oven, as I was just starting out on my baking a loaf I thought doing the lesson would be straight forward,

I assume the recipe is US, as it refers to the book of Peter Reinhart it sounds like I have to purchase the book to understand the ingredients correctly.

I not sure where I stand now should it not be the case if a recipe is published as a teaching aid it is should explain these factors for us beginners.

Do I go out and purchase a set of cup measures of 240 grams would that solve the problem if so any recommendations of a set please,

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I am not going to add to all the advice already given here because it is already very complete, but just in case it has been overlooked, I would like to point out that this question is about Lesson Three Time and Temperature from right here on The Fresh Loaf.  It was assembled by Floyd some years ago. 

I hope this helps clarify some of the variables.
OldWoodenSpoon

 

lesson three.   The recipe is plain and simple if you have cups sitting around.  So you are saying you have a scales and no cups.  Yes, there have been discussions about making the recipe metric but.... anyway it's just basic so don't fret too much about being exact.  It works out.  Yes you can use 120g or even 125g flour for each cup and use your conversions posted in the initial post.  It even works with a coffee cup.  :).  (Taste the dough when finished kneading to see if there is enough salt.).