How to Measure Flour (and Why Grams Are Better)
By Martis Guleryan · Updated
In short: Spoon flour into a dry measuring cup without packing it, then level it off with a straight edge. One cup of all-purpose flour measured this way weighs about 120 grams. Weighing with a kitchen scale is the most accurate method.
Measuring flour is the most common reason baked goods turn out dry, dense or crumbly. The problem is that flour compacts easily, so the same cup can hold very different amounts depending on how you fill it.
The spoon-and-level method
- Fluff the flour in its bag or canister with a spoon.
- Spoon it into a dry measuring cup until it is heaped above the rim. Do not tap or shake the cup.
- Level it off with the back of a knife.
Measured this way, one cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 120 grams.
Why weighing is better
A kitchen scale removes the guesswork. Every baking recipe on Joyful Home Cooking shows grams when you switch the recipe card to Metric.
| Ingredient | 1 US cup, approximately |
|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 120 g |
| Granulated sugar | 198 g |
| Packed brown sugar | 213 g |
| Butter | 227 g |
| Rolled oats | 89 g |
| Chocolate chips | 170 g |
Why our metric conversions are ingredient-specific
Many converters treat every cup as the same number of grams. That works for water, but not for flour or sugar. Our recipe cards convert each ingredient using its own density, based on the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart, and show liquids in milliliters.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams are in a cup of flour?
About 120 grams of all-purpose flour, when spooned and leveled. Scooping straight from the bag packs in noticeably more.
Why do recipes convert cups to different gram amounts?
Because different ingredients have different densities. A cup of sugar weighs about 198 grams, a cup of flour about 120 grams, and a cup of shredded cheddar about 113 grams.
