My new digital scale was a total game changer for my sourdough...

I've been baking for a while, but my loaves were always a bit off... some were too dense, others too flat. I was just using measuring cups for the flour and water. My wife got me a good digital scale for my birthday, cost about $40. I started weighing everything in grams instead of using cups. The first batch I made after that... it was like night and day. The dough felt totally different, and the rise was perfect. I didn't realize how much extra flour I was packing into a cup measure before. It just takes the guesswork out. Has anyone else had that moment where switching to weights just clicked for them?

4 comments

4 Comments

paige_owens51mo ago

Totally get what you mean about the dough feeling different. When you said "it was like night and day," that's exactly it. I had the same flat, dense loaf problem for months. Switching to grams was the fix, but it made me wonder about other stuff. Do you find you have to adjust the water amount at all now that your flour weight is so exact, or does the recipe just work perfectly as written?

viola_lopez301mo ago

Ugh, don't even get me started, @paige_owens5. My first loaf after switching to grams was a total brick because I just blindly followed the recipe's water amount. Turns out my flour was super thirsty that day. Now I always hold back a little water at first and feel it out, it's never exactly the same. Honestly, it's a miracle I didn't give up on baking after some of my early disasters.

calebc401mo ago

Oh man, my friend had the exact same brick loaf disaster as @viola_lopez30. He got so mad he almost threw out his scale, but now he adjusts water by feel every single time too. It really is more about the dough's look than the exact gram.

the_terry8d ago

Yeah I used to be a "just follow the recipe exactly" person too, @paige_owens5. But now I hold back like 10-15g of water and add it as needed. The flour really does soak it up different depending on the day.