Do you use a scale for any kind of cooking/baking?

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GB said:
I could be wrong, but isn't another reason you sift flour to aerate it?

that's what I thought too, geebs, and also to trap any extraneous molecules of non-flour that might be lurking around in there.
 
I have a small mechanical one that I use occasionally. Now that I've read psiguyy's post, I have an idea it will get a lot more use :) . As for your kitchen scale, choclate chef: the 10th commandment just went right down the toilet!! If it ever comes up missing, I won't know a thing about it :eek: :mrgreen:
 
GB said:
I could be wrong, but isn't another reason you sift flour to aerate it?

Yes, aerated flour, because of the space between the particles, incorporates much faster/more easily with wet ingredients. This can be especially usefully when you're making something delicate (cake, cookies, pancakes etc) where gluten formation is undesireable.
 
leigh said:
I have a small mechanical one that I use occasionally. Now that I've read psiguyy's post, I have an idea it will get a lot more use :) . As for your kitchen scale, choclate chef: the 10th commandment just went right down the toilet!! If it ever comes up missing, I won't know a thing about it :eek: :mrgreen:


:LOL: It is a lovely piece of vintage kitchen decor -- all black cast iron and brass.

I am sure you will love having broken that commandment! :LOL:
 
scott123 said:
GB said:
I could be wrong, but isn't another reason you sift flour to aerate it?
Yes, aerated flour, because of the space between the particles, incorporates much faster/more easily with wet ingredients. This can be especially usefully when you're making something delicate (cake, cookies, pancakes etc) where gluten formation is undesireable.
Anyone who has refrigerated uncooked pastry, pasta or bread dough for over an hour or so will have noticed that the dough is slightly wetter when you take it out than when it went into the 'frig. The same holds true for freezing and subsequently defrosting these kinds of doughs.

Scott123 is right on the mark - aereted (eg: sifted) flour will absorb liquid faster - however, time accomplishes the same thing. Even when gluten formation is desirable (as in pasta or bread), it is instructive to know that time allows all flours to absorb moisture and to learn how to adjust moisture for this fact.
 
subfuscpersona said:
Scott123 is right on the mark - aereted (eg: sifted) flour will absorb liquid faster - however, time accomplishes the same thing.

True, for unleavened/yeast leavened items such as pasta, pie dough or bread, time is a useful tool for hydrating flour. For baked goods that utilize baking powder, though, time is not a luxury. So, for cakes, quickbreads and biscuits, for quicker assimilation of wet/dry ingredients (i.e., less gluten formation), sift your flour.
 
I have a digital Polder. I don't remember how much I paid, but it wasn't expensive. Got it at Bed, Bath and Beyond (so I used a coupon too!).

I love it. I use it for weighing chocolate and butter. Sometimes I buy butter in the one pound blocks, so I cut it and weigh it. I've used it for miscellaneous things too along the way.

It's a very handy gadget, which isn't expensive and doesn't take up a lot of room in the cabinet.

laur
 
I just bought a electric scale from Walmart for 29.99. I think the brand is Good Cook. Finally found one w/in my budget. So far it works great, no complaints.

Anyways, man it sure does put perspective on portion sizes!! I serving of meat is supposed to be a deck of cards or about 2-3 oz...I defrosted a steak, thinking it would be about 2 servings...it was actually 3! (9 oz steak) I'm really amazed how small a real portion is and will relearn things now that I have this scale!

:)
 
Don't use one, but I don't bake and don't diet (the two major reasons for owning one). Math and science are not my forte. I joke, but am serious, that I don't like to count anything. I seldom measure anything, even when I exercise (very regularly) I hate counting repetitions or wearing a watch to make sure I get XXX minutes of XXX in. I'd always considered this a huge failing, but approaching my 50th birthday, I simply work around it. Some things aren't going to change!!! Truth be told, I've even given up weighing me, and it's made no difference in my weight, just my happiness in life.
 

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