How to Measure Flour
1 cup all-purpose flour = 120 g when it’s spooned and leveled4.2 oz · spooned & leveled · ½ cup = 60 g · 1 tbsp = 7.5 g
Reference values Being verified with kitchen scale tests. Current figures follow the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart.
On this page: Why it matters · Spoon and level · Scooping · Weighing · Cups-to-grams chart · FAQ
Why the way you fill the cup matters
Most US baking recipes that list flour in cups assume you spooned the flour in and leveled it off. Dip the measuring cup into the bag and sweep the top, and you’ll pack in more flour than the recipe writer had in mind. Cookies come out dry, cakes turn dense, and dough feels stiff — often because that “cup” was heavier than intended, not because the recipe was wrong.
Flour is a powder that settles and compresses. A measuring cup is only a volume, so the grams in it depend on how tightly the flour is packed. Baking references commonly estimate that scooping can add about 20–30% more flour than spooning and leveling. Treat that range as a general estimate, not a measurement of your own bag: a cup that should weigh about 120 g of all-purpose flour can land closer to 144 g–156 g if it’s scooped. A little extra flour is enough to throw off a batch.
How to spoon and level flour
This is the method behind the 120 g-per-cup reference on our all-purpose flour page, and the one most American recipes assume when they don’t say otherwise.
- Stir or fluff the flour in its bag or canister first. Flour settles in storage.
- Spoon it into a dry measuring cup until it mounds over the rim. Don’t shake or tap the cup, and don’t press the flour down.
- Sweep the excess off with the straight back of a knife, or any other straight edge, so the flour is level with the rim.
- Tip the cup into your bowl. If you need another cup, spoon and level again — don’t switch to dipping the cup into the bag.
PLACEHOLDER — Imran to complete: Add a photo of the spoon-and-level steps, plus your scale-test notes (flour brand, how you filled the cup, and the average of several trials).
What scooping does differently
Scooping — sometimes called dip-and-sweep — is faster: you plunge the cup into the bag, lift it out, and level it. The plunging packs flour into the cup, which is how you end up with that extra 20–30% cited above. If a recipe was developed with scooped cups, scooping may actually match it, but you usually can’t tell from the ingredient list.
When a modern US recipe doesn’t say otherwise, spoon-and-level is the safer assumption. The grams on this site follow that method.
The most consistent option: weigh it
A kitchen scale removes the packing question. Set a bowl on the scale, tare it to zero, and add flour until you hit the grams in the recipe — or the grams in the chart below. You don’t need a special “baking” scale; any model that reads in 1-gram increments is enough. If your recipe is written in cups, convert it once and jot the grams in the margin for next time. The weight converter switches grams and ounces if your scale or package uses one and the recipe uses the other.
One wording trap is worth watching: “1 cup sifted flour” means sift first, then measure. “1 cup flour, sifted” means measure first, then sift. Sifting before measuring adds air, so that cup weighs less. The reference number here is for flour that has been stirred or fluffed, then spooned and leveled — not sifted into the cup.
All-purpose flour cups to grams
US cups and spoons, spooned & leveled. Grams are rounded to the nearest gram (0.1 g under 10 g). These figures are pulled from the same 120 g-per-cup reference used in the converter.
| US measure | Grams | Ounces |
|---|---|---|
| 1 tablespoon | 7.5 g | 0.26 oz |
| ⅛ cup (2 tbsp) | 15 g | 0.53 oz |
| ¼ cup | 30 g | 1.06 oz |
| ⅓ cup | 40 g | 1.41 oz |
| ½ cup | 60 g | 2.12 oz |
| ⅔ cup | 80 g | 2.82 oz |
| ¾ cup | 90 g | 3.17 oz |
| 1 cup | 120 g | 4.23 oz |
| 1½ cups | 180 g | 6.35 oz |
| 2 cups | 240 g | 8.47 oz |
Bread flour uses the same 120 g per cup in the reference chart, and is flagged for a double-check until that figure is confirmed. See the full charts on the all-purpose flour and bread flour pages.
Reference values Being verified with kitchen scale tests. Current figures follow the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart.
PLACEHOLDER — Imran to complete: Record scooped vs. spooned weights for the same cup of your usual flour (brand and average of several trials). A photo of the cup on the scale is helpful.
Frequently asked questions
What’s the difference between spoon-and-level and scooping?
Spoon-and-level means stirring the flour, spooning it into a dry measuring cup and sweeping the top flat. Scooping (dip-and-sweep) means dipping the cup into the bag and leveling it, which packs extra flour into the cup.
Why does the way I measure flour change my bake?
A cup is a volume, and flour compresses. A packed cup weighs more, so the batter or dough is drier than the recipe writer intended. That’s a common reason cookies turn out dry or cakes come out dense.
How many grams are in a cup of all-purpose flour?
The reference value on this site is 120 g for 1 US cup of all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled, from the King Arthur Baking ingredient weight chart. It has not yet been confirmed with our own scale tests.
Should I sift flour before I measure it?
Only when the recipe says to. “1 cup sifted flour” means sift first, then measure. “1 cup flour, sifted” means measure first, then sift. Our 120 g figure is for fluffed, spooned and leveled flour, not flour sifted into the cup.
Is weighing flour better than using cups?
Yes, if you want the same result from batch to batch. Weighing skips packing entirely. Use a kitchen scale that reads in grams, or convert the cups once and write the grams on the recipe.