Common baking conversions you need to know!
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Understanding baking conversions can help you adapt recipes to suit your needs and get consistent results. Therefore we have created this easy conversion guide that you can use when baking recipes in the oven. This can be your go-to guide when baking bread, cakes, cookies, and pies. So are you ready to learn about common baking conversions? Get ready to put it in the oven!
Different Measuring Systems
There are two measuring systems used in recipes, the imperial and the metric system. The imperial system is mainly used in the US and the metric system in the rest of the world. In the UK both systems are used.
In the metric system, the volume of liquid ingredients is measured in liters and the weight of dry ingredients is measured in grams.
In the imperial system, the volume of liquid ingredients can be measured in cups, ounces, and spoons. Dry ingredients can also be measured in cups, ounces, and spoons, but also in pounds.
Cups and ounces can be used in the imperial system to measure both dry and liquid ingredients. There is however a difference between ounces, which measure weight, and fluid ounces, which measure volume.
- Liquid measuring cups indicate that 1 cup = 8 ounces. This means that 1 cup of liquid = 8 fluid ounces.
- For dry measurements this is different. Because dry ingredients vary greatly in weight, you can’t rely on the same conversion. For example: 1 cup of all-purpose flour weighs 4.5 ounces, not 8 ounces.
Using Different Kinds Of Measurements
Baking recipes often use weight (grams and ounces) or volume (cups and tablespoons) for measuring dry ingredients.
- Weight measurements – Using a kitchen scale to measure dry ingredients by weight is the most accurate method.
Different ingredients have varying densities, meaning that a cup of flour won’t necessarily weigh the same as a cup of sugar. For example:
1 cup of all-purpose flour = approximately 120 grams
1 cup of granulated sugar = approximately 200 grams - Volume measurements – Many recipes, especially those from the United States, use volume measurements. While this method is convenient, it can lead to inconsistencies if not measured correctly. To ensure accuracy, use proper measuring cups and spoons.
Always spoon the ingredients into the cup and level them off with a knife rather than packing it down.
Conversion Table For Liquid Ingredients
The volume of most liquids (including water, juice, milk, and cream) can be converted from imperial (cups, ounces, and spoons) to metric (liters) by using the following table.
| Imperial | Metric |
| ⅕ teaspoon | 1 ml |
| 1 teaspoon (tsp) | 5 ml |
| 1 tablespoon (tbsp) | 15 ml |
| 1 fluid oz. | 30 ml |
| ⅕ cup | 50 ml |
| ¼ cup | 60 ml |
| ⅓ cup | 80 ml |
| 3.4 fluid oz. | 100 ml |
| ½ cup | 120 ml |
| ⅔ cup | 160 ml |
| ¾ cup | 180 ml |
| 1 cup | 240 ml |
| 2 cups (1 pint) | 480 ml |
| 4 cups (1 quart) | 0.95 liter |
| 34 fluid oz. | 1 liter |
| 4.2 cups | 1 liter |
Conversion Table For Weights
The following table can be used for converting weights between imperial (ounces and pounds) to metric (grams)
| Imperial | Metric |
| .035 ounce | 1 gram |
| 0.5 oz. | 14 grams |
| 1 oz. | 28 grams |
| ¼ pound (lb) | 113 grams |
| ⅓ pound (lb) | 151 grams |
| ½ pound (lb) | 227 grams |
| 1 pound (lb) | 454 grams |
| 1.10 pounds (lbs) | 500 grams |
| 2.205 pounds (lbs) | 1 kilogram |
| 35 oz. | 1 kilogram |
Conversion Table For Dry Ingredients
The following table can be used to convert measurements of frequently used dry ingredients, between the imperial (cups and spoons) and the metric system (grams)
| Ingredients | Imperial | Metric |
| Sugar | 1 teaspoon of caster sugar | 4.2 grams |
| 1 tablespoon of caster sugar | 12.6 grams | |
| 1 cup of caster sugar | 200 grams | |
| 1 cup of raw sugar | 250 grams | |
| 1 cup of brown sugar | 220 grams | |
| 1 cup of icing sugar | 125 grams | |
| Salt | ¼ teaspoon | 1.42 grams |
| ½ teaspoon | 2.84 grams | |
| 1 teaspoon | 5.69 grams | |
| ½ tablespoon | 8.53 grams | |
| 1 tablespoon | 17.07 grams | |
| Butter (salted/unsalted) | 1 tablespoon | 14.2 grams |
| 2 tablespoons | 28.4 grams | |
| ½ cup | 113 grams | |
| 1 cup | 226 grams | |
| Honey | 1 tablespoon | 21.25 grams |
| ¼ cup | 85 grams | |
| 1 cup | 340 grams | |
| Yeast | 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast | 3.1 grams |
| 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast | 6.2 grams | |
| 1 tablespoon instant dry yeast | 9.3 grams | |
| All-purpose flour | 1 tablespoon | 7.8 grams |
| 2 tablespoons | 15.6 grams | |
| ½ cup | 62.5 grams | |
| 1 cup | 125 grams | |
| Bread flour | 1 tablespoon | 7.9 grams |
| 2 tablespoons | 15.8 grams | |
| ½ cup | 63.5 grams | |
| 1 cup | 127 grams | |
| Cake/pastry flour | 1 tablespoon | 6.25 grams |
| 2 tablespoons | 12.5 grams | |
| ½ cup | 50 grams | |
| 1 cup | 100 grams | |
| Whole wheat flour | 1 tablespoon | 7.5 grams |
| 2 tablespoons | 15 grams | |
| ½ cup | 60 grams | |
| 1 cup | 120 grams |
Converting Yeast
You can follow the following rules for converting yeast:
- To convert an amount of fresh yeast to active dry yeast multiply the weight of the fresh yeast by 0.4
- To convert an amount of fresh yeast to instant dry yeast multiply the weight of the fresh yeast by 0.33
- To convert an amount of instant dry yeast to active dry yeast multiply the weight of the instant dry yeast by 1.2
Converting Cups And Spoons
You can use the following table to quickly convert cups to spoons and vice versa.
| Cups | Spoons |
| 1 tablespoon | 3 teaspoons |
| ¼ cup | 4 tablespoons |
| ⅓ cup | 5 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon |
| ½cup | 8 tablespoons |
| ⅔ cup | 10 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons |
| ¾ cup | 12 tablespoons |
| 1 cup | 16 tablespoons |
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