Baking
Grams vs Ounces for Baking
Both are weight measurements — but one is much more precise for recipes.
Grams
Metric weight — finer increments, more precise
Ounces
Imperial weight — used in US recipes
At a glance
| Grams | Ounces | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 unit equals | 1 gram | 28.35 grams |
| Scale precision needed | 1 g increments | 0.1 oz (≈3g) increments |
| 1 cup all-purpose flour | 125 g | 4.4 oz |
| 1 stick butter | 113 g | 4 oz |
| Common recipe increment | 5 g, 10 g, 25 g | ¼ oz, ½ oz, 1 oz |
| Used in | Europe, professional kitchens worldwide | United States home recipes |
Pick Grams
Professional baking, any recipe requiring high precision, international recipes, and when adapting recipes for consistent results. Grams scale cleanly and eliminate cup-measurement ambiguity.
Pick Ounces
US recipes that specify ounces, or when your scale only measures in ounces. In that case, converting is simple: multiply grams by 0.0353 or divide by 28.35.
Why professional bakers use grams
The reason professional pastry chefs and bread bakers almost universally use grams comes down to two properties: precision and divisibility.
One ounce equals 28.35 grams. A recipe calling for 4.4 oz of flour is expressing 125 grams — but if your scale only goes to 0.1 oz increments, you are measuring to the nearest 2.8 grams. A gram-based scale at 1 g resolution gives you finer control.
More importantly, grams divide cleanly. If you are scaling a recipe to 60% of its original size and the recipe calls for 200 g flour, the answer is 120 g — straightforward arithmetic. Scaling 7 oz to 60% gives 4.2 oz — harder to read on a scale.
Hydration ratios in bread baking are expressed as "baker's percentages" — the weight of each ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight. This system assumes you are weighing everything. Grams make baker's percentages work intuitively.
Conversion table for common baking ingredients
These conversions assume standard measurements (not packed, not sifted unless specified):
Flours and starches: - All-purpose flour: 1 cup = 125 g = 4.4 oz - Bread flour: 1 cup = 130 g = 4.6 oz - Cake flour: 1 cup = 114 g = 4 oz - Cornstarch: 1 tbsp = 8 g = 0.28 oz
Sugars: - Granulated sugar: 1 cup = 200 g = 7.1 oz - Brown sugar (packed): 1 cup = 220 g = 7.8 oz - Powdered sugar: 1 cup = 120 g = 4.2 oz
Fats: - Butter: 1 stick = 113 g = 4 oz; 1 cup = 227 g = 8 oz - Vegetable oil: 1 cup = 218 g = 7.7 oz - Shortening: 1 cup = 205 g = 7.2 oz
Liquids: - Water: 1 cup = 237 g = 8.35 oz (by weight) - Whole milk: 1 cup = 244 g = 8.6 oz - Honey: 1 cup = 340 g = 12 oz
Leaveners: - Baking powder: 1 tsp = 4 g = 0.14 oz - Baking soda: 1 tsp = 6 g = 0.21 oz - Active dry yeast: 1 packet (2¼ tsp) = 7 g = 0.25 oz
How to adapt US recipes to grams
Most US home recipe websites list only volume measurements (cups, tablespoons, teaspoons). Converting them to grams takes one of two approaches:
Approach 1: Use a conversion reference. Look up the gram equivalent for each ingredient and substitute. The table above covers the most common baking ingredients.
Approach 2: Weigh directly. Put your bowl on a scale, tare to zero, and add each ingredient to the target gram weight. No measuring cups needed at all.
For a recipe you make once, approach 1 with a reference works fine. For a recipe you make repeatedly — your go-to chocolate chip cookies, your regular bread loaf — it is worth the one-time effort to convert everything to grams and write them on the recipe card. Your results will be more consistent batch to batch.
One caveat: small quantities (under about 10 grams) like salt, spices, and baking soda are often more practically measured with measuring spoons than by weight, since many home scales lose accuracy at very small weights. A pinch of salt is fine by spoon; 300 grams of flour should be weighed.