A lot of holiday baking is in full swing, so I thought I’d share the results of a little experiment I’ve been intending to try for some time. This isn’t exactly a life and death issue, but it’s something I wonder about whenever I haul out the flour.

It’s tedious, so is taking the time to “lightly spoon” flour into measuring cups worth the hassle? Let’s find out.

Let’s define our terms. By “scooped” I mean putting the measuring cup directly into the canister/bag and scooping out the flour and leveling off the top. By “lightly spoon” I mean using a spoon to gently place the flour into the measuring cup, then leveling off the top.

I’m using a one-cup measure. Sorry about the scale. Digital would be much more scientific-looking. Ounces on the bottom, grams on the top.

Scooped flour–almost 6 oz.:

Lightly spooned flour–4 1/2 oz.:

So a difference of almost 1 1/2 oz. per cup. Worth it? I guess it depends on what’s baking and how finicky one is about such things.

I will lightly spoon for my pie crust when the ratio of flour to fat is going to determine whether or not I have crumbly dough (aaaghhh!) or perfect dough (:

For a batch of drop cookies or a quick bread, I may not be as patient.

What do you think? Do you take the time to spoon?