Spent $35 on a decent kitchen scale and my bread recipe ratios have never been this consistent

I used to just eyeball my flour and water for sourdough, but after throwing away three flat loaves in a row I bought an OXO scale from Target and now every batch turns out the same, has anyone else noticed a huge difference when they started weighing instead of measuring?

3 comments

3 Comments

ben4361mo ago

Oh man, the sourdough struggle is real. I went through the same thing with my starter after it kept coming out dense and gummy. Weighing flour and water changed everything for me too. But here's what I wonder - have you noticed a difference in how your dough feels during kneading or folding now? For me, the hydration percentage is way more predictable when I weigh, and my dough actually springs back the right way instead of being a sticky mess. Curious if you're seeing that same kind of consistency in the handling process, or if it's just the final bake that's better for you.

thead441mo ago

Yeah, that "dough springs back the right way instead of being a sticky mess" is exactly what I started seeing. Once I weighed everything, my folds actually felt like they were doing something useful instead of just fighting with a wet blob.

sean_foster521mo ago

You know, @ben436, I actually was the opposite for a long time - I thought scales were overkill for home baking. Kept telling myself "grandma never weighed anything" type stuff. Then I picked up a cheap Amazon scale and did my first weighed batch of ciabatta. The dough felt completely different during folds, like it actually had structure instead of just spreading out into a pancake. My bake times got way more predictable too, the crust was actually crispy instead of soft. Crazy how big a difference just getting the water right makes.