Wednesday, September 21, 2011

weight-volume translation


Because of a recent baking post I read, I've been thinking about this some more.

According to a weight-to-volume converter I found online:
  • 1kg of wheat flour translates to ~ 1.686L of volume
  • 1kg of water translates to 1L of volume
So, thinking out loud & inspired by a related post, I'm guessing the water weight-volume conversion will serve as a good tool for rough estimation. How about this:
  • Line a basket/container with a plastic bag
  • Fill it full of water up to where you think the size of your doughball will be.
  • Weigh the bag of water & write the number down (this becomes NumberA)
  • Now place the bag back in the container, and fill the bag up to the top of the container
  • Weigh the bag of water & write the number down (this becomes NumberB)

I'm guessing the optimum dough weight for a measured volume will be at least NumberA and Number B. The volume that develops will depend on the dough density and bread style (sourdoughs/hearth breads will weigh more than lean doughs/fluffy white breads).