ANQ - Another Newbie Question - measurements?

[Steveinid]

I read the recipes people are posting and I'm a bit confused about something. Here is the Reinhart recipe for example:

Flour (100%):   2.55 lbs
Water (62.22%):  1.59 lbs
IDY (.80%):   1.02 tbsp
Salt (2.22%):   1.78 tbsp
Olive Oil (6.67%):   .36 cups
Honey (4.44%):   2.45 tbsp
Total (176.35%):   4.5 lbs
Single Ball:   .75 lbs

The flour and water are measured in weight and the rest are measured in volume. Is this intentional? shouldn't a recipe be consistent in its measurements?

So... my stupid question that I have to ask just because... is the flour and water really measured in weight or is it, instead, in cups i.e. 2.55 cups and 1.59 cups???

Or, is it as the converter says: 2.55 lbs of flour is actually about 9.25 cups of flour and 1.59 lbs of water is about 3 cups of water?

[Pete-zza]

Steveinid,

What you have posted as the Reinhart recipe is an abbreviated version. In that context, it is very common to recite the flour and water by weight since it is important to get their weights right since they determine the hydration of the dough. The rest of the ingredients can be specified by volume measurements. This is especially convenient when the scale is unable to weigh small quantities of ingredients. You can see the entire Reinhart recipe you mentioned with the full complement of numbers at http://www.pizzamaking.com/forum/index.php/topic,13442.msg133211.html#msg133211.

Peter

[Steveinid]

I abbreviated it since I couldn't copy and paste it for some reason. It puts the measurements on a different line. I didn't want to type everything out.

Back to the subject. I followed the link back to the original post on another website and noticed the following:

22 ounces (624 grams) Germania flour or a blend of 20 oz./567 g of your favorite bread or Double Zero flour and 2 oz./56 g of pumpernickel or coarse rye flour or rye meal).  If you don't have a scale, this will be approx. 4 3/4 cups of flour. (this is good, I can understand this)

0.5 oz/56 g. salt (a scant 2 teaspoons or 2 1/2 teaspoons if using coarse kosher or coarse sea salt)

1 oz./28 g crystal beer malt (light or dark--I use amber) or 1 1/2 tablespoons barley malt syrup

0.11 oz/3 g instant yeast (1 teaspoon)  OR, 1 1/4 teaspoons dry active yeast dissolved in 4 ounces of the water for about 3 to 5 minutes

16 oz/452 g  water, room temp. (if using Caputo or another Italian Double Zero, reduce the water to 14 oz/399 g)

So, I'm going to assume that this is 16 oz of water by weight???

Please bear with me, either I over think things, or I'm a little dense. Not sure which.

[Pete-zza]

Steveinid,

Yes, the 16 ounces of water is by weight. You can tell by the fact the weight of water is also given in grams. One pound is about 452 grams in the metric system (the more accurate value is 16 x 28.35 = 453.6). The flour in your recipe is also by weight since the gram equivalent is also given. In most cases, flour is recited by weight, not volume. Where things get confusing is where a liquid ingredient is specified in only ounces. For example, if a recipe lists, say, 12 ounces of oil, and nothing more, there is no way to know whether the measurement is 12 ounces by weight or 12 ounces by volume.

Peter

[Steveinid]

Thanks for the clarification. I didn't think to link the oz with grams. 

I've been wanting to tackle some of these recipes but have had these questions floating around the brain bucket.