Measuring, Baking, Substituting and Improvising Part I

People have asked me whether I measure when I cook. While I rarely do when making most entrees or salads -- that's when I do a lot of improvising -- I think baking requires precision. For example, if you don't level your measuring cup when you are measuring out flour (I use a knife handle), you could easily be 25% off -- a difference that's meaningful in terms of texture as well as taste. On the other hand, I do think that life's too short to sift flour; I reduce the amount by about 20% if a recipe calls for sifted flour. And contrary to popular belief, sifting doesn't really blend ingredients well; for that I use a balloon whisk.

Leavening does demand proper proportions, and a recipe can taste salty or bitter if you use too much baking soda or powder. In fact, too much baking powder can make a cake fall! So do it right: 1 tsp baking powder (measured, leveled) per cup of flour. If your recipe is acidic (citrus, brown sugar, yogurt, buttermilk, etc) you need to substitute baking soda for some of the powder. But NB that 1 tsp baking powder is equal in leavening power to only 1/4 tsp baking soda! So a standard muffin recipe that calls for 2 c flour would have 2 tsp baking powder, but 1 tsp baking powder plus 1/4 tsp. soda if you're using buttermilk instead of milk. If you really want to understand why, read pages 73-4 of Shirley Corriher's Cookwise, a book worth owning.