Reading my grandma's 1950s cake recipe with 'a lump of butter' and 'a teacup of sugar' made me realize how much we overthink baking these days

I saw a post online where someone was complaining about their cake not rising right and it said they'd measured their flour to the gram with a digital scale, and I just thought, grandma never even owned a measuring cup with lines on it, yet her cakes were perfect every time, so why do we make it so complicated now?

3 comments

3 Comments

oscarw832mo ago

Truth be told most folks just overthink it... if your dough feels right in your hands that's way more important than some number on a scale.

gonzalez.reese2mo ago

200 grams of water difference and your dough falls apart though.

danielr941mo ago

That phrase "if your dough feels right in your hands" really hits home. I had a buddy who used to bake with a kitchen scale every single time, and he'd get so stressed if it was off by even a gram. Then he went to a class taught by this old Italian baker who threw the scale out the window on day one. My buddy had to rely completely on his hands and eyes from then on. @gonzalez.reese is right that 200 grams can ruin things if you're only going by weight, but that's exactly why you have to learn the feel of the dough. Once you know how it should look and act, a scale is just a backup tool, not the boss.