Accurate measurements ensure you rise to the occasion when baking. Understanding the key differences between wet and dry measurements ensures perfect textures and flavours every time.
If you’re having trouble with your baking or the recipes just aren’t working out the way you’d like, perhaps the way ingredients are measured and added to the mix could be looked at.
Let’s look at the difference between wet measurements and dry measurements and how you can enhance and simplify your home baking process with ease.
What are wet measurements?
Wet measurements are wet or liquid ingredients, such as water, milk, oil, eggs, and honey.
In baking, you measure wet ingredients using measuring jugs or cups designed specifically for liquids.
You’ll find that these jugs and cups have a spout for ease of pouring and markings that allow you to visually measure exact ingredient quantities.
Make sure to use measuring jugs for wet measures. If you use a standard dry measure cup, you won’t get an accurate liquid measure.
Examples of wet measurements in a recipe and typical amounts include:
- Water: 60 ml (1/4 cup), 120 ml (1/2 cup), or 240 ml (1 cup)
- Milk: 120 ml (1/2 cup), 180 ml (3/4 cup), or 240 ml (1 cup)
- Eggs: Typically measured by count (e.g., 1–4 eggs), but a large egg is about 50 ml (liquid volume)
- Vanilla extract: 5 ml (1 tsp) or 10 ml (2 tsp)
- Oil: 60 ml (1/4 cup), 120 ml (1/2 cup), or 180 ml (3/4 cup)
- Melted butter: 60 g (1/4 cup), 115 g (1/2 cup), or 230 g (1 cup)
- Yoghurt or sour cream: 120 ml (1/2 cup) or 240 ml (1 cup)
- Cream (e.g., heavy cream): 60 ml (1/4 cup), 120 ml (1/2 cup), or 240 ml (1 cup)
- Honey, syrup, or molasses: 60 ml (1/4 cup), 120 ml (1/2 cup), or 180 ml (3/4 cup)
- Fruit juice (e.g., lemon or orange juice): 15 ml (1 tbsp), 30 ml (2 tbsp), or 60 ml (1/4 cup)
- Pureed fruits or vegetables: 120 ml (1/2 cup) or 240 ml (1 cup)
For wet ingredients, always measure at eye level to get an accurate pour. Inaccurate wet measures can result in your bread dough or scroll dough being sticky and not rising properly.
You see, liquid in a measuring jug creates a curved surface, known as the meniscus. To get an accurate measurement, bend down so your line of sight is at the level of the measurement mark and the bottom of the meniscus (bottom of your wet ingredient) aligns with the line.
What are dry measurements?
Dry measurements are dry ingredients like flour, sugar, salt, and spices.
When you bake, you measure dry ingredients using dry measuring cups or spoons, which are designed to hold the exact amount of the ingredient when levelled off with a straight edge.
Once levelled off, you simply add the exact measure of each dry ingredient to your recipe.
You would then run the back of a knife across the top of the cup to level off the flour, giving you exactly one cup of flour.
Examples of dry measurements in a recipe and typical amounts include:
- Flour (all-purpose, whole wheat, etc.): 120 g (1 cup), 60 g (1/2 cup), 30 g (1/4 cup)
- Sugar (granulated, caster, brown): 200 g (1 cup), 100 g (1/2 cup), 50 g (1/4 cup)
- Icing sugar (powdered sugar): 125 g (1 cup), 60 g (1/2 cup), 30 g (1/4 cup)
- Cocoa powder: 85 g (1 cup), 42 g (1/2 cup), 21 g (1/4 cup)
- Baking powder: 5 g (1 tsp), 15 g (1 tbsp)
- Baking soda (bicarbonate of soda): 5 g (1 tsp), 15 g (1 tbsp)
- Salt: 1 g (1/4 tsp), 5 g (1 tsp), 15 g (1 tbsp)
- Spices (e.g., cinnamon, nutmeg): 2 g (1/2 tsp), 5 g (1 tsp)
- Oats (rolled or quick): 90 g (1 cup), 45 g (1/2 cup), 20 g (1/4 cup)
- Nuts (chopped): 120 g (1 cup), 60 g (1/2 cup), 30 g (1/4 cup)
- Chocolate chips: 175 g (1 cup), 87 g (1/2 cup), 44 g (1/4 cup)
- Dry milk powder: 60 g (1 cup), 30 g (1/2 cup), 15 g (1/4 cup).
Key difference between wet and dry measures
This table summarises the key difference between wet and dry measurements, for your reference.
Aspect | Wet Measurements | Dry Measurements |
---|---|---|
Measuring tools | Measuring jugs with spouts and clear markings | Measuring cups/spoons with flat tops |
Method | Fill to the exact marking, consider the meniscus | Scoop and level with a straight edge |
Consistency | Used for liquids that flow and settle evenly | Used for loose or granulated dry materials |
The challenge with mixing wet and dry measurements
Using the wrong tools can cause inaccuracies.
For example, measuring flour in a liquid jug might pack the flour too densely, resulting in more flour than intended.
And measuring liquids in measuring cups can lead to spills or overflow in ingredients, leading to incorrect measurements. Dry cups also lack the meniscus line, leading to incorrect measures when judging from above.
Why this matters for bakers
If you’re a commercial baker or run a cafe or food service business and make your own bread dough, then you’ll know how important getting wet and ingredients right is.
If you’re a home baker, using accurate wet and dry measurements is also very important in perfecting your favourite recipes.
When making bread doughs, incorrect measurements can lead to overly wet doughs or dense, dry results.
We understand your concerns:
- Finding skilled staff, retaining them and the costs of labour
- How to come up with new and delicious products that delight your customers
- Ingredient sourcing and storage
- Logistics, space, and investing in a full bakery set-up.
For commercial bakers, here is a pro tip. Have you considered using premade dough? It saves you the time, money and hassle of perfecting your own recipes, and allows you to expand your product range at ease. Look to Suprima Bakeries for a quality range of frozen bread doughs that you bake fresh.
Frozen dough takes the hard work out of the traditional baking process. Eliminate the need for in-house bakers, mixing and measuring ingredients, and around-the-clock staffing. Avoid messy cleanups after a long day and enjoy the peace of mind that comes from using a simple and easy process.
Author: Marshall Thurlow is Director and Founder of Orion Marketing Pty Ltd. He is a digital marketer with expertise in SEO, website design, content marketing, and project management.