How Many Grams in a Cup of Flour and Other Baking Staples
Why Cup Measurements Vary So Much
One cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 120 grams when you spoon it into the cup and level it off. Scoop the flour straight from the bag with the measuring cup and that same "cup" can weigh 140–150 grams — roughly 25% more flour, and enough to turn a soft cookie into a dry, crumbly one.
This is the core problem with volume measurements: flour is compressible. How tightly it's packed, how it was stored, the humidity in your kitchen, and even the brand of flour all change the weight of a cup. Grams don't lie. A scale removes every one of those variables, which is why professional bakers and most serious recipe writers outside the US measure by weight.
Until you switch to a scale, knowing the gram equivalents below will let you convert volume-based recipes accurately and check whether your "cup" is the same as the recipe author's.
Flour Conversions by Type
Flour isn't one ingredient — different milled flours have different densities, so a cup of cake flour is not the same as a cup of bread flour. These weights assume the standard spoon-and-level method: stir the flour in its container, spoon it into a dry measuring cup, and sweep a straight edge across the top.
- All-purpose flour: 1 cup = 120 g (King Arthur Baking's standard; many US recipes use 125 g)
- Bread flour: 1 cup = 127 g
- Cake flour: 1 cup = 114 g
- Whole wheat flour: 1 cup = 128 g
- Pastry flour: 1 cup = 113 g
- Almond flour: 1 cup = 96 g
If a recipe doesn't specify, assume 120 g per cup of all-purpose flour. If you're converting a family recipe that came from a baker who scooped, assume closer to 140 g and reduce the flour slightly if the dough seems dry.
Grams in a Cup of Other Baking Staples
Once you have flour right, the rest of the pantry follows. Two traps are worth flagging: brown sugar must be packed firmly into the cup (a loosely filled cup can be 30–40 g light), and powdered sugar should be sifted before measuring because it compacts in the bag.
| Ingredient | 1 cup | 1 tablespoon | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-purpose flour | 120 g | 7.5 g | Spoon and level |
| Bread flour | 127 g | 8 g | Higher protein, denser |
| Cake flour | 114 g | 7 g | Sifted |
| Whole wheat flour | 128 g | 8 g | Slightly heavier |
| Granulated sugar | 200 g | 12.5 g | Pour and level |
| Brown sugar | 213 g | 13 g | Firmly packed |
| Powdered sugar | 120 g | 8 g | Sift first |
| Butter | 227 g | 14 g | 2 sticks |
| Cocoa powder | 85 g | 5 g | Spoon and level |
| Rolled oats | 90 g | 5.5 g | Old-fashioned |
| Honey | 340 g | 21 g | Measure by weight, not cup |
| Milk or water | 240 g | 15 g | 1 cup = 240 ml |
| Chocolate chips | 170 g | 10.5 g | Semi-sweet |
How to Measure Flour Correctly Without a Scale
If you don't own a kitchen scale yet — and a decent one costs about $10 and lasts for years — technique matters more than memorizing numbers.
- Fluff, spoon, level. Stir the flour in the bag to break up compaction, spoon it into a dry measuring cup until it mounds, then level with the back of a knife.
- Never scoop directly. Dragging the cup through the bag packs flour and adds up to 30 g per cup.
- Use dry cups for dry ingredients. Liquid measuring cups have room above the rim for sloshing; that gap makes dry ingredients under-measured.
- Don't tap or shake the cup to settle it. That compacts flour the same way scooping does.
- Measure cocoa after sifting. Unsifted cocoa has a huge density range — one cup can weigh anywhere from 75 to 100 g.
Common Baking Conversions Worth Memorizing
A few reference points will save you from searching mid-recipe. One stick of butter is 113 g, ½ cup, and 8 tablespoons. One large egg without the shell is about 50 g. One cup of water is exactly 240 ml and 240 g, which is why most baking recipes treat "a cup" as 240 ml even though the legal US cup is 236.6 ml.
For scaling recipes up or down, weight makes it trivial. Halving a recipe that calls for 240 g of flour means 120 g — no guessing about a "scant half cup." This is the single biggest reason to switch to a scale once you're baking regularly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: How many grams are in a cup of all-purpose flour? A: 120 grams when measured with the spoon-and-level method. If you scoop the flour directly from the bag, one cup can weigh 140–150 grams, which is enough to noticeably dry out cakes and cookies.
Q: Is 1 cup of flour 120 g or 125 g? A: Both values are in wide use. King Arthur Baking and most cookbook conversions use 120 g per cup, while many US recipes round to 125 g. The 5-gram difference is roughly one teaspoon of flour and rarely matters in home baking — pick 120 g for consistency and stick with it.
Q: Does 1 cup of flour weigh the same as 1 cup of sugar? A: No. One cup of all-purpose flour weighs about 120 g, while one cup of granulated sugar weighs 200 g. Volume measures space, not mass, and sugar crystals are far denser than milled flour — which is exactly why baking by weight is more reliable.