Over time, I’ve written quite a lot of articles on utilizing baker’s p.c to specific a dough components, nevertheless it by no means hurts to provide a refresher course for many who have just lately joined our ranks. Lots of time I hear: “Why can’t you simply give me a dough components with the load of every ingredient proven?” I’d if it have been simply that straightforward. In an effort to do that, I would wish to know the way a lot fl our you wish to use in making your dough, and I’m betting that everybody isn’t utilizing the identical weight of fl our, so then I’d get one other request to provide the components once more, however this time with the right ingredient weights for a special fl our weight and so forth. By expressing a dough components in baker’s p.c, the components might be simply manipulated up or down in measurement, primarily based on any fl our weight, and the dough components will all the time be in right steadiness.
The one instruments we’re going to want listed here are a pointy pencil, a pad of paper and our trusty, hand-held calculator. Right here’s a typical pizza dough components introduced in baker’s p.c.
Flour: 100%
Salt: 1.75 p.c
Sugar: 2 p.c
Olive oil: 3 p.c
On the spot dry yeast: 0.375 p.c
Water: 58 p.c
The one rule you must keep in mind is that this: Flour is all the time equal to 100%. What this implies is that no matter fl our weight you have chose to make use of will all the time be equal to 100%, so, simply write down your fl our weight subsequent to that 100% determine.
Let’s say you opted to make use of 40 kilos of fl our for making your dough. Remember that the load of every ingredient will likely be expressed in the identical weight models that you just specific the fl our weight in (kilos, ounces, grams, kilograms, and many others.). Tip: Take a look at your ingredient scale to see how the weights are proven, for instance, some scales will present precise kilos and ounces to the closest 0.2 ounces (for instance: 11 kilos 3.2 ounces, or 3.4 ounces, and many others.); different scales may weigh to the decimal fraction of a pound reminiscent of 11.3 kilos, or 11.4 kilos, and many others.; some may even weigh to a fraction of an oz reminiscent of 11 kilos 4.25 ounces, or 4.5 ounces, or 4.76 ounces, and many others. My least favored scale is the one which solely weights in single decimal fractions of a pound such because the above 11.3 pound instance. The explanation for that is due to its inaccuracy in weighing smaller quantities of substances. Every 0.1 pound is definitely equal to roughly 1.5 ounces, or one other manner of taking a look at it’s, this scale is able to weighing your substances solely to the closest 1.5 ounce measurement. This generally is a drawback in case you want an ingredient weight of 1 or 2 ounces. Attempt to present your fl our weight in the identical weight models that your scale weighs in. More often than not we will get away with exhibiting the fl our weight in ounces with none issues.
Women and gents, flip in your calculators!
1) 40 kilos of fl our will likely be expressed in ounces, so our ingredient weights will even be expressed in ounces. 40 x 16 = 640 ounces of flour.
2) Enter the fl our weight (640) in your calculator, then press “x” adopted by the ingredient weight you wish to discover. On this case salt is 1.75 p.c; so enter 1.75 after which press the “p.c” key, and skim the reply (weight of salt wanted) within the show window: 11.2 ounces. Since we’re not making rocket gas right here, we will spherical this off to 11.25 ounces if desired.
3) Going via the remainder of the substances, the maths seems like this: 640 x 2 (press the “p.c” key) and skim 12.8 ounces of sugar within the show (spherical to 12.75 ounces).
4) 640 x 3 (press the “p.c” key) and skim 19.2 ounces of olive oil within the show (spherical to 19.25 ounces).
5) 640 x 0.375 (press the “p.c” key) and skim 2.4 ounces of IDY within the show (spherical to 2.5-ounces).
6) 640 x 58 (press the “p.c” key) and skim 371.2 ounces of water within the show (spherical to 372.25-ounces or divide by 16 to get the load in kilos. 371.25 divided by 16 = 23.2-
Let’s do the maths another time. This time we’ll use 25 kilos for our fl our weight, with the identical dough components.
1) Flour: 25 kilos or 400 ounces fl our weight (25 x 16 = 400).
2) Salt: 400 x 1.75 (press the “p.c” key) and skim 7 ounces of salt.
3) Sugar: 400 x 2 (press the “p.c” key) and skim 8 ounces of sugar.
4) Olive oil: 400 x 3 (press the “p.c” key) and skim 12 ounces of olive oil.
5) IDY: 400 X 0.375 (press the “p.c” key) and skim 1.5 ounces of IDY.
6) Water: 400 x 58 (press the “p.c” key) and skim 232-ounces of water (or divide 232 by 16 = 14.5 kilos of water).
If you wish to convert an current dough components into one expressed in baker’s p.c, all you must do is to divide the load of every ingredient by the load of the fl our and multiply by 100. Right here’s an instance:
Flour weight is 25 kilos or 400 ounces.
The load of the olive oil is 14 ounces. What’s the baker’s p.c of the olive oil?
14 divided by 400 x 100 = 3.5 p.c.
The water weight is 12 kilos. What’s the baker’s p.c of water? 12 divided by 25 x 100 = 48 p.c.
Do that for every ingredient and also you’ve bought the dough components transformed into baker’s p.c. Now you’ll be able to manipulate the scale of the dough up or down as you would like, realizing that it’s all the time in right steadiness.
Bear in mind, you’ll be able to solely work in weight measures. You can not do baker’s p.c in volumetric measures reminiscent of cups, teaspoons, tablespoons, and many others.
Minimize this copy out, or picture copy it and reserve it for the following time you come throughout a dough components given in baker’s p.c, or when you must convert your personal components into baker’s p.c so you’ll be able to alter the scale of the dough with out concern of your components getting out of steadiness. ?
Tom Lehmann is a director on the American Institute of Baking in Manhattan, Kansas.
