How many cups of flour

Executive Member Joined: Jun 26 2010 Posts: 364

in half a 5 lb bag?

I am trying to halve a recipe that calls for a 5 lb bag. I've been just adding flour til it looks right, but I second-guess myself too much and always end up with something different. Google is giving me mixed results.

Thanks!

Diamond Member Joined: Nov 30 2006 Posts: 2593

Generally speaking, in bread recipes, 1 cup = 5 oz. So 2.5 lbs is about 8 cups.

Gold Member Joined: Apr 29 2010 Posts: 1026

According to Joy of Cooking, it's 20 cups to 5 lbs. but I have measured it and usually come out t0 17ish cups. I think it would be 20 if it was freshly sifted.

Platinum Member Joined: Mar 12 2009 Posts: 13155

Active Poster Joined: Jan 28 2010 Posts: 55

One pound of flour is about 3 and a half cups. Figure it out!

Executive Member Joined: Jun 26 2010 Posts: 364

Thank you all!

Posted: Mon, Jan 03 2011, 1:00 am Post subject: re: How many cups of flour

Give a 5 lb. bag of flour to 4 different people, have them measure how many cups are in there, and you will get 4 different answers Wink

Everyone measures their flour differently. Some scoop it out of the bag before sifting, some after sifting (flour is less dense this way and you'll end up with less per cup), some spoon it into the measuring cup (which will also yield less flour per cup), some pack it really tightly and then level it off....

The only way to know how many of your cups of flour are in a 5 lb. bag, is to open a new bag, and start measuring. If you get 16 cups, you'll know that you need to use 8 cups for your recipe. If you get 14 cups, you'll halve that... etc.

Good luck.
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Really Awesome Mom!

Diamond Member Joined: Nov 30 2006 Posts: 2593

FWIW, the measurements I have are that a cup of all purpose flour (bread flour is about the same, cake is lighter) is:
5.2 oz dip and sweep
4.5 oz spooned into cup
4 oz sifted

I suspect that if you're using an older edition of Joy, they may be assuming that you sift, which many people don't do any more.

As I said, I use a 5oz cup when converting recipes to weight. It's about right though sometimes I have to add a bit more (but better to err that way, and sometimes I have extra-large eggs).