1/2 Cup Bread Flour in Grams

1/2 cup of bread flour weighs 60 g (spooned and levelled, King Arthur Baking). A full cup weighs 120 g, so the half cup is exactly half of that. High-protein white flour (12-14% protein) that builds strong gluten networks. All the figures on this page are approximate conversions based on the King Arthur Baking value, so when a recipe really matters, verify with a kitchen scale.

Why weighing bread flour beats measuring it in cups

Half a cup of bread flour weighs 60 g, and that measure comes up in small-batch bread baking: a single pizza base, a test loaf, a starter feeding, or a recipe scaled down for one person. Bread flour is a high-protein flour, 12 to 14 percent protein, and that protein is what builds the strong gluten networks that give bread its chew and structure. In a small batch, the flour weight decides the hydration: a dough made with 60 g of flour and 40 g of water is 67 percent hydration, while the same dough made with a scooped half cup at 70 g of flour is only 57 percent hydration, and the two doughs handle completely differently.

The disputed range for flour weight applies to bread flour just as it does to all-purpose flour. King Arthur lists 120 g per cup spooned and levelled, while scooped cups can reach 130 g or more, which means a half cup could be quoted anywhere from 60 g to 65 g or beyond. This page uses the King Arthur spooned-and-levelled value of 60 g per half cup. For bread, the method matters even more than for cakes, because bread dough is judged by feel and hydration, and a flour error changes both.

Bread Flour cups to grams conversion table

Cups Grams Tablespoons
1/8 cup 15 g 2
1/4 cup 30 g 4
1/3 cup 40 g 5.3
1/2 cup 60 g 8
2/3 cup 80 g 10.7
3/4 cup 90 g 12
1 cup 120 g 16
1 1/2 cups 180 g 24
2 cups 240 g 32
3 cups 360 g 48

The table is built around the half cup, which is the measure this page is about, with the full-cup weight of 120 g as the anchor. Every row is the full-cup weight multiplied by the fraction, so the numbers stay consistent as you scale up or down. One tablespoon of bread flour weighs about 7.5 g, which is useful when a recipe calls for a spoonful rather than a cup.

Worked examples

A single pizza base for one

A single pizza base uses about 1/2 cup of bread flour, which is 60 g, mixed with 40 g of water, a pinch of yeast and a pinch of salt. Weigh 60 g so the hydration is right: the dough should be soft and slightly tacky, and a scooped half cup would make it stiff and dry. Knead the dough for five minutes, let it rise for an hour, then stretch it into a base and top it.

Feeding a sourdough starter

A sourdough starter feeding uses about 1/2 cup of bread flour, which is 60 g, mixed with 60 g of water. Weigh the flour so the feeding ratio stays consistent: a starter fed with the same weight of flour and water every time is predictable, while a starter fed by volume drifts as the flour settles. Discard half the starter before feeding, stir well, and leave it at room temperature until it bubbles.

A test batch of bagels

A test batch of two bagels uses about 1/2 cup of bread flour, which is 60 g, mixed with water, yeast and salt, then shaped, boiled and baked. Weigh 60 g so the dough is firm enough to hold its shape: bagel dough is stiffer than bread dough, and a flour error makes the bagels spread instead of holding their ring shape.

How the weight was measured

The figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled unless the method line says otherwise. Spooning means filling the cup with a spoon rather than plunging the cup into the bag, and levelling means sweeping a knife across the rim. Scooping packs the ingredient down and can add a fifth or more to the weight, which is why two bakers following the same cup-based recipe can get visibly different results.

Confidence in this value is high. That reflects how consistent the ingredient is from brand to brand: a uniform, factory-packed ingredient is more predictable than a fresh, variable one. Even a high-confidence figure is still an approximation, because moisture, grind size and settling all shift the weight a little. Treat the grams on this page as a reliable starting point and check with a scale when the recipe is fussy, expensive, or being made for the first time.

Same disputed range as all-purpose flour; King Arthur lists 120 g per cup spooned and levelled, while scooped cups can reach 130 g or more.

Practical guidance

Store bread flour in an airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year, because it absorbs moisture and kitchen smells. Always spoon the flour into the cup and level it, never scoop, because scooping compresses the flour and a scooped half cup can weigh 65 g or more. For bread, weighing is more important than for cakes, because the dough hydration depends on the flour weight, and a 10 g error changes the dough noticeably. Use a scale that reads to the gram for small batches. If you do not have a scale, spoon the flour loosely into the half cup and level it, remembering that the 60 g figure is approximate and that scooped cups can reach 65 g or more per half cup.

Common mistakes with half-cup measures

The most common mistake is treating a half cup as a casual measure. Half a cup of flour is 60 g, and a scooped half cup can easily weigh 70 g or more, which is a 15 percent error in a recipe that may only contain two or three cups of flour in total. Small measures carry the largest relative errors, so weighing matters more, not less, at this size. The second mistake is using a liquid measuring jug for dry flour: the meniscus line is designed for liquids, and flour measured in a jug is almost always over- or under-filled. Use a dry cup, or a scale. The third is assuming every flour weighs the same per half cup: the flours on this page range from about 42 g to about 82 g per half cup, so swapping flours cup for cup without adjusting the weight changes the recipe. Finally, do not pack flour into the half cup to make it look full: spoon and level, every time.

Frequently asked questions

How many grams is 1/2 cup of bread flour?

1/2 cup of bread flour weighs 60 g when spooned and levelled, according to King Arthur Baking. The figure is approximate, because flour weight is disputed: scooped cups can reach 130 g or more per cup, which would make a half cup 65 g or more. This page uses the King Arthur spooned-and-levelled value.

Can I use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour?

Yes, but the result will be chewier, because bread flour has more protein and builds stronger gluten. In a small batch, weigh the flour rather than measuring by volume, because the two flours weigh the same per cup but behave differently in the dough.

How much water do I need for 1/2 cup of bread flour?

It depends on the dough, but a typical pizza dough uses about 40 g of water for 60 g of flour, which is about 67 percent hydration. Weigh both the flour and the water, because the hydration ratio is what decides how the dough handles.

Why does my small loaf come out dense?

Often because the flour was scooped rather than spooned and levelled, so the dough had too much flour and too little water. Weigh 60 g per half cup, check the hydration, and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic.

Does bread flour need to be sifted?

No, not usually. Bread flour is used for doughs where a fine crumb is not the goal, so sifting is unnecessary. If a recipe calls for sifted flour, sift it first and then measure, because sifted flour is lighter per cup.

Related conversions

If you need a different amount, the table above scales in both directions, and the converter tool will do the maths for any quantity. When a recipe really matters, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale rather than trusting the cup alone, because the figures on this page are approximate and natural ingredients vary by brand, variety and moisture.