One cup of all-purpose flour weighs 120 g, spooned and levelled, according to King Arthur Baking. That is the single most important number in baking: all-purpose flour is the default flour in most recipes, and the difference between a spooned cup at 120 g and a scooped cup at 140 g or more is the difference between a tender cake and a dry one. This guide covers the weight of all-purpose flour in every measure you will use — cups, tablespoons, teaspoons and grams — how to measure it correctly, what to use instead when you run out, and how to store it. All weights on this page are approximate; flour is compressible, so verify with a kitchen scale when the bake matters.
All-Purpose Flour: weight and measurement table
The table below gives the weight of all-purpose flour in every measure you will use, from a teaspoon up to 2 cups, all derived from the King Arthur Baking figure of 120 g per cup, spooned and levelled. Every figure is approximate — spooned and levelled is a technique, not a machine setting — so when the recipe matters, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale instead.
| Amount | Weight (approx.) |
| --- | --- |
| 1 teaspoon | 2.5 g |
| 1 tablespoon | 7.5 g |
| 1/4 cup (4 tbsp) | 30 g |
| 1/3 cup | 40 g |
| 1/2 cup (8 tbsp) | 60 g |
| 3/4 cup (12 tbsp) | 90 g |
| 1 cup (16 tbsp) | 120 g |
| 2 cups | 240 g |
| 100 g | 0.8 cups |
There are 3 teaspoons in a tablespoon and 16 tablespoons in a cup, so you can move between any of these measures by multiplying or dividing. If a recipe calls for 100 g and you only have measuring cups, that is about 0.8 cups. Keep the cups to grams converter open while you cook and you will never need to do the arithmetic in your head.
What is All-Purpose Flour?
All-purpose flour is the standard white wheat flour for most baking, milled from a blend of hard and soft wheat. It sits in the middle of the flour range: strong enough for bread, tender enough for cakes, with a protein content of about 10 to 12 percent. That middle ground is what makes it all-purpose — it does everything adequately, even if a specialist flour does one thing better. It is used for cakes, cookies, breads, pastry and sauces, and it is the flour that almost every recipe means when it simply says flour. The flour is milled from the endosperm of the wheat kernel, with the bran and germ removed, which is why it keeps for up to a year in a cool, dry place while whole wheat flour goes rancid in months. Bleached and unbleached versions exist: bleached flour is treated to whiten it and soften its protein, giving slightly more tender cakes, while unbleached flour has a denser texture and a faintly creamier colour. For most recipes the two are interchangeable, and both weigh 120 g per cup.
How to measure All-Purpose Flour correctly
All-Purpose Flour is measured spooned and levelled, and the method matters more than most cooks realise. For dry ingredients, spoon the ingredient into the measure with a smaller spoon, letting it fall loosely, then sweep a knife across the top to level it — never dip the measuring cup into the bag, because dipping compresses the ingredient and adds up to 20 percent. For liquids, pour into a liquid measuring jug and read the level at eye height, or weigh directly into the bowl, which is the most accurate method of all. The King Arthur Baking figure used on this page is 120 g per cup, and it is the figure the site's converters use, so the numbers here and the numbers in the tool always agree. Confidence in this figure is high.
A note on the published figures
Flour weight is the most disputed conversion in baking: King Arthur lists 120 g per cup spooned and levelled, while other sources quote 125 g, 130 g and up to 142 g for a scooped cup. We use the King Arthur spooned-and-levelled value as primary.
Worked examples
A victoria sponge for a birthday
A victoria sponge uses 2 cups of all-purpose flour — 240 g — creamed with 240 g of butter, 240 g of sugar and 4 eggs. The equal-weights formula is the classic sponge ratio, and it only works if the flour is weighed: 2 scooped cups can weigh 280 g, which throws the ratio off by 40 g and gives a dry, heavy cake. Weighing 240 g of flour keeps the sponge light and even, and it also tells you how much batter you have — about 960 g in total, which fills two 20 cm tins exactly. If you are making the sponge in a larger tin, scale every ingredient by the same factor and weigh each one; the sponge ratio is forgiving of small errors, but not of a 40 g flour error.
A weeknight pizza dough
A pizza dough for two uses 3 cups of all-purpose flour — 360 g — with 200 ml of water, a teaspoon of yeast and a teaspoon of salt. The flour weight is what makes the dough reproducible: 360 g of flour to 200 g of water is a 55 percent hydration dough, firm enough to shape and stretch without tearing. If the flour is measured by the cup instead, the hydration can swing by 5 percent either way, and the dough comes out sticky one week and stiff the next. Weighing the flour also lets you adjust for humidity — on a damp day, hold back 10 g of water; on a dry day, add 10 g. The dough is kneaded for 10 minutes, rested for an hour, and stretched to a 30 cm round.
Thickening a gravy
A gravy for a roast dinner uses 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour — about 22.5 g — cooked with the pan drippings and whisked with stock. The weight matters because flour is the thickener: 22.5 g of flour thickens about 500 ml of stock to a coating consistency, and the ratio is what stops the gravy from turning into wallpaper paste. The flour is cooked in the fat for a minute first, which removes the raw flour taste, then the stock is added gradually while whisking. Weighing the flour is more reliable than spooning it here, because a heaped tablespoon of flour can weigh 12 g instead of 7.5 g, and that error across 3 tablespoons is enough to make the gravy too thick.
Why flour weight varies so much
Flour is the most disputed conversion in baking, and the reason is simple: flour is compressible. A cup of flour spooned lightly into the measure and levelled weighs 120 g. The same cup, scooped straight from the bag with the measuring cup, can weigh 140 g or even 142 g — nearly 20 percent more — because scooping packs the flour down. That is why two bakers following the same recipe can get different results, and why professional bakers weigh flour rather than measuring it by volume. The dispute in published figures comes from this: King Arthur lists 120 g per cup spooned and levelled, while other sources quote 125 g, 130 g and up to 142 g for a scooped cup. All of them are correct for their own method — the difference is the method, not the flour. The practical rule is to pick one method and stick to it: spoon and level for volume, or weigh for accuracy. If a recipe was written in grams, use grams. If it was written in cups, spoon and level, and never scoop. And when you buy a new bag of flour, weigh a cup once to see what your method actually gives you — it is the fastest way to calibrate your baking.
What to use instead
If you run out of all-purpose flour, these are the tested substitutes from our substitution data, with the ratio and the case where each one does not work. Use the ratio by weight where it is given, and check the warning before you commit the batter.
All-purpose flour to Whole wheat flour: 1:1, plus 2 tbsp extra liquid per cup. Do not swap flours 1:1 in delicate cakes or yeasted breads without adjusting liquid and expecting a different crumb.
All-purpose flour to Bread flour: 1:1 (chewier result). Do not swap flours 1:1 in delicate cakes or yeasted breads without adjusting liquid and expecting a different crumb.
All-purpose flour to Cake flour: 1 cup + 2 tbsp cake flour per cup of all-purpose flour. Do not swap flours 1:1 in delicate cakes or yeasted breads without adjusting liquid and expecting a different crumb.
All-purpose flour to Almond flour: 1:1, with an extra egg for binding. Do not swap flours 1:1 in delicate cakes or yeasted breads without adjusting liquid and expecting a different crumb.
The golden rule for any substitution is to match the job, not just the ingredient: a substitute that works in a sauce may fail in a cake, because the two recipes ask different things of the ingredient. When in doubt, use a recipe written for the substitute rather than adapting one written for the original.
Storage
Airtight container in a cool, dry place for up to 1 year. That is the headline, but the details matter. Store all-purpose flour in an airtight container, away from heat, light and strong smells — dry ingredients absorb odours readily, and a bag of flour stored next to the spices will taste of them within a week. Label the container with the date you opened it, so you know how long it has been there, and check it before you bake: if it smells off, tastes bitter, or shows any sign of moisture or insects, discard it. Buying in smaller quantities and using it promptly is better than buying in bulk and storing it for a year, because every ingredient loses flavour with time, even the ones that never truly go bad.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 cup of all-purpose flour?
One cup of all-purpose flour weighs 120 g, spooned and levelled, according to King Arthur Baking. A scooped cup can weigh up to 142 g, so the measuring method matters. One tablespoon weighs 7.5 g and one teaspoon weighs 2.5 g.
How many cups of flour are in 500 g?
There are about 4 cups plus 3 tablespoons in 500 g of all-purpose flour (500 divided by 120 is 4.2 cups). A standard 1 kg bag holds about 8 cups, and a 5 lb bag holds about 19 cups.
Can I use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour?
Yes, 1:1 by weight, but expect a chewier result. Bread flour has more protein (12 to 14 percent), so it builds stronger gluten. It works well in pizza dough and bread, but it makes cakes and cookies tougher. For delicate cakes, use cake flour instead.
Does all-purpose flour go bad?
All-purpose flour keeps for up to 1 year in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. It does not spoil quickly, but it absorbs moisture and odours. Discard it if it smells musty, tastes bitter, or shows insects. Whole wheat flour goes rancid faster — store it in the fridge.
What is the difference between bleached and unbleached flour?
Bleached flour is chemically treated to whiten it and soften its protein, giving slightly more tender cakes. Unbleached flour is denser with a creamier colour. Both weigh 120 g per cup and are interchangeable in most recipes, though bleached flour suits delicate cakes slightly better.
Related pages
If you cook with this ingredient regularly, these pages will help: the cups to grams converter for any amount, the ingredient density lookup for the full table of 120 ingredients, the All-Purpose Flour cups to grams page for cup conversions, the All-Purpose Flour grams to cups page for working backwards from grams, and the All-Purpose Flour tablespoons to grams page for spoon measures. You may also want Cake Flour, Bread Flour.