1 tablespoon of bread flour weighs 7.5 g. Bread flour is the same weight per tablespoon as all-purpose flour, because both are listed at 120 g per cup, but it contains more protein, 12 to 14 percent, which builds the strong gluten network that gives bread its chew. The tablespoon figure is rarely the unit for bread, which is measured in cups or weighed, but it is useful for small additions like dusting a work surface.
All figures on this page are approximate, and they come from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. When a recipe has to work the first time, verify with a kitchen scale.
Method and source
The figure on this page comes from King Arthur Baking, measured spooned and levelled. High-protein white flour (12-14% protein) that builds strong gluten networks. Yeasted breads, pizza dough and bagels.
A note on disputed figures. 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.
All results on this page are approximate. Ingredient weights vary with brand, humidity, temperature and how firmly you pack the cup, so when a recipe has to work the first time, weigh the ingredient on a kitchen scale and use the numbers here as a guide.
Conversion table
| Amount | Grams of bread flour |
|---|---|
| 1 teaspoon | 2.5 g |
| 1 tablespoon | 7.5 g |
| 2 tablespoons | 15 g |
| 3 tablespoons | 22.5 g |
| 1/4 cup (4 tablespoons) | 30 g |
| 1/3 cup | 40 g |
| 1/2 cup (8 tablespoons) | 60 g |
| 3/4 cup (12 tablespoons) | 90 g |
| 1 cup (16 tablespoons) | 120 g |
One tablespoon is one sixteenth of a cup, so every figure above is simply the cup weight divided by 16, rounded to one decimal place. All figures are approximate; verify with a kitchen scale when it matters.
Three real kitchen examples
Dusting a work surface for kneading
A bread dough needs about 2 tablespoons of bread flour, 15 g, dusted over the work surface to stop the dough sticking while you knead it. Use as little as you can, because extra flour worked into the dough makes the bread dense. A bench scraper is a better tool than extra flour for handling a sticky dough.
A pizza dough for a Friday night
A pizza dough recipe uses 32 tablespoons of bread flour, about 240 g, which is 2 cups, mixed with water, yeast and salt. The high-protein flour gives the dough its stretch and its chew. Weigh the flour if you can, because bread is the one kind of baking where a scale makes the biggest difference.
A small batch of dinner rolls
A dinner roll recipe uses 24 tablespoons of bread flour, about 180 g, which is 1 1/2 cups, for eight rolls. The rolls need a strong flour to hold their shape and to give them a chewy crumb. Let the dough rise until it has doubled, then shape the rolls and let them rise again before baking.
Getting it right in your kitchen
Spoon the flour into the cup and level it off with a straight edge. Scooping straight from the bag packs the flour down and can add 20 g or more per cup, which is enough to turn a tender cake dry and dense. Do not sift before measuring unless the recipe says sifted, because sifting adds air and changes the weight. If you bake often, the single best upgrade is a kitchen scale: weighing flour removes the biggest source of variation in home baking entirely. Until then, spoon and level every time, and use the same cup for the whole recipe so any small error stays consistent.
Scaling with tablespoons is easy once you know the weight of one spoon. To measure 100 g of bread flour, count out about 13.3 tablespoons, and for 50 g, about 6.7 tablespoons. Halving a recipe that calls for 4 tablespoons means using 2 tablespoons, or 15 g, and doubling it means 8 tablespoons, or 60 g. The key is to scale every ingredient by the same factor, because changing one ingredient without changing the others throws the recipe out of balance. For large amounts, switch to a cup measure or a scale: counting out 16 tablespoons is slow and error-prone, and a cup is faster and more accurate.
When should you weigh bread flour instead of measuring it? Whenever the recipe has to work the first time, and whenever the amount is large. A kitchen scale costs less than a single failed cake, and it removes the biggest source of variation in home cooking: the way ingredients pack into a cup or a spoon. Put the bowl on the scale, press tare, and add the bread flour until the display shows the number you need. There is nothing to wash afterwards except the bowl, and the result is the same every time. For small amounts, a level spoon is accurate enough, and for liquids, a jug is fine, but for anything where precision matters, the scale is the tool to reach for.
Storage. Airtight container, cool and dry, up to 1 year.
- Use a bench scraper, not extra flour, for sticky dough.
- Weigh bread flour for the best results.
- Bread flour has 12 to 14 percent protein.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is a tablespoon of bread flour?
One tablespoon of bread flour weighs 7.5 g, and one teaspoon is 2.5 g. A cup of bread flour is 120 g, the same as all-purpose flour, though bread flour has more protein.
Can I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?
Yes, but the result will be different. All-purpose flour has less protein, so the bread will be softer and less chewy, with a finer crumb. For pizza and bagels, the difference is noticeable; for a soft sandwich loaf, it barely matters.
Why does bread flour need more protein?
Protein forms gluten when it meets water, and gluten is the network that traps the gas produced by the yeast. More protein means a stronger network, which means a chewier bread that holds its shape and rises well.
How do I measure bread flour accurately?
Spoon it into the cup and level it off, or weigh it. Bread flour is the one flour where weighing makes the biggest difference, because a small error in flour changes the hydration of the dough and the texture of the bread.
How long does bread flour keep?
About a year in an airtight container in a cool, dry place. It is a refined flour, so it keeps longer than whole-grain flours, but check for a stale smell before using older stock.
A note on cup sizes: every figure on this page uses the US cup, which holds 236.6 millilitres. A metric cup, used in Australia and some other countries, holds 250 millilitres, which is about six percent larger, so the same ingredient measured in a metric cup will weigh about six percent more. If your measuring cups are metric, multiply the gram figures here by 1.06, or better still, weigh the ingredient on a scale and skip the cup altogether. The scale does not care which country your cups came from.