ZuqvaHow many grams in a cup of flour?
A US cup of all-purpose flour is about 120 to 125 grams. The exact number depends on how you fill the cup. Spoon the flour in loosely and level it off, and a cup holds about 120 grams. Fill it the way most converters do, and the same cup comes to about 125 grams. Scoop it straight from the bag and it can hold 140 grams or more. All three numbers are right. They describe three different ways of filling the same cup.
Why do three different numbers exist?
A cup measures volume and a gram measures weight, and flour has no fixed weight per cup. King Arthur Baking lists one cup of all-purpose flour at 120 grams, measured spooned and levelled. The USDA lists 125 grams for the same cup. The kitchen converter on this site gives about 125 grams too, because it uses a flour density of 0.53 grams per millilitre: 0.53 times 236.6 millilitres, the volume of a US cup, is about 125 grams. The third number comes from technique: dipping the cup into the bag packs the flour down, and a scooped cup can hold 140 to 160 grams.
How many grams in a cup of flour by type?
Every figure is for one US cup, spooned and levelled, unsifted, from King Arthur Baking's ingredient weight chart.
| Flour | Grams per US cup |
|---|---|
| All-purpose | 120 |
| Bread | 120 |
| Whole wheat | 113 |
| Cake | 120 |
| Almond | 96 |
Bread flour weighs the same as all-purpose flour by the cup. The two differ in protein. Almond flour is a fifth lighter than wheat flour, which is why swapping it cup for cup changes a recipe. Cake flour is the one figure sources disagree on: King Arthur lists 120 grams, while several US mills print 114 grams on the packet.
What about a metric cup?
A metric cup holds 250 millilitres, not 236.6, so it holds a little more flour: about 132 grams at the same density (0.53 times 250 is 132.5). If a recipe from Australia or New Zealand says one cup of flour, it usually means a metric cup, and 125 grams will leave you about 7 grams short.
Worked examples
At the converter's density of 0.53 grams per millilitre, one hundred grams of flour is 188.7 millilitres, or 0.80 US cups. Two hundred and fifty grams is about 2 US cups. Two US cups is about 251 grams. One cup is about 125 grams on the converter, against 120 grams on King Arthur's chart. The 5-gram gap grows with the recipe: at 4 cups it is 20 grams. Every figure here is approximate.
How to measure a cup of flour
Stir the flour in its container to loosen it. Spoon it into a dry measuring cup until the flour mounds above the rim. Sweep the top level with the flat edge of a knife. Do not dip the cup into the bag, and do not tap the cup to settle the flour. Every figure in the table above was measured this way. If a recipe gives weights in grams, skip the cup entirely and weigh the flour. A kitchen scale removes the technique from the measurement.
Does the 5-gram difference matter?
For most baking, no. Five grams on 120 is about 4 percent, which is smaller than the difference between two brands of flour, or between a humid day and a dry one. A cake will not fail over 5 grams. What does matter is the 20 to 40 grams that scooping adds, and the 7 grams a metric cup adds. Those are big enough to make a cake dry or a dough stiff. Use either 120 or 125 grams per cup and stay consistent, and weigh the flour when the recipe matters.
Frequently asked questions
How many grams is 1 cup of flour?
About 120 to 125 grams for all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled. Use 120 grams if you follow King Arthur's chart and 125 grams if you follow the converter on this site. A scooped cup can hold 140 grams or more.
Why does my cup of flour weigh more than 120 grams?
Because it was packed. Scooping the cup through the bag compresses the flour, and a packed cup can hold up to 160 grams. Spoon the flour in and level it off, and the same cup holds about 120 grams.
Is a cup of flour the same in every country?
No. A US cup is 236.6 millilitres and a metric cup is 250 millilitres. A metric cup of all-purpose flour is about 132 grams. Check which cup the recipe uses before converting.
Every figure on this page is approximate, because flour density varies by brand, grind, and humidity. For exact work, weigh the flour. Try it yourself in the kitchen converter, then read why grams and millilitres are not the same thing in cooking and common kitchen conversions, with worked examples.