How to Convert Cups to Grams for Flour

To convert cups to grams for flour, use this formula: multiply cups by the flour's grams per cup. All-purpose flour is 120 grams per cup, so 2 cups is 240 grams. The flour type changes the answer, so there is no single cups-to-grams number. Convert any kitchen unit instantly with our free unit converter.

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The Short Answer: Grams per Cup by Flour Type

Cups to grams for flour depends on the flour, because different flours pack differently. The standard figures used by most recipe developers are: all-purpose flour, 120 grams per cup; bread flour, 130 grams per cup; cake flour, 115 grams per cup; whole wheat flour, 120 grams per cup; rye flour, 115 grams per cup; and almond flour, 95 grams per cup. So 2 cups of all-purpose flour is 240 grams, 2 cups of bread flour is 260 grams, and 2 cups of cake flour is 230 grams — a 30-gram spread on the same two cups, which is enough to change a dough's hydration noticeably. The formula is always grams = cups × grams per cup for that flour, and the only hard part is knowing which grams-per-cup figure your recipe assumed. Most American recipes that give a gram weight alongside cups use 120 grams for all-purpose, which is the King Arthur standard, while some European sources use 125 or even 130 grams for the same flour. When a recipe gives both cups and grams, trust its grams; when it gives only cups, use the table above and note the flour type, because a conversion without a flour type is a guess dressed as an answer.

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Why One Cup of Flour Is Not One Weight

Flour is not water, and that is the whole problem. A cup of water always weighs about 236 grams, because water has a fixed density, but a cup of flour weighs whatever the flour in that cup happens to weigh, which depends on how finely it is milled, how much air is trapped between particles, and how it was put into the cup. Scooping a cup straight from the bag compacts the flour and can add 20 to 30 grams per cup compared with spooning it in lightly. Humidity matters too: flour stored in a damp kitchen absorbs moisture and weighs more per cup than the same flour in a dry pantry. Even the measuring cup itself introduces variance, since a cup's brim and a cup's level measure are different fills. This is why professional bakers weigh flour instead of measuring it by volume: weight is stable while volume is not, and a recipe that works by weight works the same way in any kitchen. The cups-to-grams table bridges the two worlds, giving volume measurers a weight that approximates what a careful spoon-and-level cup holds, but it cannot remove the variance built into the cup itself.

Spoon-and-Level vs Scoop: The 30-Gram Trap

The biggest single error in flour conversion is the measuring method, and it dwarfs the differences between flour types. Spoon-and-level means spooning flour into the cup until it heaps, then sweeping a knife across the top to level it; this is the method behind the 120-gram all-purpose figure, and it is what recipe developers assume. Scooping means plunging the cup into the bag and lifting it full, which compacts the flour and typically yields 140 to 150 grams per cup of all-purpose — 20 to 30 grams more per cup, or 40 to 60 grams more in a two-cup recipe. That extra flour dries out dough, toughens cakes, and makes cookies spread less, and it is the most common reason a recipe that works for its author fails for a reader. The fix costs nothing: spoon, level, and weigh when you can. If you must scoop, know that you are adding flour, and consider holding back a tablespoon or two per cup. For liquids, the method trap disappears, since a cup of milk or water levels itself, which is why a liters to milliliters converter can be exact where a flour conversion can only be careful. Weighing remains the gold standard: a 20-dollar kitchen scale removes the entire problem.

Cups to Grams Chart for Common Amounts

Here is the chart bakers actually reach for, for the four most common flours. All-purpose flour at 120 grams per cup: 1/4 cup = 30 grams, 1/3 cup = 40 grams, 1/2 cup = 60 grams, 2/3 cup = 80 grams, 3/4 cup = 90 grams, 1 cup = 120 grams, 2 cups = 240 grams, 3 cups = 360 grams, 4 cups = 480 grams. Bread flour at 130 grams per cup: 1/2 cup = 65 grams, 1 cup = 130 grams, 2 cups = 260 grams, 3 cups = 390 grams, 4 cups = 520 grams. Cake flour at 115 grams per cup: 1/2 cup = 58 grams (round to 58), 1 cup = 115 grams, 2 cups = 230 grams, 3 cups = 345 grams. Whole wheat flour at 120 grams per cup matches all-purpose on the chart, though its bran absorbs more water, so a whole-wheat dough at the same weight still needs more liquid than a white-flour dough. For amounts between chart rows, multiply directly: 1.5 cups of all-purpose is 1.5 × 120 = 180 grams, and 2.5 cups of bread flour is 2.5 × 130 = 325 grams. Keep the chart on the fridge and the scale on the counter, and most baking conversions become a glance rather than a calculation.

US, Metric, and UK Cups: A Second Trap

Even with the right flour figure, the cup itself varies by country. A US customary cup is 236.588 milliliters, a US legal cup used on nutrition labels is 240 milliliters, a metric cup used in Australia and much of the world is 250 milliliters, and a traditional UK cup is 284 milliliters, though the UK now mostly uses metric weights. The gap between a US cup and a metric cup is about 6 percent, so a recipe written for metric cups and measured with US cups comes up short on flour by roughly 7 grams per cup of all-purpose — small, but it stacks across a four-cup recipe to nearly 30 grams. The reverse mismatch, metric cups for a US recipe, overshoots by the same margin. The defense is to check where the recipe comes from: American blogs and cookbooks use the 236.588-milliliter cup, Australian and many international sources use 250 milliliters, and recipes that list grams alongside cups sidestep the question entirely. When a recipe gives only cups and no origin, assume the US cup for American sources and the metric cup for Australian ones, and weigh the result once to calibrate your own cups against the chart. Weighing flour in ounces instead of grams is the same conversion with a different divisor, and our kilograms to ounces converter covers the weight side when a recipe quotes ounces.

Scaling Recipes: Doubling, Halving, and Hydration

Flour conversions matter most when a recipe changes size, because scaling multiplies every error. Doubling a recipe that calls for 2 cups of all-purpose flour gives 4 cups, or 480 grams, and the doubled dough needs its liquid doubled too, or the hydration ratio — water weight divided by flour weight — drops and the bread dries out. Halving works the same way: 1 cup becomes 1/2 cup, or 60 grams, and a half egg or a reduced yeast amount may be needed, since yeast does not scale perfectly linearly at very small batches. Hydration is where grams earn their keep: a dough with 300 grams of water and 500 grams of flour is 60 percent hydration, a figure a baker can reproduce exactly, while the same dough described as cups of flour and cups of water is approximate twice over. Professional formulas are therefore written in grams and percentages, not cups, and converting a cup recipe to grams is the first step toward baking it reproducibly. Once converted, keep the gram weights: they survive scaling, travel across countries, and remove the flour type, the cup size, and the scooping method from the list of things that can go wrong.

Quick Answers

How many grams is 1 cup of all-purpose flour? 120 grams. How many grams is 1 cup of bread flour? 130 grams. How many grams is 1 cup of cake flour? 115 grams. What is the cups to grams flour formula? Grams = cups × grams per cup for that flour type. Why does scooping add weight? It compacts the flour, adding 20 to 30 grams per cup over spoon-and-level. Is a metric cup the same as a US cup? No — 250 milliliters vs 236.588 milliliters, about 6 percent apart. For related guides, read our cups to milliliters formula guide, our ounces in a cup guide, and our 180 Celsius in Fahrenheit baking guide. For any kitchen conversion, use the free unit converter.