How much grain makes 1 cup of flour?

One of the top questions in freshly milled flour groups is “how much grain mills one cup of flour”, but in different ways. My recipes are listed as grams of grain, while Sue Becker’s recipes are listed as cups of flour. Other recipes may list grams of flour. The answers to these questions can get VERY complicated, but we are going to keep things SIMPLE.

One cup of flour ranges from 120 – 130 grams per cup. I like to use 125 grams per cup for several reasons. If I’m using a recipe that’s doubled or more, there will not be too much flour in the dough. If I need to calculate a fraction of a cup, I just use 120 grams per cup for easier math in my head. Don’t worry math traumatized folks, I’ve got you! A chart will be listed below using 125 grams per whole cup, and 120 grams per fraction of a cup.

1 cup flour = 125 grams of grain = 125 grams of flour
approximately

Flour to Grains Conversion Chart

Cups of Flour Grams of Grains Cups of Grains*
1/8 cup 15 grams 1 1/2 tbsp
1/4 cup 30 grams 3 tbsp
1/3 cup 40 grams 1/4 cup
1/2 cup 60 grams 1/3 cup
3/4 cup 90 grams 1/2 cup plus 1 tsp
1 cup 125 grams 2/3 cup plus 1 tbsp
2 cups 250 grams 1 1/2 cups
3 cups 375 grams 2 cups plus 3 tbsp
4 cups 500 grams 3 scant cups
5 cups 625 grams 3 2/3 cups
6 cups 750 grams 4 1/2 cups

*The cups of grains used here are based on 1 cup of grains weighing 170 grams (pretty consistently). Just know that measuring by volume is less accurate than by weight. If you use cups for measure, I’d use this chart.

What about grams of flour?

Once milled I often get asked how many grams of flour 500 grams of grain equals. They are the SAME! 100 grams of flour = 100 grams of grains

Why measure by grams instead of cups?

  1. It’s MUCH less messy to measure grains than it is to measure flour. If you spill, it’s also easier to clean up grains than it is flour (which gets in all the crevices and once wet turns to paste).
  2. The flour weighs the SAME as the whole grain.
  3. The consistency of your baking will improve when using weight (grams) instead of volume (cups or mL).

When converting recipes from grandma, use this conversion of 125 grams per cup of flour and remember when in doubt to let the dough or batter rest for 15 – 30 minutes before adjusting the recipe.

Other useful topics:

How to mill various types of flour at home?

How to choose the best grain for my recipe?

I only share products or ingredients on my site that I use and love personally. This will NEVER change. If someone asks me to review a product they send, it will be at their own risk because I don't filter my opinions for anyone. When you click a link to buy on my blog, it helps support me while costing you nothing.