I know what you’re thinking … measuring ingredients is a no-brainer. After all, it seems pretty straightforward, right? Wrong!
It may come as a surprise, but a lot of people actually don’t measure correctly. What likely doesn’t come as a surprise: Improper measuring has a huge impact on your baked goods. While precise measurements are less crucial with certain types of recipes (like meat and fish-based dog treats), it’s very important when whipping up biscuits. If you add too much flour, you could be left with a crumbly dough. On the flip side, if you don’t have enough flour then you could be left with a wet and sticky dough, making it hard to roll out and shape.
Of course, when baking homemade dog treats, you won’t only be measuring flour. You’ll also measure ingredients like peanut butter, applesauce, honey, water, and a whole lot more. Today, we’re going to go over how to properly measure all of these ingredients to help make your treat baking a breeze!
Flour
When measuring flour, a lot of people have the urge to take their measuring cup, stick it in the flour bag, and scoop. Does that sound familiar? While it may be the easiest way to gather a cup of flour, it won’t leave you with the most accurate measurement. Rather, scooping leaves you with too much flour. Instead, you want to use the “spoon and level” method.
- Take a spoon and fluffy up the flour so it is no longer compacted in the bag or canister.
- Spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup until it reaches the top.
- Use the back of a knife to level off the flour.
- Do not compact it, tap it, or press it down. Just leave it fluffy.
Oats
While I generally use oat flour in my dog treat recipes, you may come across some recipes that require whole oats. Whether you are using whole oats or quick oats, you will still use the “spoon and level” method, as outlined above.
Peanut Butter, Applesauce, Pumpkin Purée (& Other Semi-Liquid Ingredients)
These ingredients add a lot of flavor to your dog’s homemade treats (they also add extra nutrients)! When measuring peanut butter, applesauce, pumpkin purée, or any other semi-liquid ingredients, you’ll want to use your dry measuring cups (like shown in the photos above). Again, use the spoon and level method. Then use a rubber spatula (or another utensil you have on hand) to help release the ingredient.
Honey & Maple Syrup
I never use refined sugar in my dog treats because it simply isn’t healthy for our fur babies. Just like how it affects people, sugar can lead to obesity, diabetes, and even feed cancer in dogs. While I also keep natural sweeteners, like honey and maple syrup, to a minimum (after all, sugar is sugar), there are times you will see these ingredients in homemade treats. For measuring:
- Coat your measuring spoon with a little coconut oil to help the sticky liquid sweetener release easier (optional).
- Pour your honey or maple syrup into your measuring spoon.
- Use the back of a knife to level your sweetener if it’s very thick and heaping.
Liquid Ingredients
Most treat recipes call for either water, coconut water, or a fresh chicken broth. Rather than using a dry measuring cup, you’ll want to use a clear liquid measuring cup — it looks like a small pitcher with a spout for pouring liquids. On the side of this type of measuring cup, you will see marked graduated measurements for cups, ounces, and milliliters. The advantage of this cup for liquids is the extra room. You can fill your liquid ingredients up to the desired measurement without the worry of it spilling over. To properly measure your liquid:
- Place the cup on the counter.
- Bend down so that you can read the cup markings at eye level.
- Fill the cup with liquid until it reaches your desired marking.
You Can Always Weigh It
Here’s the deal – a cup isn’t always a cup. In fact, some of my own measuring cups don’t even measure the same amount. If you’re questioning your measuring accuracy, you can always whip out the food scale. I refer to this King Arthur Flour chart to find out the volume, ounces, and grams equivalencies for common ingredients!
Have fun baking!
