Calories in flour - is this right?

I feel like a retard, but this seems nuts. I'm trying to figure out calories in a recipie, and it calls for 1 cup of flour. The package says 2 tbsp = 100 calories. So here's my calculations:

2 tbsp = 100 cal
16 tbsp in a cup
so....800 calories in 1 cup of flour?

By similar reasoning, there's 1120 calories in 1/3 of a cup of margarine.

These numbers seem huge - I can maybe see the margarine, since it's all fat, but the flour seems crazy. In comparison, 1 cup of quick cooking oats is only 300 calories.

So, am I doing this correctly? Will I ever bake again? I doubt it if these number are right!

Fri. Sep 7, 12:29pm

A cup of flour weighs less than a cup of water - about half. Your calculations are generally correct for most things but don't take into account that whole mass/volume thing that I haven't studied in 20 years. Anyway, your cup of flour is most likely 400-450 cals.

Friday, September 7, 2007, 12:42 PM

Hmmm, the flour I have here at home (all purpose flour) is 62 cals per tablespoon. Which makes it 455 calories per cup. You must have some HEARTY flour on hand!

I'm not sure I get your "reasoning" about margarine. Most margarines and butters are roughly 100 calories per tablespoon. 1/3 of a cup is 2.6 oz or 5.3 tablespoons which is 530 calories. There is nothing wrong with baking-just don't eat the entire thing of whatever you are making!

Friday, September 7, 2007, 12:52 PM

12:52 - she says 2 tbsp = 100 calories. So 2 tbsp of your flour is 124 calories.

Friday, September 7, 2007, 1:54 PM

This is the OP - I misread my margarine container - I figure about 560 calories per 1/3 cup...sorry!

Friday, September 7, 2007, 1:57 PM

measure by weight, not volume

1 cup of flour is about 4 3/8 ounces

Average flour has about 100 calories per ounce, so 1 cup is about 440 calories.

Friday, September 7, 2007, 4:09 PM

This is the OP - so should I always figure out calories by weight and not by volume? I've generally been doing it by volume because it's so much easier, but I'm starting to see that this may not be the best way to go....

Friday, September 7, 2007, 5:19 PM

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