I have tested out many scales in my time. The key things I look for are weighing compacity, a clear and easy to read display, portability, and accuracy.
Out of all the scales I’ve used and tested I found the Bakers Math Kitchen Scale – KD8000 Scale by My Weight ( click to check the current price on Amazon ) to be the best. It meets all of the above criteria I have just mentioned.
It’s good for relatively large quantities (up to 8 kilograms), it has a bakers percentage function, the display is at a good angel from the weighing tray so the bowl doesn’t overshadow the display, also the display is well lit and clear. It works with triple-A batteries which makes it portable so if you don’t have an outlet where you like to work. ( The scale does come with 3 triple A batteries ). Lastly and most important this scale can be calibrated.
NOTE: It is impotent to replace batteries often to ensure accuracy
Do I Really Need A Scale For Bread Baking?
In many posts I have written on the site, I have talked here and there about baking bread as an exact science. Unlike cooking, in bread recipes, you will not find “a pinch of this, a pinch from that.” All the measurements should be accurate to the gram, so one of the most important tools in the kitchen is a reliable scale. A scale that’s accurate and true, quality made and can weigh relatively large quantities of mass if you want to prepare big enough dough for a few loaves of bread (you have already made a mess in your kitchen at least have enough dough to show for it 🙂 ). It is true that you can use measuring cups but if you want to take your baking to the next level, you should start using a scale. You will find that you will get a more consistent product every time if you scale your ingredients. This also helps when you want to increase or decrease your yield.
More About The KD-8000 Scale
I used different scales throughout my career. When I worked at the bakery we used the good old analog bakers scales but when I bake at home I find that even dough it might be a bit pricy (not that much), this scale is best for several reasons.
Calibrating your scale
This is the most important feature of this scale. If a scale cannot be calibrated you would have to throw it out every 6 months. This is where the Bakers Math Kitchen Scale – KD8000 separates itself from most other medium size scales or if you like home scales.
The calibration is simple though you will need calibration weights. To Calibrate this scale you will need to follow 3 simple steps that can be found in the user manual as well.
- When the scale is off Press and hold [MODE} and [POWER], release both keys and wait for the display to show “CALE”
- Place a 5 kg weight or weights on the platform. Wait a few seconds and then press [TARE]. Calibration is complete when the display shows “PASS”, now you can remove the weight(s)
- Turn the scale OFF then to it back ON and check some weight readings. If calibration is still not accurate repeat the process.
You will need to calibrate your scale once in a while. Especially if you take your scale to a different location at a different altitude. This will make a big difference and calibration is a must.
How to make your calibrating weights?
Calibration weights are accurate weights that are true to the milligram or sometimes even smaller. You can either purchase them on Amazon or you can make your own.
When your scale is new take a plastic bag and fill it out with salt until you get to 5 kg. I use salt but you can use anything that does not have any moisture in it and will last a long time. Small pebbles will work great as well.
Once you have this 5 Kg bag store it away and in 6 months’ time use it to calibrate your scale. This is not the most accurate tool but it should do the job.
Bakers percentage function:
If you have even a little experience baking bread you know that if you find a good recipe that you like, this function is going to make your life easy.
If you want to make larger or smaller quantities, this scale will calculate what changes you need to make in the recipe to match it to the amount that suits you. Baking is all about percentages and ratios. This function will allow you to calculate the percentage of ingredients relative to your flour, where the flour will be scaled first and will be 100% and the rest of the ingredients will be weighed by a percentage relative to the flour.
How it works
You place a bowl on the tray to scale the mass more conveniently and simply reduce the weight of the bowl by using the tare button.
Now when you add your next ingredient the scale will display the percentage to your flour weight. You can hit the tare button to re-zero it and continue to add ingredients one after the other, each of which will display as a
So easy!
Scale Capacity:
As I said before, this scale is good for quantities (up to 8 kilograms). I find that at home, I usually bake up to 1 – 3 Kilograms of dough, so this scale is above and beyond what is needed. You want to have a scale that can outperform what you need, this way you will not bring it to its threshold and thus maintaining the life and accuracy of your scale.
Please be careful not to put heavier mass than the scale can handle because if you do that often enough and reach overload you can eventually harm the scale or throw off the calibration which will cause it what I would like to call “electronic death”.
Measurement Units:
The measurement speed is quick, responsive, and accurate.
It has every feature needed in bake prep (tare/lb/oz/lb.oz/kg/g/baker’s math) The scale allows you to switch between measurement quite
Display:
This scale display is located below the weighing tray with a great viewing angle so that even if you place a large bowl on it you can see the display very clear and you don’t need to bend down to look at it as is common with other scales. It
Power Source:
This weight works on Triple-A batteries, so if you get stuck without batteries in the middle of the baking, a small trip to the store will fix the problem and you do not have to go on a search for the appropriate batteries. It works well with rechargeable batteries as well. At my home, however, I use an AC Adaptor ( you can buy it separately). I find it more convenient since I do use it quite often so it makes sense.
Some more features and Specs:
- Its auto-off feature can be disabled- there are not a lot of scales on the market that can do that. 2 minutes, 5 minutes, Disabled (Stay On)
- Very light and easy to clean
- It does not need to be calibrated before use (although I will admit that I bought a calibration weight to make sure it was accurate and so it was).
- Lifetime warranty
- Removable stainless steel scaling tray for easy cleaning.
- Tray Dimensions 7″ x 7″ or 175 x 175 mm
- Programmable auto-off
The Negatives
There aren’t many negatives I can find with this scale. The one thing I can think of is that this scale does not come with a power adaptor so you will have to purchase one separately. When buying an AC Adapter make sure you get the right one. The output you will need is a DC 5V 300mA.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, there are many scales on the market at many price ranges but this is truly the best scale you can get for the best price. I really like this scale and never had any issues with it. It is easy to clean and easy to keep it true with the calibration feature. This scale –
The Bakers Math Kitchen Scale – KD8000 Scale (click to check the current price on Amazon ) will take you to the next level on your journey to the perfect loaf.