My scale was off by 14 grams and I blamed my starter for 3 bakes

I was ready to dump my starter down the sink after three flat, gummy loaves in a row. Then a baker friend in Omaha told me to check my cheap digital scale with a nickel, because a nickel should weigh exactly 5 grams. Mine read 5.05, which seems fine, but when I stacked five nickels it read 31 grams instead of 25. Turned out my scale was drifting worse the more weight it had on it, so a 500 gram flour scoop was coming out closer to 514 grams. I'd been adding extra flour this whole time and overproofing my dough without knowing it. Bought a $22 scale that passed the nickel test and my very next bake had an open crumb I hadn't seen since I started. So now I'm wondering, does anyone else test their scale regularly, and what do you use as your check weight?

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the_kevin2d ago

Check the nickel thing again because a nickel is 5 grams but only if it's not worn down, and old nickels can be a bit light. The real issue is you need a weight that's close to what you actually use, because a scale can be fine at 5 grams and way off at 500. I test mine with a full 500ml water bottle since water is 500 grams on the nose, and that catches drift way better than a coin ever will. Five nickels stacked is only 25 grams, so your scale reading 31 there is a red flag, but it's also just a tiny load. Try weighing something heavy you already know, like a sealed 1 kilo bag of sugar, and see what it says.

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