Recipe scaling is not just a matter of multiplying the ingredients.  Container size  and shape (surface area to volume), cooking methods, and the accuracy of your measurements all greatly influence recipe scaling.  Measuring all ingredients by weight will give you the most accurate results.

One general rule of thumb is to not scale beyond a factor of 4.  Another rule of thumb is that you should make multiple small batches if you have any doubt about the recipe scaling correctly.  As always, generalizations are simply that.  They are no substitute for testing.

The link to "General Scaling Information" has a more in depth discussion on how to change ingredients, cooking temperatures and cooking time.  It also contains links to reference sources for cooking for large groups, weights and measures conversions and standard USDA weights.

• General Scaling Information

• Baker's Percent

• Using Baker's Percent

• Formula Percent

• Using Formula Percent

• Precision and Errors

• Useful Links

Recipe Scaling

Scaling a recipe is, simply, changing a recipe to yield more or less than the original recipe.  There are several ways to accomplish this.

The basic method is to multiply the original ingredient amount by a number to give a new ingredient amount.

This number is the scale factor:  the ratio of desired yield to original yield (desired yield/original yield).  For doubling a recipe it is 2 (2/1), for halving a recipe it is 0.5 (1/2).

If you want to double a recipe and the recipe calls for 1 cup, you would multiply 1 cup by a scale factor of 2 for a total of 2 cups.  Similarly, if the recipe yielded 16 servings and you wanted 32, the scale factor would also be 2 (32/16 = 2).

If you wanted to halve the recipe, you would multiply times ½.  Any fraction is handled the same way.  If the recipe yields 16 servings and you want 10, the fraction would be 10/16 (5/8).

A batch is the total amount of the recipe.

A formula is another name for recipe.  This term is often used in baking because of the necessity of precision.

A limiting ingredient is the ingredient that limits the batch size.  A simple example of this is buying a package of hot dogs containing 10 dogs.  You buy a bag of buns that has 8 buns.  The buns are the limiting ingredient because you can only make 8 hot dogs with buns.  Another example of this would be to calculate the total amount of sausage possible given a certain amount of pork.

Formula Percent is the percentage of an ingredient in the total formula.  This is usually determined by dividing the weight of the ingredient by the total formula weight.

Baker's Percent is a special version of Formula Percent.  As the name implies, it is typically used with flour based formulas.

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