Conversions

Baking

  • Convection oven conversion: reduce temperature at least 25 deg F. and reduce time 25%. Check often, small batch/short bake time items may not be done as fast while long bake time items may finish faster.
  • Egg substitute: If you’re in a bind and your recipe calls for eggs, you can substitute
    • 2 tsp baking powder per egg
    • 1/4 cup sparkling water per egg
    • Yogurt, applesauce, canned pumpkin or mashed banana can also be substituted
  • Oil substitute: If you run short of oil in a baking recipe, you can substitute apple sauce. Will render a similar moisture and texture but will effect the taste – sometimes for the better.
  • Yeast substitute: If you can’t find yeast, say because of COVID hoarding, you can still make bread by substituting double-acting baking powder. The pros are that you don’t have to wait for the bread to rise, the cons are the taste is different and you should use self rising flour.
    • Make your own yeast: can also grow your own yeast using grapes, buttermilk, or Greek yogurt. Probably best to use grapes, where yeasts lives on the skins.
    • French bread starter: A trick I learned in France was to cut an apple up and put it in an empty 2 liter bottle with water for several days, then use the fermented water to start your Poolish, which is a bread starter, the idea is the same as sour dough starter without the sour dough. The acids in the apple along with the yeast and a subtle taste make a better starter than other yeast substitutes.

Temperature Conversions

  • F to C: (Temp(F) -32)*5 / 9 = Temp C
  • C to F: [(Temp(C) * 5) / 9] + 32 = Temp F
  • Oven Conversion:
    • Conventional to Convection (Fan)
      • Reduce temperature by 25 degs
      • Reduce baking time by 25% faster
      • Sometimes its one or the other, sometimes it’s both – have to experiement
    • Convection to Conventional
      1. Divide convection time by 3
      2. Add that number to convection time:
        • Exp: if convection time = 30mins, 30/3=10, then, 30+10 = 40 mins in conventional oven

Measurement Conversion

  • Dry: 3 tsp = 1 TBL = 0.5 oz = 14.3 g
  • Fluid: 6 tsp = 2 TBL = 1 oz
  • 16 TBL = 48 tsp = 1 cup
  • 8 oz = 1 cup = 237 ml
  • 16 oz = 1 pint = 474 ml
  • 1 cup = 285 ml
  • 1 ml = 1 g for water
  • 1 fluid

Volume to Weight Conversions

  • Baking Powder: 1 cup = 230 g, 1 tsp = 5 g
  • Baking soda: 1 cup = 230 g, t tsp = 5 g
  • Butter: 1 cup = 8 oz = 227 g, 1 TBL = 14 g
  • Clarified Butter: 1 cup = 8 oz = 195 g
  • Cooking Oil
    • Canola: 1 cup = 215 g, 1 TBL = 13.5
    • Olive: 1 cup = 213 g, 1 TBL = 13.3
    • Sunflower: 1 cup = 215 g, 1TBL = 13.5
    • Vegetable: 1 cup = 218, 1 TBL = 13.6
  • Corn Meal: 1 cup = 128 g
  • Corn Starch 1 cup = 120 g, 1 tsp = 2.5 g
  • Corn Syrup: 1 cup = 328 g, 1 TBL = 20 g
  • Cream Fraiche: 1 cup = 232 g
  • Egg
    • Whole: 1 egg ~ 50 g
    • Whites: 1 egg ~30 g
    • Yolks: 1 egg ~20 g
  • Flour:
    • All Purpose Flour: 1 cup 120 g
    • Bread Flour: 1 cup = 157 g
    • Cake Flour: 1 cup = 130 g
    • Whole Wheat: 1 cup = 145 g
  • Half & Half: 1 cup = 242 g
  • Heavy Cream: 1 cup = 232 g
  • Honey: 1 cup = 336 g, 1 TBL = 21 g, 1 tsp = 7 g
  • Milk: 1 cup = 242 g
  • Onion: 1 cup = 6.75 oz = 191 g
  • Salt: 1 cup = 289 g, 1 TBL = 18 g, 1 tsp = 6 g
  • Shortening: 1 cup = 191 g, 1 TBL = 12 g
  • Sour Cream: 1 cup = 242 g, 1 TBL = 15 g
  • Sugar:
    • Granular: 1 cup = 200 g, 1 TBL = 12.5, 1 tsp = 4.2 g
    • Dark Brown (packed): 1 cup = 329 g, 1 TBL = 20.5, 1 tsp = 6.8 g
    • Light Brown (packed): 1 cup = 217 g, 1 TBL = 13.5, 1 tsp = 4.5 g
    • Powdered: 1 cup = 115 g, 1 TBL = 7g, 1 tsp = 2.4 g
  • Water: 1 cup = 8 oz = 236 g, 1 oz = 29.5 g
  • Yogurt: 1 cup = 242 g
  • Yeast:
    • Dry active: 1 tsp = 2.83 g, 1 oz = 28.5 g
    • Cake yeast: 1 tsp = 9.5 g, 1 oz = 85.5 g

High Altitude Baking Adjustments

  • Beating eggs too much at altitude adds air which leads to baked items collapsing.
  • Cakes stick to pans more at elevation so grease and dust well
  • Fill pans only half full not the usual 2/3rds full
  • At 5,000 feet of elevation
    1. Reduce baking powder by 1/8th to 1/4 tsp for every tsp called for.
    2. Reduce sugar 2 TBL for each cup called for (or no reduction and let sweetness intensify)
    3. Increase liquids by 2-4 TBL per cup called for
      • Butter is considered a liquid but eggs are not
    4. Increase oven temp 25 deg. F
  • At 7,000 feet of Elevation (where I live)
    • Decrease baking powder 0.25 tsp per tsp called for.
    • Decrease sugar 3 TBL per cup (I don’t like super sweet foods).
    • Increase liquids 3-4 TBL per cup
    • Increase oven temp 25 deg F. (13.5 C)

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