Recipe guide

Kitchen Ratio and Recipe Methods

Kitchen calculators work best when they use ratios instead of vague serving changes. Weight-based ratios are usually more repeatable than volume-based measures.

Baker's percentage and hydration

Baker's percentage treats flour as 100%. If dough has 1,000 g flour and 650 g water, hydration is 65%. Salt at 20 g is 2%, and yeast at 5 g is 0.5%.

Coffee and rice ratios

A 1:16 coffee ratio means 1 g coffee for 16 g water, so 30 g coffee uses 480 g water. A 1:2 rice-to-water ratio means 1 cup rice with 2 cups water, but rice variety and cooking method can change the practical ratio.

Recipe scaling formula

Scale factor = target servings / original servings. Scaling from 4 to 10 servings uses 2.5. An 80 g ingredient becomes 200 g.

Limits that matter

  • Yeast, baking powder, salt and spices may not scale linearly for large batches.
  • Pan conversions should use area or volume, not only diameter.
  • Cooking time often changes with thickness and surface area, not just servings.

Use the calculators

FAQ

Why use weight instead of cups?

Weight is usually more repeatable because a cup of flour can vary depending on packing, humidity and measurement technique.

Can every ingredient scale linearly?

Not always. Salt, yeast, leavening, spices, pan size and cooking time often need judgment after the basic scale factor.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-15.