A Handy Guide to Baking Times and Pan Sizes (2024)

FAQs

How do you adjust baking time for pan size? ›

If, for example, your recipe calls for an 8-inch cake pan and you only have a 9-inch, relax, no problem. Just increase the oven temp by 25 degrees F and decrease the bake time by a quarter. In this particular example, since your pan is 1 inch larger, more surface area will be exposed.

For example; you could substitute a 8 x 8 x 1 1/2 inch square pan (6 cups) for a 8 x 2 inch round pan (6 cups) without changing the baking time or oven temperature stated in the original recipe.

Cakes in larger pans will generally bake faster (about . 9 minutes per ounce of batter in a 10-inch pan), while cakes in smaller pans will often take longer (up to two minutes per ounce for a 6-inch pan). Meanwhile, cakes baked in a tube or Bundt pan may only need a minute per ounce of batter.

Usually if I have a recipe that calls for an 8x8 pan and I want/have to use a 9x13 pan (like if I'm sending it to work with my husband and need more than 8x8 worth of brownies) I just double the recipe. Ditto if the recipe calls for a 9x13 pan and I want to use an 8x8; I just half it.

The Math Part

The gist is this: Dividing the area of one pan by the area of another will give you your multiplier. Multiply all of the ingredients in your recipe by that magic number to modify it to fit the new vessel.

Frying pan sizes are determined by a pan's overall diameter (wall top to wall top), not the diameter of its cooking surface (base edge to base edge).

Aluminum (nonstick or not) is an excellent choice for baking pans. They're lightweight and conduct heat well for even baking, and results will be better than baking with a glass pan because of this. Pale or shiny metal pans, such as heavy-gauge aluminum, deliver a tender, delicate crust for breads and cookies.

Thankfully, standard pan sizes are usually marked on the back of the pan, so start there. If your pan is not marked, measure the pan to be sure of the dimensions. Use your ruler to measure the length and width across the top of the pan from the inside edge to the inside edge.

The cake will either be thinner than you want if the pan was bigger than recommended for or will overflow the pan and you'll have to clean your oven if the pan was smaller than recommended. Follow instructions. What happens if an ingredient is accidentally left out of a batter when baking?

Does it matter if you have the correct size pan when you are baking? ›

Well, it turns out that the cake tin size you use matters more than you think! Beyond the obvious consequence that the amount of batter might not fit your substituted tin, there are other aspects like shape and batter height or thickness that will affect the recipe.

Cut Your Recipe in Half

And, because there won't be a major difference in surface area or batter depth when you pack your halved recipe into the smaller baking dish, you won't even need to adjust the oven temperature or the cooking time. Just cut all of the ingredients in your recipe in half. It's almost too perfect!

Changing Pan Sizes

If you are using a larger pan or a square pan instead of a round pan, your batter will be thinner and baking time may decrease. If you are choosing to use a smaller pan, the baking time may need to be increased.

Here's a standard conversion for many basic cake recipes: A recipe that makes three 8-inch layers will make two 9-inch layers, one 13-by-9 inch sheet, or three to four dozen cupcakes.

From this you can see that you can substitute two 8” pans for the 9”x13” one as 2x64 = 128 square inches which is close enough. CALCULATING SQUARE INCHES FOR ROUND PANS is a little more complicated.