Scratch Baking......can You Just Double
Baking By marriedtoagreek74 Updated 24 Nov 2009 , 8:06pm by springlakecake
the recipe to get the amt of batter you need for a certain pan? If so what if any adjustments do you make? I always thought with baking that this was a "no no" but I definitely didn't go to pastry or culinary school.
Any help?
Please and thanks all.
Most of the bakers and pastry folks I know just double, triple, multiply straight up no worries.
If you abide by Rose Levy Berenbaum's theories then you go diddle with the baking powder with her calculations outlined in her book The Cake Bible (included in her book for no extra charge is plenty of rosey attitude : ). She is legend in the baking world and she has a website too.
If your mixer isn't big enough to support 2 recipes, you can do this.
Go ahead and get your ingredients ready for 2 recipes. After your mix your first recipe, immediately put it in a large mixing bowl. Prepare your 2nd recipe and add to the 1st batch. With a large mixing spoon, sorta fold the 2 recipes together, but take care not to overmix. Pour in pans and bake as usual.
To me, this is much easier than trying to fit 2 recipes in the mixer and maybe taking the risk that the batch won't mix completely.
You can also do it this way for more than 2 recipes.
Most of the bakers and pastry folks I know just double, triple, multiply straight up no worries.
If you abide by Rose Levy Berenbaum's theories then you go diddle with the baking powder with her calculations outlined in her book The Cake Bible (included in her book for no extra charge is plenty of rosey attitude : ). She is legend in the baking world and she has a website too.
I believe I've read in CC that the size of the surface area of the cake makes a difference and this is why the baking powder amt needs altered. I'd take k8's advice and check out the Cake Bible, also, as you do your research to determine what works best for you.
I only bake from scratch and I double and quadruple recipes all the time. just make sure you mix your ingredients adequately w/o over mixing, be sure to scrape the bottom of the bowl too.
I do the exact same thing as Lenette. I double a chocolate cake made from scratch recipe and it always comes out great. I have a 6gt. mixer that I use when I double mine.
Thanks everyone, k8mempis I will definitely check out The cake Bible
I'll let you know what happens. I have been making myself nuts with doing one batch at a time when I have enough room in mixer for 2!
Thanks again!
Hey Mike,
I have the Professional Bakers book that has the percentages in it, but this girl went to nursing school and all this sounds like (well I would say Greek but I can speak Greek, so let's say German) to me!!! 
Hey Mike,
I have the Professional Bakers book that has the percentages in it, but this girl went to nursing school and all this sounds like (well I would say Greek but I can speak Greek, so let's say German) to me!!!
Is that the one by Frieberg? I haven't seen it, but I've heard alot of good things. I have the Gisselen book, by mistake LOLOL.
One thing I did want to add. I wouldn't try, and dble, or 1/2 a recipe that wasn't measured in weights. With cups it's to hard to get it right consistantly anyways. Then try, and change the ratios. grrrrrr
Mike
Don't be scared of cups & teaspoons or weights & measures.
Like Indy said, do all your due diligence and work out your best methods/formulas for you.
Another great source for baking fundamanentals I shoulda mentioned is Sarah on Baking Nine One One and she is real real nice. A true Cake-Buddy.
I double my scratch recipes all of the time with no problems. This week I even did double and a half with my vanilla cake and it was perfect!
Most of the bakers and pastry folks I know just double, triple, multiply straight up no worries.
If you abide by Rose Levy Berenbaum's theories then you go diddle with the baking powder with her calculations outlined in her book The Cake Bible (included in her book for no extra charge is plenty of rosey attitude : ). She is legend in the baking world and she has a website too.
I believe I've read in CC that the size of the surface area of the cake makes a difference and this is why the baking powder amt needs altered. I'd take k8's advice and check out the Cake Bible, also, as you do your research to determine what works best for you.
Yes, she does say it's due to the surface area of the cake. The idea being that, since a larger cake pan will take longer to bake in the middle, too much lift in the batter (from too much BP) might cause the cake to lose it's structural integrity and begin to fall before the center has time to set. She has a very complicated "Rose factor" that she employs to calculate how much BP is needed for different-size cake pans.
I've been a fan of The Cake Bible since it was published (back in the "olden days" when I was in culinary school) and I often recommend it to new bakers because it has a wealth of information on the science of baking...and baking is as much science as art.
That being said...I mix all my cake batters in a 20 qt mixer and use the same batter for all my cakes...from 5" to 16" with no discernible difference in texture. And I've never worked in any bakery, caterer, hotel that adjusts the recipe based on pan size.
Maybe if your original recipe is kind of heavy on the baking powder to begin with you might see a difference. But I would certainly go ahead and multiply out your recipe as many times as your mixer can hold. Time is money!!!
Thanks so much Pastrylady for sharing your experience. I've been hesitant to multiply my recipes (I have access to a 20 quart mixer) due to what I have read so I've done the slow route of only doubling(sp?) my recipes. I will have to utilize my 20 quart mixer and save myself some time!
That being said...I mix all my cake batters in a 20 qt mixer and use the same batter for all my cakes...from 5" to 16" with no discernible difference in texture. And I've never worked in any bakery, caterer, hotel that adjusts the recipe based on pan size.
Maybe if your original recipe is kind of heavy on the baking powder to begin with you might see a difference. But I would certainly go ahead and multiply out your recipe as many times as your mixer can hold. Time is money!!!
I totally agree. At the bakery I work at, we make chocolate cake batter (similar recipe to "amazon chocolate cake") in an 80 qt. mixer. Batches end up being about 14 gallons. Same amount of baking powder for everything from a cupcake or 4" round, to a 16" and larger. Chiffon cakes are made in tiny batches to huge batches. We change the amount of baking powder and salt depending on which size batch, but not for different size cakes. And that's just because the owner insists there will be a chemical aftertaste with bigger batches and the same ratio of baking powder. I'm a little skeptical about this though... she's not know for having very good sense of taste. 
[/i]
I increase (and decrease) my recipes all the time without any problems. Sometimes I may use one large pan or multiple smaller pans. I have THE CAKE BIBLE, but I dont use any of her tips about the baking powder.
I am a 100% scratch baker and multiply all my recipes with total success each time
I doubled a chocolate cake recipe without any adjustments and had cake all over the bottom of my oven. I think I need The Cake Bible!
good to know...I have been worrying about this since I started reading Rose's books.
Quote by @%username% on %date%
%body%