How to Double Baking Recipes

The more, the merrier, especially when it comes to dessert. Here’s how to double a recipe so you can stretch your efforts as much as possible.

Chances are, you’re doubling a recipe to hand out homemade bakes. It’s a great way to show friends, family, neighbors or community members how much you appreciate them, whether they’ve done something awesome recently or need a little cheering up. We’ve been spreading that love through our Community Bakes project from Bakeable.

As we whip up our favorite bakes to make and share, we always keep in mind the rules for doubling a baking recipe. Adjusting pan sizes, bake times and measurements are all part of the fun. Read on for details about how to double a recipe—and when you absolutely shouldn’t. Make sure to use our handy-dandy printable infographic so you won’t have to do the mental math every time you make a double batch.

Recipes Baking Measurements Guide

To double a baking recipe, the basic rule is to multiply each ingredient amount by two. I highly recommend writing down the new measurements on a sheet of paper so you don’t forget to actually double them. This has happened to me, even as a professional baker. I can’t tell you how many times I thought I would remember, only to forget and totally mess up the recipe.

Most ingredients are easy to double, but baking is an exact science, and things can go awry if you’re not accurate with measuring. Cookie recipes are very easy to double, but more involved bakes like chocolate babka or French macarons can get finicky since there’s more room for error. Make sure to measure the flour properly and weigh ingredients when instructed.

Recipes Tips for How to Double a Baking Recipe

Avoid ingredient swaps in a doubled recipe

We love a clever ingredient swap, like flaxseed instead of eggs or milk and lemon when you’re out of buttermilk. But when you’re doubling a fussy baking recipe, it’s always best to stick to the original ingredients. It’s also important to use room temperature eggs or dairy when the recipe calls for it.

Adjust the baking time when doubling a recipe

The more food that’s in the oven, the longer it will take to bake. Adding a second cake pan means each one will compete for the oven’s temperature. Don’t be tempted to turn up the heat, though; you could overbake the outside while the inside is still raw. Instead, adjust the bake times as needed. Start with the recipe’s lowest suggested time and use visual cues to assess if it needs to bake longer. If your recipe includes internal temperatures, use a thermometer to know when your cake or bread is done.

Be mindful of oven rack positions for your double batch

You may have read recipes that direct you to place one of the oven racks on a certain rung. That’s not just a suggestion: Oven rack position matters! Heat distribution in an oven is often much warmer at the bottom and colder at the top. If you’re baking a double batch, try to fit everything on one rack. Or, be extra mindful of the pans on the bottom rack to make sure they don’t burn.

Don’t overcrowd the pans for a doubled recipe

Doubling a recipe also means doubling the number of pans or adjusting the size of each pan. It’s a huge no-no to cram too many cookie dough balls on one sheet tray. You also can’t just put brownie batter in a pan that’s not big enough to handle it (no one wants an overflowed mess on the bottom of their oven). Make sure you have two of each pan, or correctly adjust the baking pan sizes as needed.

Recipes Here’s When You Shouldn’t Double a Recipe

You shouldn’t double a recipe if your tools or appliances can’t handle the larger amount of dough or batter. For example, when I make my annual gingerbread house, I know the doubled dough is too big for my stand mixer’s bowl and too heavy for my hand mixer, so I mix it all by hand. It’s exhausting—I don’t recommend!

Do your best to estimate the doubled recipe’s amount, then measure your stand mixer’s bowl capacity to make sure the batter or dough doesn’t exceed it. If you own a hand mixer, it can usually handle a double batch of batter (like cake batter or brownie batter). However, most hand mixers aren’t strong enough for a double batch of dough (like cookie dough or bread dough). If your tools don’t work for a doubled recipe, make it in two separate batches.

This approach is also a smart idea if you need to ensure your double batch turns out right. Even tried-and-true recipes can sometimes behave unpredictably when doubled. I’ve heard many pastry chefs lament this over the years, never finding out why the doubling didn’t work. If you want to play it safe, even if it takes a little more time, prepare the standard recipe twice instead of doubling it all at once.