Converting Bread Machine Recipe Sizes

There are two ways to convert a bread machine recipe from one size to another. You can do it by hand or you can use recipe management software and let it do all the hard work for you. My recommendation is to use recipe management software. Not only is recipe size conversion a snap it makes keeping track of your recipes a snap as well.

Should you decide to use recipe management software and you have a PC I recommend MasterCook software from ValueSoft. MasterCook has a great interface is loaded with features and includes full recipe nutritional analysis as well.

Method 1: By Hand

Say you have a 1-1/2 pound recipe and you want to convert it to a 2-pound recipe. Or, you have a 1-pound recipe and you want to convert it to a 1-1/2 pound recipe, etc. This conversion is easy also. With a little bit of math, you can convert recipes of any size to any other size. We are only going to cover 1, 1-1/2, 2 and 2-1/2 pound recipes and how to convert them back and fourth.

The chart below tells you what formula to use to convert a recipe from one size to another. First choose the size of the recipe you have in the FROM column. Then select the size you want to convert it to in the TO row. Use this formula to convert the recipe.

Once you have the recipe converted you may have odd decimal amounts. Use the chart below to convert these to the nearest amount. When hit with an odd amount you will need to round it up or down. This is done based on how close the decimal amount is to one measurement or the other. Example if the decimal amount is 2.33 then this would be 2-1/3. However, if it was 2.28 then it would be 2-1/4.

Decimal Conversion Chart

Example

Now using the two charts above we are going to convert a 1-1/2 pound recipe to a 1-pound recipe. Here is the 1-1/2 pound recipe.

1 Cup Water
1 Tsp. Salt
2 Tbsp. Sugar
2 Tbsp. Butter
3-1/2 Cups Bread Flour
2 Tbsp. Dry Milk
2 Tsp. Yeast

To convert this recipe to a 1-pound recipe we start with the water. Using a calculator punch in 1 and then according to the chart we need to divide the amount by 3 and then multiply it by 2. This gives us .66 now according to the second chart .66 is closest to .625 or 2/3 Cup. Now we move on to the salt. Again we punch in 1 then divide by 3 and multiply by 2. This gives us .66 which would be 2/3 Tsp. Now finish converting this recipe and compare your results to mine. Here is the converted recipe.

2/3 Cup Water
2/3 Tsp. Salt
1-1/3 Tbsp. Sugar
1-1/3 Tbsp. Butter
2-1/3 Cups Bread Flour
1-1/3 Tbsp. Dry Milk
1-1/3 Tsp. Yeast

All recipes I have converted in this fashion have worked fine. I do recommend however, that when making a converted recipe for the first time that you stay close by to check the dough for proper consistency. If it is too wet add 1 Tablespoon flour at a time until it makes a nice ball. If it is too dry add 1 Tablespoon water at a time until it makes a nice ball. Make sure to note these additions on your recipe for future use.

Option 2

If you are using a recipe management program that allows for recipe scaling based on servings, like MasterCook does. You can have the program scale your bread machine recipes up or down for you. For this to work you need to understand how many slices a certain size loaf of bread will make, use the chart below to figure this out.

To have your recipe management software scale your recipe up or down, you need to enter in the appropriate servings when you enter in your recipes. For example, if you enter in a 1-1/2 pound recipe, you need to set the servings to 12. That is because you will get 12 slices of bread from a finished 1-1/2 pound recipe. Use the above chart to set the appropriate servings for your recipes.

This method has two advantages. First, when you want nutritional information, the information that you get is per slice of bread. This is much more useful than say the calorie content of the whole loaf of bread. I don’t know too many people that eat a loaf at a time. Second, it makes it very easy to have the software do the math for you when you want to scale a recipe up or down.

Say for example you have a 12 serving 1-1/2 pound recipe and you just got a new 2-1/2 pound machine. Well, using the chart above you would tell your recipe management software to scale the recipe from 12 servings to 20 servings. You would then have a 2-1/2 pound recipe. Presto!

The Yeast

The only area of a recipe that you need to general ignore the amount is the yeast. I recommend that you look at other similar type recipes in bread machine cookbooks to get an idea of how much yeast to use for a said recipe. In general I have to use 1-1/2 teaspoons for a 1 pound loaf, 2-1/2 teaspoons for a 1-1/2, 2 or 2-1/2 pound loaf. You however need to use the amount that works for you. If you choose to use the converted amount of yeast do keep in mind that you may need more or less. For some reason your climate and location seems to play a part in the amount of yeast you need for a recipe to work. Just something to keep in mind.

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