Kitchen Conversions & Baking Swaps

This page is a practical reference for baking conversion charts, ingredient and pan swaps, and adjusting recipes for freshly milled flour. I use it myself, so you’ll find numbers and notes that actually work in a real kitchen.

01

Converting Recipes to Freshly-Milled Flour

Ideally, you want to get the same amount of flour as in the original recipe. For consistent results, you’ll have to weigh your flour and potentially adjust the liquids in your recipe. For every cup of refined white flour (aka all-purpose) listed in a recipe, aim for 130g freshly-milled flour. This is a good starting point.

Below is a chart on how much freshly-milled flour you need to swap into recipes that call for all-purpose flour.

Replacing all-purpose or plain flour
cups to grams

1/4 cup

33 g

1/3 cup

43 g

1/2 cup

65 g

2/3 cup

87 g

3/4 cup

98 g

1 cup

130 g

1 1/4 cup

163 g

1 1/2 cup

195 g

2 cups

260 g

2 1/2 cups

325 g

3 cups

390 g

Remember that you may need to increase liquids by 5-10%. If you can, let your flour and liquid ingredients sit for 15-30 minutes to hydrate. If it feels too dry after that time you can add a little more liquids.

02

More helpful baking equivalents

I bake in grams, cook in cups, and season to taste — the way it works in my kitchen. But just in case you need a measurement I missed, these conversions and equivalents should have you covered.

3 tsp

1 tbsp

4 tbsp

1/4 cup

5 tbsp + 1 tsp

1/3 cup
cups to ml

1 tsp

5 ml

1 tbsp

15 ml

1/4 cup

60 ml

1/3 cup

80 ml

1/2 cup

120 ml

2/3 cup

160 ml

3/4 cup

180 ml

1 cup

240 ml

1 1/4 cups

300 ml

1 1/2 cups

360 ml
Butter conversions

1 tbsp

14 g

2 tbsp

28 g

3 tbsp

42 g

1/4 cup

57 g

1/3 cup

80 g

1/2 cup

113 g

3/4 cup

170 g

1 cup

227 g

03

Baking pan equivalents

Swapping between baking pans? Loaf pans, muffin tins and square baking pans have the same volume so you can switch between pans if you’re in the mood for something different. Here’s what you need to do to make it work:

Loaf pans:

  • use a 20 cm (9×5 inch) loaf pan
  • bake at 175°C – 200°C (350°F – 400°F)
  • increase the baking time to at least 45 minutes (check for doneness with a toothpick)

Muffin tins:

  • use a 12-cup muffin tin
  • bake at 220°C (425°F)
  • decrease the baking time to about 20 minutes (check for doneness with a toothpick)

Square baking pans:

  • use a 20 cm (8 inch) square baking pan or dish
  • bake at 180°C (350°F)
  • adjust the baking time to about 30 minutes (as always, check for doneness with a toothpick)

04

Other Ingredient Replacements

If you’re missing some key ingredients or need to adjust for special dietary needs in a hurry, don’t panic. Here are some tried and true substitutes for baking:

Replacing eggs

1 egg

  • 1 tbsp ground flax seeds or chia seeds + 3 tbsp water
    Let sit for 5 minutes to thicken. binds quick breads, muffins, waffles, hearty cookies and brownies.
  • 3 tbsp aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas)
    Best in recipes that call for raw eggs (think mayonnaise etc).

1 egg white

  • 2 tbsp aquafaba
    Great for whipped textures or meringues.

1 egg yolk

  • 1 tbsp aquafaba

1/2 egg

  • 1 egg yolk
    Handy when you’re splitting recipes in half.

1 egg

1 tbsp ground flax seeds or chia seeds + 3 tbsp water

let sit for 5 minutes to thicken. binds quick breads, muffins, waffles, hearty cookies and brownies

3 tbsp aquafaba (liquid from canned chickpeas)

best in recipes that call for raw eggs (think mayonnaise etc.)

1 egg white

2 tbsp aquafaba

great for whipped textures or meringues

1 egg yolk

1 tbsp aquafaba

1/2 egg

1 egg yolk

handy when you’re cutting recipes in half
vegan Sweet Dough

For a vegan sweet dough (like cinnamon buns etc.) replace all dairy milk with soy milk and add an extra 50 ml of soy milk per egg.

Replacing Buttermilk
  • Add 1 tbsp of fresh lemon juice or vinegar to a 1-cup measuring cup. Top with any dairy or non-dairy milk. Let it sit for 5 minutes to curdle.  For 2 cups of buttermilk, 1 tbsp + 1 tsp of lemon juice or vinegar add enough acidity.
  • Mix 1/4 cup milk into 3/4 cup plain yogurt to create a thicker buttermilk substitute. If you’d like to use non-dairy milk and yogurt, add 1/2 tsp lemon juice or vinegar to the mix and stir well.