Conversions & Substitutions

Because life is not always tailor-made for us, we can use a little bit of extra help to get along more easily. Below you will find several tables to help you understand some of the differences and alternatives in the baking world.

Weight vs Volume Conversion Chart

One of the keys to success in baking, other than passion, is accuracy when measuring ingredients. I like to pay extra attention to both method and system. This is the reason why I think this chart may be of great help when dealing with systems of measurements from other baking cultures.

MAIN DRY INGREDIENTS (METRIC SYSTEM / CUPS) 1 ounce (oz) = 28,35 g 1 fluid ounce (fl oz) = 29,57 ml 1 cup = 16 tablespoons (Tbsp) / 240 ml (standard US) 1 tablespoon (15 ml) = 3 teaspoons (tsp) 1 pint = 2 cups 1 quart = 2 pints 1 gallon = 4 quarts 1 pound (lb) = 453 g 1 inch (1″) = 2,54 cm
	1 tablespoon (Tbsp)	1 cup	Other
Blueberries	8,75 g	140 g	½ pint
Sugar	12 g	200 g
Blueberries	8,75 g	140 g	½ pint
Cereals (rolled oats, puffed rice)	5 g	85 g
Brown sugar	14 g	220 g
Caster or superfine sugar	14 g	225 g
Cocoa	6 g	95 g
Chocolate Chips	10,5 g	170 g
Raspberries	8 g	125 g
Dried fruits, chopped (walnuts, hazelnuts…)	7,5 g	120 g
Cake flour	6 g	100 g
All-purpose flour / Bread flour / Self-raising flour	8 g	130 g
Whole wheat flour	8,75 g	140 g
Butter / Margarine	14 g	225 g	1 stick (butter) = ½ cup
Raisins, sultanas, currants…	9,5 g	150 g
Pumpkin purée	15 g	245 g
Shortening	13 g	205 g

Oven Temperature Conversion Chart

Every oven is unique. Oven temperatures given in recipes are always a reference (the ones I indicate in my recipes are the ones that work for me). In case you are not sure about your oven working properly, you can use an additional oven thermometer to verify.

From Celsius to Fahrenheit: ºF = (9÷5  x ºC) +32
From Fahrenheit to Celsius: ºC = 5÷9 x (ºF – 32)

OVEN TEMP EQUIVALENTS CHART
Electric Oven	ºFahrenheit	Fan Oven	Gas Oven
50ºC	122ºF	40ºC	½ – 1
100ºC	212ºF	80ºC	1
100ºC	212ºF	80ºC	1 – 2
125ºC	257ºF	100ºC	2
160ºC	320ºF	135ºC	2 – 3
180ºC	356ºF	155ºC	3 – 4
200ºC	392ºF	170ºC	4
225ºC	437ºF	195ºC	5
240ºC	464ºF	210ºC	6 – 7
250ºC	482ºF	240ºC	7
275ºC	527ºF	240ºC	7 – 8
275ºC	527ºF	260ºC	8
300ºC	572ºF	275ºC	9 – 10

Ingredient Substitution Table*

Sometimes we find recipes which call for certain ingredients that cannot be easily found where we live (or we just ran out of them). The next table is a very useful tool as long as we take a very important fact into account: alternative ingredients, though equally efficient, may not behave exactly the same as the ones indicated in the original recipe. So we must try and value whether the final outcome satisfies our expectations.

INGREDIENT	SUBSTITUTION
allspice	1 teaspoon: ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon plus ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg plus ¼ teaspoon ground clove
brown sugar	½ cup (110 g): *light brown sugar: – ½ cup (100 g) sugar plus 2 teaspoons (10 ml) molasses – ¼ cup (52 g) dark brown sugar plus ¼ cup (50 g) sugar *dark brown sugar: ½ cup (105 g) sugar plus 1 ½ tablespoons (22,5 ml) molasses
buttermilk	1 cup (240 ml): – 1 tablespoon (15 ml) lemon juice or white vinegar plus 1 cup (240 ml) milk – ? cup (160 ml) natural yoghurt (low fat) plus ? cup (80 ml) milk (mix and let sit for 10 minutes)
clotted cream	– 1 cup (240 ml) cold whipped cream plus 115 g (4 oz) cold Mascarpone cheese plus 1-2 tablespoons (12,5-25 g) sugar (whip high speed until spreadable consistency) – crème fraîche – Mascarpone cheese – whipped cream
cake flour	1 cup (130 g aprox.): 1 cup minus 2 tablespoons (114 g) all-purpose flour plus 2 tablespoons (14 g) cornstarch (sift together 3 times)
egg	1 egg: – 1 medium smashed banana – ¼ cup (125 g) applesauce – 1 tablespoon ground flax seeds dissolved in 3 tablespoons (45 ml) water (let rest for 1 hour) – 125 ml (½ cup) soy yoghurt
dry yeast (active dry)	1 package (7 gr): – 17 g fresh yeast (compressed or cake yeast) – 7 g (2¼ teaspoons) dry instant yeast
light corn syrup	½ cup (125 ml): – ½ cup (100 g) sugar plus 2 tablespoons (30 ml) hot water (let cool) – light molasses or golden syrup – liquid glucose – light honey
sour cream	Greek yoghurt

*Source: Baking from my home to yours, Dorie Greenspan, Joy of Baking et al.