Scaling Recipes

How to scale a recipe up or down to match your production needs
How ingredient quantities and costs update automatically when you change the yield
When to use recipe scaling for batch adjustments and custom orders

What is Recipe Scaling?

Recipe scaling lets you adjust the quantities of all ingredients in a recipe while keeping the proportions exactly the same. Whether you need to bake a double batch for a wedding order or scale down a recipe to use up leftover ingredients, BakeOnyx calculates the new amounts for you automatically.

When you scale a recipe, the system multiplies every ingredient quantity by the same scaling factor, so your recipe maintains its balance and quality — just in a different size.

How to Scale a Recipe

From the Dashboard, click Recipes in the left menu.
Find the recipe you want to scale and click on it to open the recipe details.
Click the Scale button or tab (usually near the top of the recipe page).
You'll see the recipe's original yield displayed. This is the amount the recipe currently makes.
In the Target Yield field, enter the new quantity you want to produce. Use the same unit as the original yield (e.g., if the original is in grams, enter your target in grams).
Press Enter or click Calculate. BakeOnyx instantly recalculates all ingredient quantities.

Recipe scale page showing original yield, target yield input field, and scaled ingredient list with updated quantities and total cost

Understanding the Scaled Results

Once you've entered your target yield, you'll see:

Scaling Factor: The multiplier applied to your recipe (e.g., 2x, 0.5x). This shows how much larger or smaller your batch is compared to the original.
Scaled Ingredient List: Every ingredient quantity updated proportionally. For example, if you're doubling the recipe, 2 cups of flour becomes 4 cups.
Updated Total Cost: The estimated ingredient cost for your scaled batch, based on current inventory prices.

Tip: Use recipe scaling when you're filling a large custom order. Scale the recipe to match exactly what you need, and BakeOnyx will show you the total ingredient cost upfront — helpful for pricing custom cakes or bulk orders.

Practical Examples

Scaling Up: Your chocolate chip cookie recipe makes 24 cookies, but a customer ordered 60. Enter 60 as your target yield, and all ingredients scale up proportionally. You'll see exactly how much flour, butter, and chocolate chips you need.

Scaling Down: You have a batch recipe that makes 5 dozen donuts, but you only need 2 dozen for tomorrow's special event. Enter 24 as your target yield, and the recipe adjusts down. This helps you avoid waste and use ingredients efficiently.

Warning: Scaling works best for most recipes, but some items (like leavening agents, salt, or spices) may need manual adjustment after scaling. Always taste or test a small batch if you're scaling dramatically (more than 3x or less than 0.3x the original amount).

Tips for Accurate Scaling

Make sure your original recipe yield is accurate in BakeOnyx. If the base recipe is wrong, the scaled version will be too.
Use consistent units throughout. If your recipe uses grams, stick with grams when entering your target yield.
Check that all ingredients have prices assigned in your inventory. This ensures the total cost calculation is accurate.
Write down the scaled quantities or print the page before you start baking — it's easy to reference while you work.

Note: Scaling a recipe doesn't change the original recipe in BakeOnyx. You can scale the same recipe multiple times for different orders without affecting the stored version.

Next Steps

Creating Products from Recipes — Turn your scaled recipe into a product you can sell.
Adding and Managing Ingredients — Ensure all your ingredients have accurate prices for cost calculations.
Creating a New Order — Use scaled recipes to fulfill custom orders.