Baking substitutions

Every substitution on this page comes out of a published extension sheet, and every one of them changes the bake. That second half matters more than the ratio. NDSU Extension puts it at the top of its own chart: "each ingredient in a recipe has a specific function. Substitution of one ingredient for another may alter the taste, color, moisture content or texture of the product." So the number here tells you how much to use, and the line under it tells you what you are trading away — a cake made with oil instead of butter is not a cake made with butter, and two egg whites in place of an egg is a decision about fat and colour, not an equivalence. Two extension services also lead with different answers for the baking powder swap, and both are here rather than an average of them.

How it is calculated

published amount × how much your recipe calls for

There is no clever arithmetic on this page: the sheets state each substitution for one teaspoon, one cup or one egg, and the tool multiplies. The only conversion is the yeast one, where Red Star's chart sets 2 ounces of fresh cake yeast against 21 grams of dry — so fresh weighs about 2.7 times what the dry yeast replacing it does, and 2 ounces is 56.699 g by the exact avoirdupois pound.

Source: NDSU Extension, "Ingredient Substitutions" (FN198, reviewed January 2023) — "Each ingredient in a recipe has a specific function. Substitution of one ingredient for another may alter the taste, color, moisture content or texture of the product."

Questions people ask

Which baking powder substitute is right?

Both of the ones here are published by a university extension service, and they do not agree. NDSU leads with "1/4 teaspoon baking soda plus 5/8 teaspoon cream of tartar" for one teaspoon of baking powder; Mississippi State leads with "1/3 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp cream of tartar". NDSU actually lists the Mississippi ratio too, further down its own entry, so this is a difference of emphasis rather than a contradiction — the second is more alkaline, the first is more acid. Neither sheet says which suits which recipe, and this page does not invent an answer.

Will a homemade baking powder behave like the tin?

Not quite. Most baking powder sold today is double-acting: some of the lift happens when it gets wet and the rest when it gets hot, which is what lets a batter stand while you fill a second tin. Soda mixed with cream of tartar on the spot releases its gas as soon as it is wet. The ratio is the sheet's; the timing is yours, and it means getting the tin into the oven promptly.

How much dry yeast replaces fresh cake yeast?

Red Star's chart is the direct answer: for 8 to 12 cups of flour it lists three quarter-ounce packages of dry yeast, 21 grams, against 2 ounces of fresh cake yeast. That is a ratio of about 2.7 to 1 by weight, which is what this page uses. The same page also says that if you cut the 2 oz cake in thirds, each third — which it calls 0.6 oz — equals one 7 g packet, and that arithmetic gives 2.4 to 1 instead. The difference is rounding inside one document, and at household quantities it is a gram or so.

Can I use instant yeast where the recipe says active dry?

For this conversion Red Star treats them alike: "when changing your bread recipe from cake yeast to dry yeast, any of the dry yeast types (Active Dry Yeast or Instant Yeast) may be substituted." What differs is the handling rather than the weight — dry yeast wants a different liquid temperature from the cake it replaces, and needs a little longer to come round.

Which egg substitutes will not work?

The ones where the egg is doing something structural. NDSU marks its own entries: two yolks plus a tablespoon of water is given "in cookies", two yolks alone "in custards, cream fillings and similar mixtures", and water with baking powder "in cookies and cakes only". None of them replaces whipped egg white, because none of them whips. Meringue, angel food and soufflé are not substitution problems.

Why does the butter swap add salt?

Because the fats replacing it are unsalted and butter usually is not. NDSU's entry is "7/8 cup oil plus 1/2 teaspoon salt" for one cup of butter, and the same half teaspoon appears against lard and hydrogenated fat. If your recipe was written for unsalted butter, leave the extra salt out. The 7/8 rather than a full cup is the water in butter being accounted for: butter is not pure fat.

Sources

The documents this page reads its numbers out of, linked so you can check them yourself.

1. NDSU Extension, "Ingredient Substitutions" (FN198, reviewed January 2023) — "Each ingredient in a recipe has a specific function. Substitution of one ingredient for another may alter the taste, color, moisture content or texture of the product."
2. Mississippi State University Extension, "Ingredient Substitutions and Equivalents" (P1690, 2024) — baking powder, 1 tsp — "1/3 tsp baking soda and 1/2 tsp cream of tartar"
3. Red Star Yeast, "Yeast Conversion Chart" — the chart rows keyed to the flour in the recipe — 0 to 4 cups: 1 package (1/4 oz) of dry yeast, 7 grams, 2 1/4 teaspoons, against 2/3 ounce of fresh cake yeast, "1/3 of a 2oz cake"; 8 to 12 cups: 3 packages, 21 grams, 6 3/4 teaspoons, against 2 ounces, "one 2oz cake"

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