How To Measure Pan Sizes

Measure Dimensions: To determine the pan's dimensions always measure inside edge to inside edge of the pan so that you do not include the thickness of the pan in your measurement.

Measure Depth: To measure the depth, place your ruler straight up from the bottom of the pan (do not slant the ruler). If the pan edge is slanted, do not slant the ruler, measure straight up.

Pan Volume: To determine the pan's volume (how much batter it will hold), pour pre-measured water by the cupful until the pan is filled to the brim. Use a liquid measuring cup to pour water into the pan until it reaches the top.

How To Substitute Pans:

The following table will help determine substitutions of pans and dishes of similar approximate size if you do not have the specific sized baking pan, dish, or mold called for in a recipe.

The ideal pan substitution is one that keeps the same batter depth as in the original recipe, by keeping the same pan area. In this way you do not have to make any drastic changes in baking times and temperatures. For example; you could substitute a 8 x 8 inch (20 x 20 cm) square pan (which is 64 square inches), for a 9 inch (23 cm) round pan (which is 63.5 square inches), without changing the baking time or oven temperature stated in the original recipe.

If the new pan makes the batter shallower than in the original recipe, this will cause the heat to reach the center of the pan more quickly and you will have more evaporation. To solve this problem you need to shorten the baking time and raise the temperature of the oven slightly. To substitute a pan that is shallower than the pan in the recipe, reduce the baking time by 1/4.

If the new pan makes the batter deeper than in the original recipe, this will cause less evaporation and the batter will take longer to cook. To solve this problem you need to lengthen the baking time and maybe lower the temperature of the oven slightly. To substitute a pan that is deeper than the pan in the recipe, increase the baking time by 1/4.

To substitute with glass pans, reduce the baking temperature by 25 degrees.

Example Calculation: 13" x 9" in cake pan instead of 2 9" round pans

The area of a 9" round pan can be found by using the formula for the area of a circle, pi x R^2. For this purpose 3.14 is close enough for pi, and the radius (R) is half of the diameter, which is 9". So we have 3.14 x 4.5 x 4.5, which equals 63.64, or close enough to 64 square inches. To find the area of a rectangle you simply multiply the length x width, so a 13" x 9" cake pan equals 117 square inches.

So, if the same volume of cake batter (same recipe, box mix) that is supposed to go into two 9" round pans, which is a total of about 128 square inches, is instead put into one 13" x 9" cake pan, which equals 117 square inches, then the depth of the batter will be increased (same amount of batter in a smaller area pan.), though in this case not by very much. Still, it could matter to the cooking time. It may take a little bit longer to cook because the batter is deeper.

Alternative Baking Pan Sizes (for cakes and bars)

• Generally, to achieve a similar cake size, when switching from round to square, decrease the diameter of the round pan by about 1 inch to find the equivalent square pan size.
• The simplest substitute: An 8" square pan is roughly equivalent to a 9" round pan - about the same volume, 64 for square, 63.64 for round. So half a recipe for a two layer 9" cake can be made in an 8" square pan, or the full recipe in 2 8" square pans.
• 9” x 13” pan alternatives

  Now let’s throw your 9” x 13” pan into the mix. Multiply 9” x 13” to get 117”. What’s the best way to turn that 9” x 13” sheet cake recipe into two rounds for a layer cake?

  Remember, your 9” round pan’s capacity is 64”. Your 8” round pan’s, 50”. Divide 117” by 2 and you get 58.5” — which falls right in between the two round sizes. So which round pans should you choose?

  The two 9” round pans offer about 10% more space than the 9” x 13”. The two 8” rounds fall about 9% short. Bake in two 9” pans, you’ll get shorter layers than the cake you’d bake in a 9” x 13” pan. But choose two 8” pans and you run the risk of batter overflowing.

  But if it looks a bit skimpy in the 9” x 13” pan, go ahead and try it in your 8” round pans; so long as they’re 2” deep

• 9” square pan

  Now, what about that brownie or cake recipe that calls for a 9” square pan — which you don’t have?

  First of all, if you don’t mind tweaking the recipe a bit you can increase all of the ingredients by 50% and bake it in a 9” x 13” pan (which is about 45% larger than a 9” square pan; increasing the recipe by 50% is easy, and close enough).

  But if you want to follow the recipe as is, here are your choices:

  • 11” x 7” pan (77”; again, close enough).
  • 8” square pan or 9” round pan (64”). Their area is about 20% less than that of a 9” square pan, so if you’re baking bars they’ll be thicker and will need to bake a bit longer. If you’re baking a cake, you’re taking a chance. If it’s a low-riser you’ll be fine; but if it’s a high-riser you risk overflow.

  • Oval-shaped casserole, about 8” x 12"

  How do you figure the area of an oval, though? Back to that high school geometry: Mark the very center of the casserole dish. Measure from the center to the top; in the case of an 8” x 12” oval pan, it’s 4”. Then measure from the center to one side: 6”. Now multiply 4” x 6” x 3.14 (pi), and you find that the area of your oval casserole is 75”. At only 8% less than the area of a 9” square pan, this is a worthy substitute.

• A typical 9” to 10” Bundt pan will usually list a capacity of 10 cups. But this is “fill to the brim” capacity; baking capacity is actually much less, about 6 cups.

  a typical double-layer or 9” x 13” cake makes about 6 cups of batter; so most butter or oil cakes (not sponge or angel cakes) can be baked in a Bundt pan. Since Bundt cakes are thicker and deeper than layer cakes, you’ll need to bake them about 30% longer (in a 10-cup capacity pan) than you would in a 9” x 13” pan, or about 15% to 20% longer in a 12-cup pan.

• What if volumes and square inches don’t match up perfectly? You’ll have to adjust the recipe and this requires more math.

  For example, if you want to adapt a 9-inch round cake to a 10-inch round cake, you’ll need to make adjustments. A 9-inch round cake pan is 63.5 square inches/holds 8 cups of batter. A 10-inch round cake pan is 78.5 square inches/holds 10-11 cups of batter. Without any adaptions, your 10-inch cake layers will be very thin. You’ll need to increase the batter by 25%.

  The get this percentage, work with the cups or square inches. Subtract the number you have (8 cups) from the number you want (10 cups). Divide that (2 cups) by what you have (8 cups), then multiply by 100. (The universal way to find a percentage.) This equals 25%.

• From Another Website:
• The Math Part
  The gist is this: Dividing the area of one pan by the area of another will give you your multiplier. Multiply all of the ingredients in your recipe by that magic number to modify it to fit the new vessel. When scaling down from a big pan to a smaller one, divide the area of the small pan by the area of the large pan. When going up from small pan to big, reverse the order and divide the area of the large pan by the area of the small one.
• Need an example? If you’re trying to make a recipe for a snack cake that’s meant for a 9x9-inch square pan in a 13x9-inch pan instead, divide the area of the big 13x9 guy (117) by the area of the smaller 9x9 (81). The result is 1.44, so you’ll need to multiply every ingredient in the cake recipe by 1.44—or 1.5, to make your life easier—to create your new measurements.
• Standard pan areas cheat sheet
  13x9 = 117 square inches
  9x9 = 81 square inches
  8x8 = 64 square inches
• Half sheet (aka 18x13) = 234 square inches
  8-inch round = 50.24 square inches
  9-inch round = 63.59 square inches
• Scale down
  13x9 → 9x9: multiply by 0.69 (2/3)
  13x9 → 8x8: multiply by 0.54 (1/2)
  9x9 → 8x8: multiply by 0.79 (1, aka keep the recipe the same for a slightly taller bake, or use 2/3 for just scant)
  9-inch round → 8-inch round: multiply by 0.79 (same as above)
• Scale up
  8x8 → 9x9: multiply by 1.26 (1 1/4) [so 1/4 more batter, the 1 is misleading]
  8x8 → 13x9: multiply by 1.82 (2) [so double the recipe]
  9x9 → 13x9: multiply by 1.44 (1 1/2) [1/2 more]
  13x9 → half sheet pan: multiply by 2 [double recipe]
  8-inch round → 9-inch round: multiply by 1.26 (1 1/4) [1/4 more]
• Change shape
  9-inch round → 9x9 square: multiply by 1.27 (1 1/4) [1/4 more]
  8-inch round → 8x8 square: multiply by 1.27 (1 1/4) [1/4 more]
  8x8 square → 8-inch round: multiply by 0.79 (1, aka keep the recipe the same for a slightly taller bake, or use 2/3 for just scant)
  9x9 square → 9-inch round: multiply by 0.79 (same as above)

Conversions:  (Dimensions) 1 inch = 2.54 cm  (Volume) 1 cup = 237 ml
Note:  Keep in mind that most home ovens will only accommodate up to a 17 x 14 inch (43 x 36 cm) pan.