To cut a recipe in half, convert awkward amounts to smaller units before dividing (half of 3/4 cup is 6 tablespoons, half of 1/3 cup is 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons), beat an odd egg and use half of it, move to a pan with about half the area, and start checking for doneness at about three-quarters of the original time.
Half of 3/4 cup is not "a bit less than half a cup". Here are the real numbers.
Most recipes feed six or eight. Plenty of kitchens feed two. Thanksgiving falls on November 26 this year, and a small table does not need a 9x13 pan of stuffing and a pie that serves ten.
Halving a recipe is simple division until you hit 3/4 cup, 1/3 cup, one egg or a pan that is now twice too big. Here are the numbers for each.
Print this or keep it on your phone. Every line is exact.
| Recipe calls for | Half is |
|---|---|
| 1 cup | 1/2 cup |
| 3/4 cup | 6 tablespoons (1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons) |
| 2/3 cup | 1/3 cup |
| 1/2 cup | 1/4 cup |
| 1/3 cup | 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons |
| 1/4 cup | 2 tablespoons |
| 1 tablespoon | 1 1/2 teaspoons |
| 1 teaspoon | 1/2 teaspoon |
| 1/2 teaspoon | 1/4 teaspoon |
| 1/4 teaspoon | 1/8 teaspoon, or a pinch |
| 1 stick of butter (8 tablespoons) | 4 tablespoons |
Two facts make the whole chart work:
When a fraction will not split cleanly, convert it down a unit and then divide. A third of a cup is 16 teaspoons. Half of that is 8 teaspoons, which is 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. No guessing needed.
Weight is the easiest thing in the kitchen to halve. If a recipe gives grams, divide every number by two and you are done. No chart, no odd fractions.
A few weights worth knowing:
A cup of flour can weigh quite different amounts depending on how you scoop it. A weighed 60 grams is 60 grams every time. If you are not sure your scale reads true, you can check it with coins.
The egg is where most people get stuck. You have three options.
A half batch in the full-size pan spreads thin, bakes fast and dries out. You want a pan with about half the surface area, so the batter sits at the same depth it was meant to.
| Full recipe pan | Area | Half-batch pan | Area |
|---|---|---|---|
| 9x13 inch | 117 sq in | 8x8 inch square | 64 sq in |
| 9x13 inch | 117 sq in | 9 inch round | about 64 sq in |
| Two 9 inch rounds | about 127 sq in | One 9 inch round | about 64 sq in |
| 12 cup muffin tin | 12 cups | Fill 6 cups | 6 cups |
An 8x8 pan is a little more than half of a 9x13, so the half batch sits slightly shallower. That is fine. To check any other pan, multiply length by width and compare. For a round pan, multiply the radius by itself and then by 3.14.
A standard 9x5 loaf pan has no common half-size partner. The easy answer is to bake half a quick bread recipe as about 6 muffins.
Keep the oven temperature the same. The recipe chose it for browning and texture, and that does not change with batch size.
Time is different:
Filling a measuring cup "about halfway" is the usual shortcut, and it works badly. Most people are worse at judging half by eye than they think. That is the idea behind Halfsies, a free daily game where you cut three drawn objects in half by eye and a scale weighs both pieces. It is fun on a phone and a poor way to measure baking powder.
Once the dish is made, there is still the job of sharing it out. For that, see how to cut a pie into equal slices and how to cut brownies into equal squares. And if all this has you wondering how good your own eye for half really is, today's three cuts are waiting in the browser.
Half of 3/4 cup is 6 tablespoons, which is the same as 1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons.
Half of 1/3 cup is 2 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons. A third of a cup is 16 teaspoons, so half is 8 teaspoons.
Beat the egg until the yolk and white are fully mixed, then use half. A large egg is about 3 tablespoons or 50 grams, so half is 1 1/2 tablespoons or about 25 grams.
Use an 8x8 inch square pan or a 9 inch round pan. Both have about 64 square inches of surface, a little over half of the 117 square inches in a 9x13.
Keep the temperature the same and start checking at about three-quarters of the original time. Cookies and muffins keep the same time because each piece is the same size.