What's with the recipe format?  It looks complicated.

The short version.

When reading my recipe format pay attention to columns A, B and C, read the directions and ignore the rest.

The long winded explanation.

OK...I know...my recipe (or formula) format doesn't follow the typical format of a complete list of ingredients first, and instructions second.  Honestly, that format doesn't work for me, especially for long, complicated recipes.  I sometimes get lost going back and forth between the ingredients and instructions.  I've also, missed a step or an ingredient or I've had to reread the same steps over and over again to find where I'm supposed to be.  My current recipe format does away with those issues by allowing me to work from top to bottom.  If I need to, I could literally keep track of where I am by covering each line as I'm done with it.

The formula format I use today I've been developing for many years.  It's a digital adaptation of my old 4x6 recipe card format which had ingredients on the left, instructions on the right and brackets in the middle showing what instructions go with what ingredients.  It worked, it made following a recipe simple and I rarely lost my place.  But, the recipe cards had their issues, I couldn't modify a recipe and keep track of older versions, I had to rewrite cards when I needed to make changes and I'd occasionally lose them, it was difficult to add very detailed instructions when I needed them, to name a few.

My current recipe format is based on a spreadsheet and gives me a lot of freedom to make adjustments.  It has gotten adjusted a bit from time to time to make things easier for me to use but it's basically the same format since I started using it.  It works well for me on so many levels.

So why this format?  I've been working in engineering for many years.  This kind of work has helped me work pretty methodically in the office and in the kitchen.  Being methodical means, to me, working from start to finish, left to right and top to bottom.

My recipe format is all about keeping things easy to find at a glance, I don't like doing extra reading to find what I'm looking for, especially if I'm pressed for time.  As you probably do, I start my baking, or cooking, session, with the ingredients I need.  So, beginning with the first column in my formula I have a list of ingredients.  Verifying that I have all the ingredients I need is important to success in the kitchen so ingredients are listed in the leftmost column, quick and easy to see.  The second column, is there for reference and let's me know how much of that ingredient was in the original recipe.  I used to bake by volume measurements exclusively so this column does come in handy if I'm not sure that I have enough of a particular ingredient.  Of course, when I share a recipe this is the measurement most other people in the United States will be looking for.

The third column is my go to column for measurements, and contains the weight of each item in grams.  I weight nearly everything I measure, from flour and sugars down to salt and xanthan gum.  Even my liquid ingredients get measured by weight.  Why?  Constancy, As long as I'm baking on this planet a gram is a gram is a gram.  Since I don't plan to bake in outer space or on another planet or moon, I know that my measurements will be accurate if I weight my ingredients.  That is not true for volume measurements, especially when it comes to things like flour that can be fluffed up or compacted.  A sifted cup of flour weighs less than a scooped cup of flour which in turn weighs less than a shaken cup of flour.  Measuring by volume is not accurate and I much prefer accuracy in my baking because I know my final product will be more consistent batch to batch.

The next two columns help me to understand my recipe and how the ingredients interact.  They also help me to see how recipes compare.  The "TRUE %" column is for the percentage amount of a particular ingredient.  The "BAKER'S %" column compares the amount of an ingredient to the amount of total flour.  For more on how these percentages work, I suggest a quick Google search.  I use both of these columns to make adjustments and help me refine and improve how a recipe works.  Feel fee to ignore these columns.

The last column allows me to change my batch size without affecting my original formula.  Since I measure almost exclusively in grams, all I need to do is change the multiplier on my spreadsheet and I have my adjusted recipe in less than a second.

Reading my recipes from top to bottom is simple.  For most of my recipes you could literally move a ruler down the page as you work though each line.  So...the first ingredient you will need is the first one listed.  If a recipe needs attention over multiple hours or days, nothing changes, the first ingredient is still first, the second ingredient needed is second and so on.  This means a particular ingredient may be listed more than once, I don't have instructions that read, "use 1/3 of the sugar to ...".  This is a recipe, not a shopping list, so, in my format, ingredients are listed as many times as necessary.

Work from top to bottom is also true of instructions, the first step is first and the second step is second, from top to bottom.  I don't like reading other recipes that read, "...but first...".  Not that I find those all that often.  If a recipe needs multiple things to be done the same time I make my best choice as which process will be done first.  I do get this wrong sometimes and it's quite probable someone else might find my order doesn't work for them.  I do my best to keep things in order from top to bottom.

Notes, comments, special equipment lists and references to other recipes are all at the bottom tucked somewhat out of the way but still available.

At this point you're probably wondering, if you're working from top left to lower right, why is the recipe title in the upper right?  Simple, when I print the recipe for my notebook it's easier to read the title when it's in the upper right corner.  I had it in the upper left for a few years but I found it made a lot more sense on the right side so that's where it is.

RECIPE VERSIONS (beginning November 2024): I've updated my template again to make the header section a bit clearer and easier to use.  I've also added notes to some cells in the header instead of writing out instructions.

RECIPE VERSIONS (beginning January 2022): Some of my formulas have multiple versions which have been tweaked and modified over and over again to try to improve some aspect of the final product. I keep track of each version by "numbering" them beginning with lower case letters, "{a}", and working my way up from there.  Letter versions with braces around them are considered experiments.  The highest letter is the latest version and usually, but not always, the best version (check the notes section). If I create a version that I'm really happy with the letter will change to a number so I know it's a "keeper".  Recipes with multiple version numbers are all keepers in my mind and all are worth making again and again.  If I decide to try to make changes to a keeper recipe the version number will change to a combined number and letter such as 1a, 1b, 1c, etc. until I create a new keeper recipe.  Did I mention I worked in engineering?  LOL  Here's a quick idea of what my version numbers might look like if I rework a recipe a lot: a, b, c, 1, 1a, 1b, 2, 2a, 3, 3a, 3b, 3c, 3d, 4, etc.  If this doesn't make a lot of sense to you, don't worry about it, just look for the last recipe with only a number, it's the best!  Probably.  Why the change to version numbers in 2022?  Well, it feels more natural to me for recipes to use numbers for good recipes than to use letters.  Letters are standard procedure for new revisions in my engineering work but even after a few years of using them in recipes it just didn't feel right.  Yes, I have a LOT of work to do to convert my old recipe versions to this format.

RECIPE VERSIONS (pre 2022): Some of my formulas have multiple versions which have been tweaked and modified over and over again to try to improve some aspect of the final product. I number each version as you would expect beginning with #1 and working my up from there. Numbered versions are considered experiments.  The highest number is the latest version and usually, but not always, the best version (Check the notes section). If I create a version that I'm really happy with the number will change to an upper case letter so I know it's a "keeper".  Recipes with multiple version letters are all keepers in my mind and all are worth making again and again.  If I decide to try to make changes to a keeper recipe the version number will change to a combined letter and number such as A1, A2, A3, etc. until I create a new keeper recipe.  Did I mention I worked in engineering?  LOL  Here's a quick idea of what my version numbers might look like if I rework a recipe a lot: 1, 2, 3, A, A1, A2, B, B1, C, C1, C2, C3, C4, D, etc.  If this doesn't make a lot of sense to you, don't worry about it, just look for the last recipe with only a number, it's the best!  Probably.

Why keep the different versions? So others and I can see what I've tried, what has worked and what hasn't. Baking for me is an art and a science, knowing where I've been is important to knowing where I need to go. To that end, I keep my various versions and make notes (when I can) and make them available so others can see what I've done.

So now you know how my formula/recipe format works.  Aren't you glad you read this far?  LOL

Enjoy!