• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Start here
  • Baking 101
  • Recipes
  • Shop

The Bake School

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Start here
  • Baking 101
  • Recipes
  • Shop
  • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • subscribe
    search icon
    Homepage link
    • Start here
    • Baking 101
    • Recipes
    • Shop
    • Subscribe
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
  • ×

    Home » Baking vocabulary

    Published on: February 5, 2021 by Janice; Updated on: February 23, 2022 2 Comments

    Baking recipe abbreviations

    3 shares
    • Facebook
    • Yummly
    • Email

    Some recipe writers will spell out the units of measure in their recipe, others may use abbreviations. Here's a rundown of the commonly used baking abbreviations you need to know to tackle most recipes!

    A scale with measuring cups and spoons to illustrate some commonly used baking abbreviations in recipes.
    Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

    Abbreviations are commonly used in recipes on the internet and in cookbooks, which can be confusing if you aren't familiar with them.

    Consult this list if you run into an abbreviation you aren't familiar with and bookmark it for later when you need it most! And remember that, when in doubt, you can also find a list of baking vocabulary and French baking terms if you aren't sure about some of the terminology!

    Volumes

    • teaspoon is abbreviated to tsp, sometimes simply as t
    • tablespoon is abbreviated to tbsp, sometimes simply as T
    • cup is sometimes abbreviated as C or c., but I think this is less common than the others on the list
    • millilitre is abbreviated to mL or ml (most in the scientific community use a capital L to avoid confusion between the letter l and the number 1)
    • litre is abbreviated to L (most in the scientific community use a capital L to avoid confusion between the letter l and the number 1)
    • fluid ounces are abbreviated to fl oz
    • pint is abbreviated as pt
    • quart is abbreviated as qt
    • gallon is abbreviated as gal

    Weights

    • ounces are abbreviated to oz
    • grams are abbreviated to g
    • kilograms are abbreviated to kg
    • pounds are abbreviated to lb

    Lengths

    Europeans follow the metric system, where lengths and distances are expressed according to the metre, whereas North Americans tend to measure distances according to inches and feet:

    • inches are abbreviated as in or as "
    • centimetres are abbreviated as cm
    • millimetres are abbreviated as mm

    Temperatures

    Europeans tend to favour expressing oven temperatures as degrees Celsius, while North Americans favour degrees Fahrenheit:

    • degrees can be written with the symbol º
    • Fahrenheit is abbreviated F
    • Celsius is abbreviated C

    Time

    Time is also abbreviated in many recipes

    • minutes are abbreviated as min
    • hours are abbreviated as h

    Other abbreviations you might need

    If you bake sourdough, you might want to know that sometimes sourdough is abbreviated "SD" and that "DO" is the abbreviation for the Dutch oven that home bakers use to bake sourdough breads.

    Now that you are familiar with the commonly abbreviations used in baking recipes and cookbooks, you can also consult the baking conversions chart if you ever need to convert recipes from volumes to weights, or vice versa!

    More Baking vocabulary

    • Blind baked tart shells in a muffin pan with silicone liners and dried beans to illustrate baking vocabulary you need to know.
      Baking vocabulary
    • Fruit desserts, everything you can bake with summer's bounty featuring a blueberry rhubarb crisp on top and an apple cake on the bottom
      Fruit desserts
    • Collage with lemon meringue tart on top and a plate of croissants with marmalade on the bottom
      Dictionary of French baking terms and English translations
    • macaroon-vs-amaretti-vs-macaron
      Macaroon vs macaron
    3 shares
    • Facebook
    • Yummly
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

    Baking resources

  • Baking conversion charts
  • Baking ingredients and pantry staples
  • Baking substitutions
  • Common baking conversions
  • Choosing baking pans
  • How to measure ingredients for baking
  • Mixing methods
  • Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Pete says

      February 06, 2021 at 4:17 am

      It would be unusual here in Europe to see millilitres written with a capital L. It’s pretty much universally written ‘ml’. 👍

      Reply
      • Janice says

        February 06, 2021 at 11:12 am

        Thanks for your comment! I will modify the text to reflect that! In Canada, all our packaging uses a capital L for litres and mL for millilitres. From a science perspective, the international conventions for litre is the capital L and also l. Most scientists adopted the capital L to avoid any confusion between l and 1. It used to be that millilitres were abbreviated with a little m and a little l but the l was cursive font to avoid any confusion with the number 1. All that to say that the little l is still widely used, even though the scientific community made a push for the capital L.

        Reply

    Leave a Reply Cancel reply

    Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

    Recipe Rating




    Primary Sidebar

    This is a picture of Janice Lawandi

    Hi, I'm Janice! I am a baking-obsessed recipe developer with a PhD in Chemistry who writes about baking and the science of baking.

    More about me →

    Give back

    If you enjoy the free content on this website, consider saying thank you!

    Eggless chocolate cake

    Chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles on a cake stand.
    Learn to make an eggless chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting!

    Bake with rhubarb

    • Strawberry jam with rhubarb smeared on a piece of toast on a plate.
      Strawberry rhubarb jam
    • Freshly baked rhubarb crumble ready to be served.
      Rhubarb crumble
    • Rhubarb raspberry upside down cake on a parchment lined round black tray, cut into a few slices with a cake lifter under a slice
      Rhubarb raspberry upside-down cake
    • Serving rhubarb muffins on plates with a side of butter.
      Rhubarb muffins with sour cream and streusel
    • Let's bake with rhubarb-best rhubarb recipes roundup
      What to bake with rhubarb
    • Bluebarb or blueberry rhubarb crumble with a marzipan oat crumble topping in a blue baking dish with a fluted edge
      Blueberry rhubarb crisp with marzipan crumble

    Bake with berries

    • Toast served with homemade strawberry jam and butter on a pink plate.
      Strawberry jam
    • Serving apple and blueberry crumble with scoops of vanilla ice cream on plates.
      Apple and blueberry crumble
    • A plate of blueberry scones served with butter.
      Scones with blueberries
    • A jar of homemade blueberry jam with a spoon.
      Blueberry jam
    • Slices of fruit tart served on black dessert plates.
      Fruit tart
    • Pavlova cake filled with whipped cream, lemon curd, and raspberries being served.
      Pavlova

    Baking conversions

    Buy the baking conversion charts NOW!

    How to poach pears

    Poached pears on an enamelware plate.
    This easy poached pears recipe is simple and you can use the poached fruit for salads, appetizers, and desserts!
    This is a picture of Janice Lawandi

    Hi, I'm Janice! I am a baking-obsessed recipe developer with a PhD in Chemistry who writes about baking and the science of baking.

    More about me →

    Give back

    If you enjoy the free content on this website, consider saying thank you!

    Eggless chocolate cake

    Chocolate layer cake with cream cheese frosting and chocolate sprinkles on a cake stand.
    Learn to make an eggless chocolate cake with cream cheese frosting!

    Bake with rhubarb

    • A perfect slice of rhubarb pie, ready to be served.
      Rhubarb pie without strawberries
    • Perfectly golden brown orange blossom rhubarb bostocks are made from frangipane and baked in the oven until golden brown
      Rhubarb bostock with frangipane & rhubarb jam
    • unmolding orange rhubarb cakes with cornmeal from mini loaf cake pan
      Mini orange cornmeal cakes with rhubarb
    • Multigrain waffles with roasted rhubarb | bakeschool.com
      Roasted rhubarb with multigrain waffles
    • Rhubarb pumpkin seed cake after baking | kitchenhealssoul.com
      Moist rhubarb cake
    • A plate of scones with rhubarb served with jam.
      Rhubarb scones

    Bake with berries

    • Framboisier cake
    • Three ice cream strawberry shortcakes on small dessert plates on white marble surface
      Ice cream strawberry shortcake
    • A raspberry shortcake with homemade biscuit, whipped cream, and berries on a pink plate with a fork with black matte handle
      Raspberry shortcake
    • A jar of homemade strawberry red currant jam with a spoonful on the side and the metal band
      Strawberry and red currant jam
    • A raspberry chocolate tart garnished with star-shaped cookies and fresh rapberries.
      Chocolate raspberry tart
    • A heart-shaped pan of raspberry brownies.
      Raspberry brownies

    Baking conversions

    Buy the baking conversion charts NOW!

    How to poach pears

    Poached pears on an enamelware plate.
    This easy poached pears recipe is simple and you can use the poached fruit for salads, appetizers, and desserts!

    Footer

    If you enjoy the free content on this website, consider saying thank you!

    Buy Me a Pound of Butter

    Footer

    ↑ back to top

    About

    • Meet Janice
    • FAQ
    • Privacy Policy
    • Terms and conditions
    • Accessibility
    • Press

    Newsletter

    • Sign Up! for emails and updates

    Contact

    • Contact
    • Services
    • Portfolio

    As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

    COPYRIGHT © 2023 · THE BAKE SCHOOL