doubling a recipe without ruining it

learned most of this the hard way, mostly in a 9x13 pan

Match the pan to the new volume before anything else

doubled brownie batter into the same 9x13 once and got gray edges with a raw middle, needed a bigger pan or two pans

Brown meat in batches, don't double it in one pan

crowd the pan and you're steaming, not searing

Salt and acid go in at the very end, not doubled upfront

soy sauce and fish sauce especially don't scale 1:1. your tongue is the real measuring cup here

Aromatics and chile scale to about 1.5x, not 2x

Go easy on the leavening in doubled baked goods

doubling baking soda exactly can leave a soapy edge in a bigger cake. found this out with a very flat, very metallic attempt

Add time in small increments, not double the clock

a doubled braise needs more time but nowhere close to 2x, the pot's just deeper

Fold or whisk longer, the bigger the batch

Taste the sauce before the pasta goes in, not after

Chill doubled cookie dough a bit longer before it bakes

an extra 15-20 min in the fridge or it spreads more than usual

Write the doubled amounts down before you start (double it)

your mid-cook memory is not to be trusted, i've added the flour twice more than once

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