Baking with farm eggs that aren't standard sizes.
- Julie R. Neidlinger
- Aug 21
- 3 min read
My fridge has a mix of eggs I’ve purchased at the store, and eggs that come from my sister. She has a variety of chickens, including guinea hens. The eggs I get from here I have to use differently in my kitchen when it comes to baking because they are not the same size.
For store-bought eggs, the sizes are determined by the minimum weight for a dozen of eggs. Standard egg sizes are:
Jumbo (30 oz)
Extra Large (27 oz)
Large (24 oz)
Medium (21 oz)
Small (18 oz)
Peewee, yes, really (15 oz)
Most recipes call for large eggs, and that’s what you usually find in the store.
Not only are there sizes, but there are grades, which are based on the quality of the shell, the whites, and the yolks.
AA: Highest quality with clean shells, firm whites, and round high yolks.
A: Very good quality, though whites are slightly less firm. Ideal for cooking and baking.
B: Thinner whites, flatter yolks, irregular shells. Usually used in liquid egg products.
We're not going to worry too much about grades right now; that's a whole other study of chicken breeds, feed, and the factors that go into what your hens lay. Our focus is on the size and volume of the egg. If you use farm eggs, you know it’s not so tidy as picking up a uniform carton of eggs. When a recipe calls for two large eggs, what do you do with your farm eggs?
Generally, I use the smallest or oddest-sized eggs for scrambled eggs or omelets, not in baking. Getting the egg amount in a recipe can significantly change the texture. But if farm eggs are all you have, what to do?
Consider that a large egg is about two ounces (24 oz divided by 12). You could weigh your eggs and get close to the weight the recipe would call for. If it calls for three large eggs, weigh them on a scale to try to get as close as you can to a total of six ounces.
If you’re more into estimating, you could use a chart similar to this (hat tip to the BBC) in which you can estimate how many eggs to use when a recipe calls for large eggs.
As you can see, it’s difficult when a recipe calls for fewer large eggs and all you have are small eggs. While you could double or triple a recipe to get to a place where substituting small eggs works out well based on this chart or your scale, that’s expensive, and maybe you didn’t actually need 75 cookies this time around. That’s when it’s helpful to know what adjusting up or down in correct egg volume will do to your recipe.
What happens when you experiment with the eggs in a recipe?
With cookies:
More eggs = more cake-like, puffier, and softer. Your cookies might spread more, and you won’t have those crisp, chewy edges. If you get carried away, they might veer into spongy disasters that taste too eggy.
Fewer eggs = drier and crumblier cookies that might not hold together well (true story, of this I know). Cookies will be dense and brittle.
With cakes:
More eggs = a cake that rises higher and is lighter, but if you overdo it…you end up with a weird rubbery, firm monstrosity. Extra eggs can make the cake richer in flavor and give it a golden color, but tip too far and it tastes eggy.
Fewer eggs = a compact and dense cake that might not rise well. It may lack moisture and will be crumblier.
With breads:
More eggs = softer and richer bread with a tender texture (think challah or brioche), though if you use too many eggs, the bread may become too heavy and moist to rise well.
Fewer eggs = less rich in flavor, the bread may be a bit drier and less tender. Some breads don’t have eggs, but that does impact texture and richness.
Just remember that eggs bind ingredients together and affect the structure of whatever you’re baking. They can act as an agent to make something rise or to keep it dense and flat. Because they have such a significant impact, it’s important to understand why odd-sized farm eggs might are leading to variable end results in your baking.
