Scaling rules

Double the batch, double everything? Not always. Xanthan gum, starter cultures, anything dosed per jar: some lines refuse to scale linearly. In BatchDash each recipe line carries its own scale rule. Open it from the line’s Scale rule action; the dialog asks how the line should follow the batch and shows an “At a glance” preview of the result.

The four rules

Rule	Behavior	Example
Scales with the batch	The default. Keeps its percentage share at any size.	Habaneros stay 62% at 2 kg or at 40 kg.
Fixed amount	The same dose whatever the batch size.	40 g of xanthan gum per batch.
Per started slice	An amount per every started slice of output, rounded up.	1 sachet of culture per every started 20 L; a 25 L batch takes 2.
Per portion	Counted from the batch’s portions. Needs a portion size on the recipe.	0.25 g of vitamin C per 250 ml jar.

Weigh-ins versus rules

On the bench you might weigh 43 g of gum into a trial batch. The weigh-in records what happened that day; the rule decides what the line does when the batch is resized. Shares and costs follow the rule, and the bench notes the weighed amount alongside so nothing is lost.

Where rules matter

Rules apply everywhere a batch changes size:

• On the recipe sheet, when you rescale to a target quantity or a portion count.
• When planning a run, where the exploded ingredient list respects each rule before stock is checked.

Set the rule once and the 40 kg sheet stops telling you to add 800 g of xanthan gum. A side effect worth knowing: fixed and stepped lines change the cost per unit as batch size moves, since their cost spreads over more or less output. The cost panel follows along; see cost breakdown and yield and batch size.