When you’re cooking on a boat, you’ll often have to make do with what you have. For example, I’ve never seen a brownie recipe that called for baking in a pie pan. But why not? After all, the last thing any cruiser needs is single-use equipment in an already small cooking space.
Follow these three guidelines to successfully swap galley equipment without decreasing quality or taste:
- The new container should have similar properties (oven-safe, for example),
- Substitute a container of a similar size, and
- If you can’t do the second, adjust the baking time and temperature. It’s not hard. I’ll show you how below.
How I Began Swapping Galley Equipment
My brownie recipe called for an 8″ x 8″ pan, but I don’t have one. The closest thing I had was either a pie pan or part of my nesting Magma set, but I planned to use the Magma one for another dish, so I didn’t want to use it. That left the pie pan.
And my brownies turned out just fine.
One thing I learned long ago on the boat is that less is better. Before rushing out to buy another pan or piece of galley equipment, I asked whether I could get by with what I already had. Galley space is very, very precious and I want to use it wisely.
Basic Boat Galley Gear Substitutions
A few bits of “making do” that I’ve learned over the years:
- Wok. A skillet works for anything you’d cook in a wok.
- Bread Pan. Bake bread in anything that can go in the oven—a casserole, a Pyrex bowl, a cake pan, a cookie sheet, or even on aluminum foil.
- Cookie Sheet or Pizza Pan. Turn a cake pan upside down, or use a piece of aluminum foil.
- Bread Machine. It’s not hard to make bread by hand. See Yeast Bread Making 101 for detailed directions and photos of every step.
- Cooling Rack. If the stove is not on, set things on a burner so air will flow underneath. Otherwise, place a couple of table knives on hot pads on the counter and set the hot pan on top. If you have a fan in the galley, move it so it blows on the food. You can also get a silicone trivet. It allows air to circulate under the pan, and it will serve two or more purposes. Also, the silicone makes it non-slip, keeping your pan on the counter and not on the floor.
- Corkscrew. Screw a large screw into the cork, then use a pair of Vise-Grip pliers and pull straight out on the screw. If the cork crumbles into the wine bottle, put a clean cloth or coffee filter over the mouth of the bottle and hold it firmly around the neck as you pour the wine—it will act as a strainer. Pour slowly!
- Electric Mixer. A good mixing spoon will mix anything, although it may take a bit more time and effort. I prefer just to find recipes that are designed to be made by hand. And a good hand mixing tool (Amazon) can make it easier.
- Garlic Press. Use a knife and finely mince the garlic. Or use the side of the knife and crush it.
Adjusting Baking Pans
You can change pan sizes for most baked goods. You simply have to adjust the baking time and temperature so your brownies, cake, or bread comes out right.
Here’s the method that actually works. And it’s not what a lot of other sites say.
The Key Is Batter Depth, Not Pan Volume
Most pan-size conversion charts online focus on total pan volume. I’ve looked at a lot of them, and they all seem to have been copied from the same source. The problem is that total volume isn’t what matters.
What matters is how deep the batter will be in the new pan compared to the original.
The center of the batter is what controls baking time. The deeper the batter, the longer it takes for heat to reach the center. Shallower batter, and the center dries out faster than the edges can brown.
Keep that idea in your head, and the rest of this makes sense.
How to Adjust for a Different Pan Size
If your new pan has a larger bottom area than the original:
The batter will be shallower. The center will cook faster than intended.
Raise the temperature slightly and decrease the baking time. This keeps the outside browning on schedule with the faster-cooking center.
If your new pan has a smaller bottom area than the original:
The batter will be deeper. The center will be underdone at the original time and temperature.
Lower the temperature and increase the baking time. This gives the center time to cook through without burning the outside.
If the new pan is within 10% of the original’s area:
Don’t adjust anything. Use the same time and temperature, and check for doneness normally.
How to Calculate Pan Area
To know whether you need to adjust, you first need to know the bottom area of each pan.
Square or rectangular pan: Area = length × width
Round pan: Area = (diameter ÷ 2)² × 3.14
Pans with sloping or curved sides (like a pie pan): measure length, width, or diameter halfway down the side.
Areas of Common Pan Sizes
| Pan | Square Inches |
|---|---|
| 3″ cupcakes or muffins | 7 |
| 6″ round | 28 |
| 4″ × 8″ loaf | 32 |
| 5″ × 9″ loaf | 45 |
| 8″ round | 50 |
| 9″ round | 64 |
| 8″ square | 64 |
| 7″ × 11″ | 77 |
| 9″ square | 81 |
| 9″ × 13″ | 117 |
A Worked Example
Say a recipe calls for an 8×8 pan (64 square inches), but you only have a 5×9 loaf pan (45 square inches).
Divide original by new: 64 ÷ 45 = 1.4. The batter will be about 1.4 times as deep in the loaf pan.
That’s a meaningful difference — more than 10% — so you do need to adjust. Lower the temperature by 25°F and start checking for doneness at the original baking time plus 10%. It will probably take about 25% longer, but I’d rather start checking early than pull out something underdone.
What If You’re Making Cupcakes or Muffins From a Full-Size Recipe?
When the batter depth stays roughly the same but the total amount in each vessel changes a lot — like going from a 9×13 pan to individual muffin cups — the rules above don’t fully apply.
In that case, keep the same temperature and start checking at half the original baking time when going smaller. Going from smaller to larger, expect roughly double the time, but start checking at the original time.
This is actually a useful technique for boat baking: a muffin tin heats up faster than a full cake pan, which means less time running the oven. If you’re trying to keep the cabin cool, that matters.
What If You’re Changing the Batch Size?
The same logic applies when you halve or double a recipe. If you halve the recipe, you want a pan with roughly half the bottom area of the original — otherwise you’re dealing with a shallower or deeper batter than intended, and you’ll need to compensate.
If you bake bread regularly aboard and are scaling loaf recipes, 5 Tips for Baking Bread on a Boat covers the other factors that affect how it turns out in a galley oven.
And if you’re still figuring out what pans to bring aboard, Best Nesting Pots and Pans for Small Spaces is worth a look — having a set that covers a range of sizes means fewer substitutions in the first place.
Want a Quick Reference in the Kitchen?
If you find yourself having questions like this regularly, my Handy Kitchen Reference keeps it all in one place. It’s a waterproof booklet with 27+ charts covering measurement conversions, substitutions, pressure cooker times, vegetable storage times, and more. Small enough to hang in the galley, durable enough to last.
Carolyn Shearlock has lived aboard full-time for 17 years, splitting her time between a Tayana 37 monohull and a Gemini 105 catamaran. She’s cruised over 14,000 miles, from Pacific Mexico and Central America to Florida and the Bahamas, gaining firsthand experience with the joys and challenges of life on the water.
Through The Boat Galley, Carolyn has helped thousands of people explore, prepare for, and enjoy life afloat. She shares her expertise as an instructor at Cruisers University, in leading boating publications, and through her bestselling book, The Boat Galley Cookbook. She is passionate about helping others embark on their liveaboard journey—making life on the water simpler, safer, and more enjoyable.