Recipe Weight
When you create or edit a Base Recipe (recipe type set to "Base Recipe" or "Both"), Brikly shows a live Recipe Weight panel below the ingredients section. This tells you the physical output weight of the recipe as you build it - useful for costing by weight, checking batch consistency, and scaling.
How weight is calculated
Brikly adds up the weight of every ingredient it can measure:
| Ingredient type | How weight is calculated |
|---|---|
| Weight-based (g, kg) | Direct - grams are summed directly |
| Volume-based (ml, l) with density set | Converted using density: volume × density (kg/L = g/mL) |
| Count-based (each, piece) with weight per unit set | Converted: quantity × weight per unit |
| Sub-recipe ingredients | Uses the sub-recipe's stored output weight |
The panel also shows weight per portion, calculated as:
Weight per portion = Total recipe weight / Yield
The weight summary only appears for recipes with type "Base Recipe" or "Both". Menu items do not show it because their physical weight is less relevant to costing - what matters there is cost per portion and margin.
Missing weight warnings
If any ingredients cannot contribute to the weight total, a warning appears inside the panel listing them by name and reason:
- No weight or volume per unit set - a count-based ingredient (e.g. eggs, tins) has no weight per unit configured. Edit the ingredient in the Ingredients Manager to add this.
- No density set, cannot convert to weight - a volume ingredient (e.g. milk in ml, cream in ml) has no density configured. See Setting density below.
- Sub-recipe has no calculated weight - a sub-recipe used as an ingredient has no stored output weight. Open that sub-recipe, ensure all its ingredients have weight data, and save it.
When some ingredients are excluded, the total shown is partial. The warning message will tell you whether the total is missing data or cannot be calculated at all.
Setting density
Density tells Brikly how to convert a volume measurement to a weight. It is measured in kg/L, which is equivalent to g/mL - water has a density of exactly 1.000.
If a volume ingredient is missing density, you will see a "Set density" link next to its name in the warning list. Clicking this opens a small modal where you can:
- Type in a density value directly (e.g.
1.030for whole milk) - Pick from common presets:
| Ingredient | Density (kg/L) |
|---|---|
| Water | 1.000 |
| Whole milk | 1.030 |
| Semi-skimmed milk | 1.033 |
| Single cream | 0.994 |
| Double cream | 1.040 |
| Olive oil | 0.910 |
| Vegetable oil | 0.920 |
| White wine | 0.994 |
| Red wine | 0.995 |
| Honey | 1.420 |
Once saved, the density is stored on the ingredient permanently - you will not need to set it again for future recipes. The weight preview updates immediately.
Example - Flat White (yields 1 portion):
| Ingredient | Quantity | Unit | Density | Weight contribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso (double) | 36 | g | - | 36g |
| Whole milk | 160 | ml | 1.030 | 164.8g |
| Total | 200.8g |
Without density set on the milk, only the espresso (36g) would appear in the total - and a warning would show that milk was excluded.
If a liquid ingredient is already measured in grams or kilograms (e.g. you buy it by weight), no density is needed. Density only matters for ingredients you measure in ml or litres.
Why output weight matters for base recipes
Knowing the output weight of a base recipe is essential when that recipe is used as an ingredient in another recipe. When you add a base recipe to a parent recipe, you can specify the quantity in:
- Portions - how many portions of the sub-recipe to use
- Batches - how many full batches of the sub-recipe to use
- Grams - a specific weight (only available if the sub-recipe has a calculated weight)
Without output weight data, the "Grams" unit option is not available, and costing by weight becomes an estimate.
For a worked example of sub-recipes and how they nest together, see Sub-recipes.