Calculate baking pan volume and usable fill capacity for round, rectangular, oval, tube, and tapered loaf pans, or solve for depth in metric and US units.

Measure inside the pan. For fluted or rounded pans, measure with water.

Optional fill volume
Percent of brimful volume, not of height. Blank skips it.

Pan Volume Formula

For a straight-sided rectangular or square pan, use inside dimensions and depth to the rim:

V = l ร— w ร— h

Variables:

  • V is the volume of the pan (cubic units)
  • l is inside length (units)
  • w is inside width (units)
  • h is inside depth to the rim (units)

For a rectangular pan, multiply inside length ร— inside width ร— depth. Round pans use V = ฯ€dยฒh/4; elliptical oval pans use V = ฯ€lwh/4; straight-sided tube pans subtract the center-hole area before multiplying by depth. A loaf pan whose length and width taper linearly uses V = h(Ab + 4Am + At)/6, where Ab, Am and At are the bottom, mid-depth and top areas. Target brimful depth is volume divided by the effective area. A fill-volume percentage is not generally the same percentage of height in a tapered pan.

What is a Pan Volume?

A Pan Volume is a term used in baking and cooking, referring to the amount of space or capacity within a pan, pot, or other cooking vessel. It is often measured in liters or quarts. Pan volume helps compare sizes, but brimful geometric capacity is not a safe batter allowance or a baking-time guide. Follow the recipe for room to rise. Rounded, fluted and other contoured pans are better measured with water.

How to Calculate Pan Volume?

The following steps use a straight-sided rectangular pan and the formula V = l ร— w ร— h. Use matching units for all inside dimensions.

  1. First, determine the length of the pan (l) in units.
  2. Next, determine the width of the pan (w) in units.
  3. Next, determine the height of the pan (h) in units.
  4. Next, use the formula V = l * w * h to calculate the volume of the pan.
  5. Finally, calculate the Pan Volume.
  6. After inserting the values for l, w, and h into the formula and calculating the result, check your answer with a calculator.

Example Problem:

Use the following variables as an example problem to test your knowledge.

Length of the pan (l) = 5 units

Width of the pan (w) = 3 units

Height of the pan (h) = 2 units

V = 5 ร— 3 ร— 2 = 30 cubic units. For dimensions in centimeters, this is 30 mL. For dimensions in inches, it is 30 inยณ, approximately 2.078 US customary cups. The calculator uses 236.5882365 mL per US customary cup.