If your recipe says to use 2 gallons of milk and you want to double the recipe, do you double the culture? My book by Mary Karlin says not to. It says that culture is like yeast, and if you double a bread recipe you don’t double the yeast.

Rikki Carroll’s recipes call for packets of culture, so when I was using packets I doubled it. When I started using the culture in the big packs, it had a note on it that said how much to use for 2 to 5 gallons, so I’m thinking that a 2 gallon recipe would use the same amount as a 4 gallon recipe.

What do you do?

When I went from a 2 gal recipe to a 4 gal recipe, I doubled the culture and rennet.  I’ve done that consistently since then.  I don’t know what the difference would be without doubling; but I suspect it would take longer to ripen, since one would be starting with only half the culture, percentage-wise.

Yes, I double it. Like Rich says, for the rennet, the cultures and everything else. Also some suppliers say that with raw milk you can use half the amount of culture, but in my experience (and with the cultures I use) it’s better to use the normal amount.

Thanks. Since I have all of that cheese without enough culture in it, and it’s not aging properly, I’ve been reading every thing about culture that I can find. I think I will also keep doubling it.

I make bread all the time and when I double the recipe I always double the yeast.  Used to own my own bakery and I’ve never heard of not doubling the yeast.