I would add an extra one. But I have nothing to support this other than my own experience baking/cooking with eggs. As long as you don't get carried away, a bit more is not nearly as critical to the outcome as not enough :-)

Agree that a bit more is better than less. Two large equals 3 small. But baking recipes should use measures. I only see that one in 20+ recipes.

My local farm eggs are all sizes in a dozen. A few are tiny.

I'm not a baker much but a few recipes using eggs i can tell by the size if i need another.

I also agree a little extra should be fine, especially when subbing small for large.

This is ballpark but gives you an idea of weight. Obviously it can vary.

• Small: about 1.5 ounce per egg
• Medium: about 1.75 ounce per egg
• Large: about 2 ounces per egg
• Extra-Large: about 2.25 ounces per egg
• Jumbo: about 2.5 ounces per egg

If a (baking) recipe calls for extra large eggs I have no problem at all using large. I just checked using my kitchen scale for some of my large eggs. Looks they’re 2 1/8 to 2 1/4 oz. each, so there you go. Again, small vs large could be more of an issue.

To what Chloebud said (which was my first thought as well), egg weights are measured by the dozen, not the individual egg, thus the variation she noted.

In baking, however, the big difference if you have significantly less egg than called for, is in the total moisture volume. Which is why the one cake seemed a bit dry. Also agreed that a little extra egg won't matter in a cake or quickbread.

If one doesn't have the extra egg, it'll work to add a little water to make up the difference, though coming from a cultural background where people add extra eggs to all kinds of things just on general principles, to the point where it's a notorious meme, I just keep a lot of eggs in the fridge. :)

I cut most recipes in half so I sometimes weigh eggs for accuracy. One large egg in its shell weighs 57 grams. Without a shell, 50 grams. I'd shoot for around 200 grams for four eggs, cracked into a bowl.

I have chickens and so eggs are all sizes. I measure eggs when baking, and base my computations on 1 large egg equaling 1/4 cup. So, if my recipe needs two large eggs and I have small eggs I crack them until I get 1/2 cup. I'd go a little over instead of under if my eggs fell outside that measurement.

Annie

Agreeing with pillog & Annie that a little more egg isn't going to mess up a cake or bread, and now you know what less will do.

I don't even think our stores sell a "small" egg. I think large is the smallest.

There's a foolproof cake here called a Quatre quarts. Four quarters. You weigh your eggs in the shell. Take the same weight butter and same weight sugar and beat them together. Add the same weight SR flour and the eggs. A little vanilla essence, nuts, apples..... anything you fancy - I like to caramelise apples and put them on the bottom of the tin, cake mix on top and bake at 180°C for between 45 mins and an hour, depending on how many eggs you started with!

“I don't even think our stores sell a "small" egg.”

Same with me. I think I’ve occasionally seen medium, but for the most part it’s large, extra large and jumbo.

IC, that's the original meaning of ”pound cake” here, though no baking powder. Nowadays, however, people say ”pound cake” to mean any basic cake, so I’ve been known to say, ”quatre quarts”, which most people don't know, then explain it, just to stymie ambiguity. Back when ”coffee” was a thing, when women might gather in the late morning or midafternoon, when such women didn't have regular jobs, plain pound cake (no mix-ins or toppings), baked as a loaf, was often served rather than than anything fancy or fiddly.

My recent carton actually says 'unsized' eggs. Some unusually small. The smaller ones i weighed at 1.4 ounces. Most close to medium.

I read Ina uses x-large in her recipes. Most markets here sell medium, large and x-large. Never see small that often.

I have come across recipes that start with the egg weight first.

I then read that in a cookie recipe, too much egg can cause spreading, and too less can cause a crumbly dry cookie. A favorite recipe i would pay attention to the egg amount.

I have a favorite EdnaLewis corn muffin recipe that uses fine ground cornmeal. No sugar but very 'cake-like'. Super waffles and a cast iron bake topped with seasonal fruit is a great less sweet dessert.

I have never heard, or have come across 'peewee' eggs or x-small that is even smaller than peewee.

I did notice during the past few years, espcially lock-down, NYC restauraunts like small 2 pound breeds....Bantams. The legs and thinghs are big and strong. Small breast meat. Even cooking for a share whole bird or half bird dinner.

What is SR flour, please?

Carol, I’m thinking SR = self rising.

“I read Ina uses x-large in her recipes.”

She does, always. Most of the time I use large for her recipes…no problem.

sleevendog, the only "peewee" sized eggs I"ve ever encountered have been from the Bantam sized chickens or when I get new laying hens. They lay "beginner" eggs that are sometimes pretty tiny.

I'm thinking that with flocks being destroyed due to bird flu, maybe there are some young birds just starting to lay, and those are the ones providing the peewee eggs. Or not, some people like the little Bantam chickens as pets and they still lay eggs, even if that's not why the people have them.

Annie