PrintTo Sift or not to sift?
Having spent the day making both large and small pound cakes for gifts, I end the day wondering, is sifting flour really necessary? What difference does it make in the texture of the final product? So I ask, dear Serous Eats readers, do you sift or not, and if so, why?
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15 Comments:
Yes, from what i've read sifting allows the flour to distribute more evenly during baking and adds air to the flour which helps to produce a more airy baked good as well as increase the accuracy in measurement. You have to read your recipes carefully because sometimes a recipe will call for 1 cup of sifted flour, while others may call for 1 cup of flour sifted. The difference here is that the second measurement will actually weigh more because it is more compact.
Personally i think it only makes a difference in more finicky pastries and things that need to be "just" so or else become complete disasters, for things like chocolate chip cookies and muffins and such i rarely bother sifting unless the recipe specifies.
avryan at 7:29PM on 12/16/07
The measuring and sifting of flour are key to successful baking. When you measure, you should scoop the flour using a scooper into the measuring cup, then level off. DON'T take the measuring cup and scoop it into the flour. The incorrect way of measuring will add a significant amount of extra flour to your baking. You should sift flour only when it says to. It does add air, and will change the measurement. I took a professional baking course and was amazed at the small things that can have huge effects in baking.
Mich23 at 8:07PM on 12/16/07
Measure flour by weight
Fluff it up with a wire whisk
srhcb at 9:05PM on 12/16/07
For cakes, I would always sift first unless it says not to. Most cookbooks (not so much online recipes) state somewhere which method the author used.
As a default, my measuring technique for cakes and finely textured items is to:
1) mix the flour lightly in its container with a fork or even the measuring cup
2) lightly spoon flour into a measuring cup that is sitting on a steady surface
3) level the excess of with a knife or other straight edge (try doing so inside a wide-bottomed bowl, avoids excess flour all over the counter).
4) whisk it up with the dry ingredients unless:
4a) the recipe uses cornstarch or cocoa powder: the clumps won't dissolve in the mixer, so they need to come out now, and I sift using a fine mesh strainer.
If you're aiming for the highest level of finesse in the end product, then, yes, a scale and proper sifting are more important. For home goods, though, cups are fine. I've made tons of cakes over the past year or so of all varieties without a scale, although I would like to get one and check if there's a noticeable difference. I'm getting more and more consistently successful, and I think that's because I'm more likely to sift and also careful not to overmix.
However, for cookies or muffins, and also for no-knead bread, I just aerate the flour in its container the best I can and then scoop. I tend to use smaller measuring cups (2 dips of 1/2 cup, instead of 1 cup) because I feel less prone to dig.
Sorry, I think I just re-phrased what everyone else said, but it's too tempting.
What recipe did you use, by the way? I just tried the Elvis Presley pound cake on epicurious and it was absolutely awesome.
renzata at 9:54PM on 12/16/07
For cakes I sift if sifting is called for. For everything else I use the old whisk/aerate method. I take the dry ingredients and whisk them then weigh them.
Your cakes will improve when you do this.
Rose Levy Beranbaum always says that sifted flour weighs less than not sifted. Most of her recipes are by weight and not measure. Please read http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2006/03/what_is_the_difference_between.html
http://www.realbakingwithrose.com/2006/03/is_it_really_necessary_to_sift.html
Rose is one of my go to experts on baking.
Time to get a kitchen scale for which we go to Dorie Greenspan another of my baking go to experts and an SE contributor
http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/souptonuts/kitchen_scales.html
JerzeeTomato at 10:11PM on 12/16/07
I wholeheartedly agree with measuring flour by weight. It seems the US is just about the only place where dry measure is done by volume rather than weight. Years ago, when I began using foreign recipes, I always loved the way they turned out such consistent results. It led me to learn to convert my US recipes to weight measures (at least the ones I make often). It's not hard, and I make the notations right in my cookbooks.
Regardless of the volume vs weight thing, I always sift before measuring for temperamental, chemistry-intensive recipes, such as cakes, but seldom for anything else, except sometimes to blend in the other dry ingredients when a whisk doesn't seem to be doing the trick.
I never sift for things like cornbread, although I do use a whisk to blend the dry ingredients. In fact, I don't even measure accurately. I make it so often that I can just tell when it's right.
LoCo at 11:18PM on 12/16/07
While I'm with srhcb that weighing flour is the most accurate method of measuring, whisking flour does not accomplish the same thing that sifting does. SIfting not only incorporates air and mixes various dry ingredients effectively, it also gets rid of the little pellets of flour which sometime form and which can significantly change the texture of a cake.
If the recipe says sift, do.
thepictsie at 2:46AM on 12/17/07
I love this question and the responses. I have just begun baking "seriously" enough to consider the question to sift or not to sift. Thanks for the comments.
elaine nan at 2:53PM on 12/17/07
I typically sift for delicate cakes (like sponge, chiffon, angel food, etc), but don't bother for sturdier baked goods like cookes and heavier cakes. If you want really consistent, precise results, you should sift flour and weigh all ingredients you use.
ChristineB at 4:00PM on 12/17/07
Yes yes yes agreed on the measuring of flour by weight, not volume. It's so much easier to interpret European cookbooks! 300 grams of flour will always be 300 grams of flour, no matter how clumpy it is, whereas clumps and compaction can fill your cup measure with more or less flour depending on how well you mix/sift.
Here is a conversion chart for all kinds of things: http://www.e-rcps.com/pasta/links/weight_volume.shtml
but you can find lots more real quick by googling "3 cups flour in grams" or however you want to convert.
Measuring by weight is also handy when it comes to things like butter, because those paper wrappers marking numbers of tablespoons will always be just a bit off.
Weigh! Weigh! Weigh!
veggiesattva at 6:18PM on 12/17/07
Sift. And then sift again. I always sift twice (unless specifically instructed not to). It really makes a difference in texture.
Make sure to sift all of the ingredients together, not sequentially. A sifter is all right to use for this, but I just got a new set of sieves and I find that tapping the sieve with a wooden spoon is just as fast as the sifter and results in a finer sift.
Mizbee at 7:15PM on 12/17/07
I was reading through these comments and just about to ask for opinions on sifters v. sieves when I read Mizbee's comment.
I seem to have lost or misplaced our sifter and so had to use a sieve recently. I was happy with the result, and am thinking I will buy a few more sizes of sieves instead of another sifter. I don't bake that often, and will use sieves for a number of other purposes.
Is there something I'm missing that would make the case for the purchase of a replacement sifter? Thanks!
souvenir at 8:07PM on 12/17/07
i always use a sieve to sift. i can't think of anything you'd need the sifter for if you have the sieve.
for those of you who weigh your ingredients, do you have any suggestions for brands or models of accurate kitchen scales?
cybercita at 10:36PM on 12/18/07
We've had a Cuisinart Precision Electronic Scale for several years. I think it was around $50.
It's accurate, very lightweight, stores easily, weighs ingredients up to 11 pounds (or 5 kilos).
souvenir at 12:16PM on 12/19/07
you've just given me a good excuse to use my williams sonoma gift card.
thanks for the suggestion, souvenir!
cybercita at 11:04PM on 12/19/07