Baking comes with plenty of rules: specific measurements (and sometimes weights), parchment-lined pans, unsalted butter. One of those rules that pops up every once in a while is sifting flour. It’s ...

Even if a recipe doesn't state that sifting dry goods is needed, Williams says she always does it. "I don't think it hurts—it lightens the load," she says, meaning that the result will be a more cloud ...

Sifting can also be helpful in very wet batters, as “The King Arthur Baking School” explains with regard to its sticky toffee pudding. The more you stir flour with water, the more gluten forms, which ...

I’ll admit it: Every time a recipe demands that I sift an ingredient like all-purpose flour, I raise my eyebrows. Do I really have to break out an extra tool that’s notoriously tricky to clean? The ...

Q. When a recipe calls for a cup of sifted flour, do you sift before measuring or measure after sifting? A. It depends on the recipe writer, and how well-versed he or she is in recipe writing style.

When it comes to sifting flour, do you sift first and measure or measure and sift? Why do recipes call for the flour mixture to be added alternately with the liquids? These are the two most commonly ...