When and Why Do You Sift Flour for Cookies? Our Experts Explain (2024)

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When and Why Do You Sift Flour for Cookies? Our Experts Explain? ›

Sifting flour through a sieve or sifter helps break up clumps and aerates the ingredients. In the past, sifted flour also allowed for more accurate measuring results. Read on to learn about sifting flour for cookies and what baking steps you should follow to produce the perfect results you want.

Why You Should Sift Flour. Putting your flour through a sifter will break up any lumps in the flour, which means you can get a more accurate measurement. Sifted flour is also much lighter and airier than unsifted flour and is easier to mix into other ingredients when making batters and doughs.

If you live in a humid climate or see that your flour is looking especially clumpy or compacted, consider sifting, Byrn says. Clumps won't be sufficiently broken up by whisking, so sifting is best for ensuring you don't end up with lumps of unincorporated flour.

In short, sifting dry, powder ingredients (such as flour, cocoa powder, powdered sugar, baking powder, etc.) busts up any clumping present and aerates the dry ingredients. That said, it's not always as necessary as your recipe might imply.

Read your recipe and if it says “1 cup sifted flour”, you're going to sift before you measure. If it says “1 cup flour, sifted” you will sift after measuring.

Flour lends structure to baked goods, like cakes, biscuits, pastry and bread, with a range in protein content to suit the purpose and desired outcome. Higher-protein flours provide a greater proportion of gluten and a stronger dough for products like bread and the reverse is true for use in cakes and biscuits.

Flour sifter is a kitchen tool used to aerate and break up clumps in flour, as well as to remove any unwanted debris or impurities. It is commonly used in baking to ensure that the flour is light, airy, and free of lumps before incorporating it into recipes.

Sifting the Harvest

When a farmer is harvesting his wheat, he must take his crops through the sifting process. As the wheat is picked, the farmer loosens the chaff from the edible part of the grain. This hard protective layer is there for a purpose: it protects the wheat during its development phases.

Sift flour and add to the mixture and kneed until dough is no longer sticky. Add more sifted flour if you need.

Does sifting flour increase volume? ›

Sifting flour adds air, which gives the flour more volume. That's why it's important to follow the directions when measuring.

In order to make sure you're not scooping up packed flour, you should fluff it up with a spoon or fork before you measure it. Spoon the flour into the measuring cup. Gently pile it in until it forms a heap above the rim of the measuring cup. Don't pack the flour down.

Definition of 'sifter'

1. a person or thing that sifts. 2. a kitchen implement for sifting. a flour sifter.

But modern techniques have improved significantly since then. Now, most commercial flour is refined and clump-free, meaning there's no real need to sift it. (You should, however, use a kitchen scale to ensure that your cups of flour aren't way heavier than the recipe developer's.)

If you don't have a strainer or sifter, you can use a wire whisk to sift the flour. In addition to a wire whisk, get a bowl large enough to contain as much flour as you need. If you don't have a wire whisk, you can use a fork in a pinch. Go for a bigger fork, as this will allow you to sift the flour more efficiently.

All-purpose flour, 1 cup sifted.

Substitute with 1 cup unsifted all-purpose flour minus 2 tablespoons; or 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons cake flour. Equivalent1 pound = 4 cups sifted or 3 1/3 cups unsifted.

If your cookies consistently come out flat, you may have selected the wrong baking temperature. If you bake cookies using too much heat, the fats in the dough begin to melt before the other ingredients can cook together and form your cookie's rise.