Sifting the flour takes a couple of minutes and the results are amazing. If you don’t have a sieve on hand, this is no reason to stop the sieving process. You can use the advice of professional cooks to get a lush, soft and homogeneous baked product.
Why sift the flour
The loose product under the weight of its own weight will stick and form lumps if it is too wet or if the storage conditions are wrong. Makes baked goods chewy and uneven.
Flour needs to be sieved for several reasons:
- Removal of impurities. These can be fine debris from the manufacturing process, insects and their larvae, threads, paper scraps from packaging, and even metal shavings from grinders.
- Uniform bond with other ingredients. In addition to the flour, add dry ingredients such as sugar, vanillin, leavening agent, starch or cocoa powder to the dough. Unsifted flour combines less well with these.
- Oxygenation. This process determines the softness of the biscuits, the homogeneity of the dough for pancakes and pancakes. The flour becomes crumbly and increases in volume.
The product must be sieved if it is to be sprinkled on the work surface to prevent lumps from sticking to the dough. The powder passed through a sieve helps the yeast to open and make the baked goods softer.
How to Sift Flour Without a Sifter
The flour kneads quickly, so there is no point in oxygenating it, getting rid of debris and lumps in advance. Measure the quantity specified in the recipe and sift the product just before or during cooking.
If you don’t have a sieve in your kitchen, use other methods, cooking utensils or appliances:
By hand
Open the package, tilt it over the bowl. Pour the flour into the bowl in small batches, tapping the edges of the package with your fingers. When the right amount is in the bowl, take two tablespoons and with both hands gently mix the powder from bottom to top for three minutes.
Fork, whisk
Pour the required amount of flour into a large bowl. Dip a whisk or fork into the product and make a quick circular motion. Any impurities and lumps will separate from the main mass and float to the surface. These should be collected and removed. Finish the job when you have a clean, crumbly powder left.
Filter.
Prepare a plate and a teaspoon. Pour some flour into a small colander placed on top of the bowl. Stir with a spoon until all is sieved into the bowl. The process will take longer, as you only need to put some powder in the colander.
Blender
To facilitate aeration and purification of the product, use a blender. Immerse the whisk completely in the flour poured into a deep bowl, turn on the device, drive everything for 2 minutes.
How to Sift Flour Without a Sifter | Video Explanation
Gauze-coated filter
Gauze can be dispensed with if the perforations in kitchen utensils are shallow. Use the colander as a sieve. Fill with flour, shake the container until all the powder is incorporated. Remove any remaining debris and lumps.
If the holes are large, cover the bottom of the colander with cheesecloth and help the flour sift into the bowl by stirring with a spoon or fork.
A colander with gauze and a colander are the most effective methods, which not only oxygenates the product, but also qualitatively cleans the debris, insects.
Transfer the sifted flour to a clean, dry plastic container or glass jar. A mayonnaise bucket with a twist-off lid is handy. A sealed container prevents moisture from entering and oxidizing the product.
Store the container with the flour on a kitchen table or cupboard behind a closed door closer to the floor, where the temperature is lower. If light passes through glass or plastic, the white powder will turn gray and have a musty smell.
If the storage conditions are respected, the sieved product will retain its consumer properties for six months.
Don’t exclude sifted flour from the pasta-making process if you can’t find a sieve in the kitchen. It is possible to make perfect cakes, cookies, pancakes, if you show imagination, use improvised means.

Hi, I’m Jennifer Lawrence, Went to Calhoun High School (Georgia) my goal is to make the kitchen fun by providing a mathematical and logical component to our approach to cooking good food. I look not only at delicious recipes but also at kitchen tools and gadgets to give you the tips and tricks we hope you will find useful. Read More Here
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