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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Old recipes and cookbooks are time capsules — relics that give you insight into a different era. Sometimes it’s just the type of recipe (so much Jell-O!) or the name of a particular ingredient. Other ...

Angel food cake got its moniker because it's a light and airy dessert, much like the wings of the beings it's named for. A cake that's heavy and dense, though, hardly merits being named after heavenly ...

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.

Q: For many years, when sifting flour with a sieve, I have never found insects. When I spoke about this with a Haredi friend, she told me she finds insects in her flour. How can this be? Because she ...

Old recipes and cookbooks are time capsules — relics that give you insight into a different era. Sometimes it’s just the type of recipe (so much Jell-O!) or the name of a particular ingredient (see my ...