How to Sift Without a Sifter: 3 Ways to Sift Flour

A flour sifter is a kitchen tool designed for removing impurities from flour. Unsifted flour tends to contain bits and pieces left behind from the chaff and husk of the milled wheat. Traditional flour sifters look like a tin can with a handle and a crank on the side. Inside the sifter is a fine-mesh sieve and scraper. When you turn the crank, it moves the scraper, pushing the flour along the fine-mesh sieve. The result is aerated flour that is free from impurities. Once sifted, the flour is ready to use immediately, though you can also store it in an airtight container for later use.

Sifting flour is important because it introduces air into batters, which helps bakers achieve a light and airy result in certain baked goods. Before modern advancements in commercially refined flour, home cooks sifted flour before baking and cooking to separate any debris left behind from the chaff and husk. Today’s flour—refined to eliminate any residues of the milling process—mostly only requires sifting to break up lumps and create light, aerated baked goods. Thus, you can use a sifter for any kind of flour, including bread flour, cake flour, and pastry flour.

Some recipes call for aerating all of the required dry ingredients, such as flour, baking soda, and baking powder. Sifting can also help break up clumps that may spoil the finished texture of the baked good. Sift powdered sugar (confectioners' sugar) and cocoa powder to ensure that they have a light, dusty consistency.

Consider using one of these common kitchen tools instead of a traditional sifter.

1. 1. A fine-mesh strainer: A fine-mesh strainer mimics the functionality of a flour sifter. Simply use a measuring cup to measure out the desired amount of flour, add it to the strainer, position the strainer over a large bowl, and gently shake the strainer back and forth to sift the flour. Give the sides of the strainer a gentle bump to help break up flour clumps, if needed. If your strainer is small, work in batches of one cup of flour at a time.
2. 2. A wire whisk: If your recipe calls for sifting the dry ingredients for the purpose of aeration, a wire whisk will do the trick. Pour all of your dry ingredients into a mixing bowl and fluff them with the whisk to incorporate air before adding your wet ingredients.
3. 3. A fork: It may require a bit more time and elbow grease, but a fork is an effective tool for breaking up clumps and lightly aerating flour. Keep in mind that it won't help you sift out impurities from the flour. If using unsifted flour, consider mixing your flour with a fork before sifting it with a fine-mesh strainer.

Whisking and sifting are both effective methods for introducing air and breaking up clumps in the dry ingredients used for baking. However, whisking will not help you remove debris and impurities from flour. If you're baking with unsifted flour (flour not labeled “pre-sifted”), you will need to use a flour sifter or fine-mesh strainer to separate out any unwanted particles from the flour.

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