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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

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.

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 ...

Question: When a recipe calls for sifting flour, do you measure and then sift or measure after sifting? When the recipe asks you to add other ingredients to the flour before sifting and you measure ...

You’ve probably come across a recipe that asks you to sift an ingredient (usually flour, cocoa powder, or confectioners’ sugar) before starting. But in my book Weeknight Baking, I rarely call for ...