Hi, Amy Drew, I still have trouble understanding recipes that call for 2 cups flour, sifted, as compared with 2 cups of sifted flour. And then some recipes call for [ingredients to be sifted togeth… ...

If you sift flour, it becomes aerated and less dense. “A cup of flour sifted before measuring will weigh 20 to 30 percent less than a cup of flour sifted after measuring ...

By double sifting, you continue adding air after removing clumps, hence adding size. The difference is clear, ... Add 1 cup sifted flour, (not 1 cup flour, sifted).

Read recipe instructions carefully to determine whether sifting is needed: For “a cup of sifted flour,” sift first, then measure; for “a cup of flour, sifted,” measure first, then sift.

That’s why you’ll often see “sifted flour” in older recipes. With modern milling and food safety regulations, sifting has become less critical. In fact, most flours you buy at the grocery ...

You may be familiar with the kind of hand-cranked sifter you see in the photo at the top of this story. If you have one, great. Otherwise, “you don’t have to buy anything special,” Sheehan says.