Sifting Flour: What You Should Know About It

Sifting flour – hence the custom

Many still know it from the old days: Grandma stood in the kitchen and sifted the flour. That was still necessary back then. Why?

• In the past, dirt, vermin, or dangerous parts such as mouse droppings, small beetles, or metal parts from the mill were often hidden in the flour. These unwanted components then ended up in the sieve and were thrown away.
• Back then, flour was often bought in sacks as a year’s supply. This allowed storage pests such as maggots or worms to spread more quickly. The flour was not thrown away but sieved and the little animals were removed.
• In addition, the flour used is sometimes not finely ground evenly. By sieving, the flour was brought to uniform particle size. In addition, the sieving should bring more oxygen into the dough and make it airier.

Today, sifting is mostly superfluous

Nowadays, thanks to technical progress and flour processing, sieving is mostly superfluous.

• The flour quality of all flour types meets the highest standards thanks to checks in the mill. There, the product is constantly checked from grain acceptance to dispatch. Even before the delivered grain is temporarily stored, a first pre-cleaning takes place.
• In the silos, there is the monitoring of temperature and humidity. This prevents storage damage. A fan removes straw and dust from the flour. Sieves filter out stones. There is also a sensor that would detect metallic contamination such as a metal splinter and then sound the alarm.
• By crushing and sieving several times during the grinding process, the flour particles have a uniform size.
  Nowadays, leavening agents such as baking powder and the like ensure fluffy cakes and pastries. Sieving can only make sense for doughs where flour can only be carefully folded in. This applies to biscuits, for example.
• Flour is also sieved for visual reasons – for example, to dust freshly baked bread with it.
  When sifting flour, it is best to use a special flour sifter. With this, you can easily achieve the desired uniform thickness. There are sieves for small quantities or sieves with interchangeable size inserts.