question about flour

[Mare749]

This is really dumb, but it confuses me and I really want to know. When you buy pre-sifted all purpose flour, is it considered pre-sifted when you weigh it on the scale? I'm just wondering because I don't think I ever buy anything BUT pre-sifted flour, yet I have seen recipes that tell you to sift it more than once. So.....

1. Is pre-sifted AP flour 4 or 5 ounces?
2. If a recipe calls for sifting 2 times, do I only do it once since it's already pre-sifted?
3. If a recipe calls for AP flour sifted twice, do I sift it twice, then weigh it?

Thanks for any help on this.

Maryann

[labradors]

All the sources I have seen have said never to believe labels that say "pre-sifted," but to sift it yourself, anyway. Sure, the company may have sifted it before they packed it, but then it got packed down and shaken around during shipping and by the people who put it onto the supermarket shelves.

[cjs]

1. sifted ap flour is 4 oz.
2. I would sift twice, unless it's a real old recipe - then I'd only sift once.
3. See 2.

[pjcooks]

Well, Maryann, this is probably dumber than you thought your question was (which it wasn't!!) but I always figured that if a weight is stated in the recipe (and when I bake, I tend to use recipes that give weights) 22 oz of flour is 22 oz of flour, sifted or not. I could be missing something here, but I have pretty good luck, if it ain't broke, sort of thing....

Of course, when it just states cup measures, it changes things. I fluff up my flour, then dip and sweep. Old recipes, I sift and measure. Yup, lets sift and measure 1 teacupful of flour Those require experimentation!

No help, am I?

PJ

[labradors]

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dip and sweep

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Be careful with dip and sweep. For some people, that could result in packing down the flour during the dip. More consistent results usually come from spooning the flour into the cup, then sweeping. Ultimately, however, that is exactly why measuring by weight is so much better than by volume, when it comes to such things.

[Gourmet_Mom]

My two cents...a baker friend once told me to take measured recipes for baking and weigh it, then make note of the final weight for future reference.

[pjcooks]

I've been doing it for so long it's second nature to me but I can understand how confusing this can be for a new cook. My youngest is really getting into cooking, and he's full of questions like this, and "how hard do you pack the brown sugar?" etc etc. I wish all recipes stated weights, luckily, more and more are.

Daphne, I totally agree with your baker friend. I have learned to do this at work, and it has helped immensely!

PJ

[Harborwitch]

The new scale we bought came preprogrammed with different items - put the bowl on the scale and tare it out, punch in the number code for whatever kind of flour I am using and dump it in sifted as needed. It tells me in weight or cups how much flour I've put in the bowl. Pretty darn nifty!

[DFen911]

Weight is weight. 4 oz of sifted is 4 oz of unsifted.

"a pint is a pound the world round"

1 pint is 16 ounces, but does not weigh 16 oz.

[labradors]

Quote:

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it has helped immensely!

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...or, one could say, immeasurably.