{"id":20883,"date":"2023-01-21T15:22:29","date_gmt":"2023-01-21T07:22:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thefooduntold.com\/?p=20883"},"modified":"2023-06-29T20:52:22","modified_gmt":"2023-06-29T12:52:22","slug":"baking-science-what-does-sifting-flour-do","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/thefooduntold.com\/featured\/baking-science-what-does-sifting-flour-do\/","title":{"rendered":"Baking Science: What Does Sifting Flour Do?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Flour is a product of milling. This means it is already in a fine particle form. Back in the early days of flour making, the raw grain, like barley, would be pounded with rocks until it was as fine as possible. But it would be far coarser than today’s standard. Flour particles are now processed and sorted to less than a quarter of a millimeter in size. The flour classification is determined by sifting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The varieties of flour obtained range from patent flour to straight flour, and the flour streams range from fine or first break to coarse or clear. Depending on how much of the whole endosperm was milled, patent flour is classified as long, medium, or short. Short patents come from the endosperm’s center and are high in starch. They are ideal for creating pastry flour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that being said, is it necessary to sift flour during ingredients preparation? Well, it is. But not to break down wheat starch. Sifting flour actually does several things to help you produce baked goods properly. Among these are to incorporate air as a leavener, sift out foreign objects, and more importantly, break up lumps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n


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But not all baked products require sifting, especially if the baker only wants to correct the particles that have clumped together by settling. Take bread making, for example. Preparing flour by sifting for making bread makes no difference. This is because kneading presses the flour together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Anyway, let’s discuss all what sifting flour does further.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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