Sifting

Passing dry ingredients such as flour, powdered sugar or cocoa through a fine sieve or sifter to remove lumps and lighten them.

Sifting: A fine-mesh sieve sifting flour into a bowl
  • Techniques and preparation methods

Sifting breaks up clumps, catches any debris and mixes dry ingredients like flour, leavening and salt evenly. It is most important for powdered sugar and cocoa powder, which clump easily and leave lumps in frostings and glazes, and for delicate batters such as angel food and genoise.

Sifting also changes volume, since sifted flour weighs less per cup. A recipe that says "1 cup sifted flour" means sift, then measure; "1 cup flour, sifted" means measure, then sift. Weighing avoids the confusion.

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Sources

Written by VanillaGoods in our own words from these sources. Last reviewed October 15, 2026.

  1. Sifting (Q2907401), Wikidata