Even if a recipe doesn't state that sifting dry goods is needed, Williams says she always does it. "I don't think it hurts—it lightens the load," she says, meaning that the result will be a more cloud ...

I’ll admit it: Every time a recipe demands that I sift an ingredient like all-purpose flour, I raise my eyebrows. Do I really have to break out an extra tool that’s notoriously tricky to clean? The ...

Q. When a recipe calls for a cup of sifted flour, do you sift before measuring or measure after sifting? A. It depends on the recipe writer, and how well-versed he or she is in recipe writing style.

Old recipes and cookbooks are time capsules — relics that give you insight into a different era. Sometimes it’s just the type of recipe (so much Jell-O!) or the name of a particular ingredient. Other ...

Ina Garten has no problem with using store-bought ingredients for some recipes or finding a shortcut here and there. For instance, she solved the issue of taking the time and trouble to sift flour but ...

You’ve probably come across a recipe that asks you to sift an ingredient (usually flour, cocoa powder, or confectioners’ sugar) before starting. But in my book Weeknight Baking, I rarely call for ...