To Sift Or Not To Sift

[Jenny (AZ via TX)]

I am going to make a banana nut bread using a recipe I used to make, but using substitutions. The recipe calls for the dry ingredients to be sifted. Do I do it? Recipe also uses wheat flour so I am substituting a pre-made gluten-free flour mix which states I can substitute cup for cup of flour for wheat flour.

Hubby loves this bread, but since I threw out all the flour, he hasn't had it since I was dx'd. I want to surprise him with it.

Another question, since most gluten-free bread needs to be toasted to taste good, is the same true for fruit breads too?

Totall unrelated to this, but I made some pancakes from Pamela's and we both really liked them. Actually, he loved them. Thanks for previous posts about how good this mix is.

Thanks.

[Juliebove]

I never sift. And quick breads don't need to be toasted, but... They also don't seem to keep very well. 2 maybe 3 days is the best I've had them be good for. I usually make them as muffins and then I can put some in the freezer.

[irish daveyboy]

Hi all,

Here's a recipe of mine for gluten-free WF DF Banana bread with Sultanas and Walnuts.

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Maybe worth taking a look, you even get a photograph.

No need to toast, can be eaten without a spread and lasts for about 5 days

that's as long as it lasts around here.

It's also very nice served as a desert warmed and covered in custard!!

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Open Original Shared Link

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Best Regards,

David

[RiceGuy]

Even when I baked with wheat, I hardly ever sifted the ingredients. I am wondering if gluten-free flour would behave any differently at all once sifted. But, if you do want to sift, you absolutely MUST buy a new sifter!! There's no way that I know of to reliably remove all the flour that gets stuck inside it.

[Mother of Jibril]

I wondered about sifting for a long time... What I finally learned is that it changes the amount of flour in one cup. One cup of unsifted flour might be equal to 1 1/2 cups of sifted flour. So... now when I use a recipe that calls for sifted flour I don't sift it... i just use less If you're using a baker's scale instead of measuring cups this is a non-issue. Sifting doesn't change the texture of the finished product.

[purple]

I never sift...but if you scoop the flour you can get too much (like packed brown sugar is more than spooned in) Its wise to whisk the flour in your container and then spoon it into the measuring cup. If you forget, some things will be ok and some things may need a bit more water/liquid. With yeast breads I found out not to scoop b/c the batter was too dry. Sweet /quick breads should be ok but if yours is dry then thats what happened. A spoonful or 2 of applesauce, yogurt or sour cream will moisten sweet breads nicely.

If your bread is gooey in the middle it might need to be baked longer and covered with a sheet of foil if needed. gluten-free breads bake more evenly in smaller pans.

[Jenny (AZ via TX)]

Thank you all for the advice.

Purple - I need to get a new whisk - old one is stainless steel, but I think flour can get stuck in there. I think that is a good idea though.

Rice Guy, I did get rid of the old sifter and a whole lot of other baking supplies - thanks for the reminder though. Actually they are in a box in the garage. I'm slowly replacing eveything.

Irish Daveyboy, your bread looks so good. I'm not sure what Sultanas are - some kind of nut?

Julieabove - I think I'll keep in the fridge to last a little while longer. Even though hubby is the only one who eats it, it goes very fast.

Motherofjibril - my first thought on the sifting was that it would change the amount per cup. I guess I'll have to play with it and see what happens.

[irish daveyboy]

Thank you all for the advice.

Purple - I need to get a new whisk - old one is stainless steel, but I think flour can get stuck in there. I think that is a good idea though.

Rice Guy, I did get rid of the old sifter and a whole lot of other baking supplies - thanks for the reminder though. Actually they are in a box in the garage. I'm slowly replacing eveything.

Irish Daveyboy, your bread looks so good. I'm not sure what Sultanas are - some kind of nut?

Julieabove - I think I'll keep in the fridge to last a little while longer. Even though hubby is the only one who eats it, it goes very fast.

Motherofjibril - my first thought on the sifting was that it would change the amount per cup. I guess I'll have to play with it and see what happens.

.

Hi Jenny,

Sifting adds air to the flour mix, makes for a lighter sponge mix!

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Here's arecipe for a sponge cake with ONLY 3 Ingredients !!!

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It's the Sifting of the flour (starch) that traps air in the mix

makes the sponge light and airy (There is NO Levening agent used)

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Open Original Shared Link

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Sultanas are the same as Californian Golden Raisins

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In Ireland we have Sultanas, Raisins and Currants, (gets confusing if using recipe in a different country)

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Best Regards,

David

[Jenny (AZ via TX)]

Irish Daveyboy, that spongecake looks scrumptious! Now I have to go get super-fine sugar.

[irish daveyboy]

Irish Daveyboy, that spongecake looks scrumptious! Now I have to go get super-fine sugar.

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Hi Jenny,

In Ireland we have 3 types of white sugar,

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Granulated Sugar, a course granular sugar used as table sugar.

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Caster Sugar, a fine granular sugar known stateside as Superfine or Dominos Bar Sugar

(Used in Baking easier to incorporate)

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Icing Sugar, a powdered sugar refered to Stateside as Confectioners Sugar.

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Don't go looking for Superfine Sugar, Put the required amount of table sugar in a Blender with a blade

and Pulse for a second or two.

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Warning Jenny, IF YOU DON'T FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS EXACTLY IT WILL FAIL!!!

It's very time consuming sifting the cornflour/starch a little at a time and FOLDING it in NOT BEATING

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In Ireland we refer to cornflour but it's technically white cornstarch!!

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Good Luck with the Sponge.

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Best Regards,

David

[JNBunnie1]

In my experience, the only gluten-free flour that should be sifted is coconut flour. It changes how the flour behaves, and you should always sift it if the recipe says to. It also depends on the recipe. If it says 1 cup flour, sifted, then they want you to measure one cup of flour, then sift it. If it says 1 cup sifted flour, they want you to sift then measure.

The word sift is starting to sound funny in my head right now.......

[celiac-mommy]

If it helps, I learned from martha stewart that you don't need a sifter to sift. The new "sifter" method is actually a wire wisk! I do this with every recipe to incorporate multiple dry ingredients.

[lonewolf]

Funny how there are so many different ways to bake. I ALWAYS sift my flour together 3 times when I'm mixing it up. The xanthan gum gets dispersed better this way. (I make my own mix with brown rice flour, potato and tapioca starches.) And I sift all the dry ingredients together AFTER measuring if the recipe says too. I rarely have a failure, but maybe my recipes would work fine without the sifting.