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 ...

I still have trouble understanding recipes that call for 2 cups flour, sifted, as compared with 2 cups of sifted flour. And then some recipes call for [ingredients to be sifted together] flour, baking ...

When do you need to sift flour? These days, flour is pre-sifted at the mill, according to “The King Arthur Baking School” book. So most of the time, it’s not necessary. If you live in a humid climate ...

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 ...

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.