How To Sift Flour If You Don't Have A Sieve

Sifting flour is one of those steps you might be tempted to skip over if you're in a time crunch, don't have the proper equipment or just don't feel like making an extra mess. As with most procedures in baking, however, sifting can make all the difference.

Sifting flour is important for a few reasons. First, it breaks up any clumps that may have formed, and, second, if you're mixing other dry ingredients together, such as baking soda or powder, it helps mix these items together so that everything distributes evenly in whatever you're baking. Sifting also brings air into the flour, making it fluffier and easier to mix with wet ingredients.

If you don't have a sieve or a sifter, however, fear not. You can sift flour with a whisk.

A whisk both mixes and aerates in one, simple power move. You can also use a fork, but a whisk works a lot better. This little food hack is not only a lifesaver if you don't have the proper equipment, but a whisk is also so much easier to clean than a fine-mesh sieve or clunky sifter. Go on, get whisked away.