Sifting flour | Imamother

Mrs. XYZ

Tue, Nov 09 2010, 6:29 pm

BennysMommy wrote:

amother wrote:

k e/o...I am embarassed to ask this...and that is why I am anon. I am assuming since this is in kosher kitchen and not recipes, it has something to do with kashrus.
I grew up in a regular, frum (not modern, not 'chareidi'if u r israeli or 'yeshivish' if you are american...idk) household, and I never heard of sifting...outside of learning what the 39 melachos are! I thought it was a relic from the olden days. is it something that is for baking or s/t? I make challah every shabbos and I cant imagine using a sieve (that would be like a huge strainer right?) to pass all thouse pounds of flour thru before...that must take forever!
is this only in certain countries where like there is no FDA or something? what is e/o TALKINGA BOUT!???

Don't be embarrassed. I hadnever heard of sifting the flour until I moved to Argentina....
I would venture to say that most Americans don't sift their flour.

And I had never heard of NOT sifting flour until ...a couple of years ago. All my friends and family sift flour. In America.

amother

Tue, Nov 09 2010, 6:52 pm

Mrs. XYZ wrote:

BennysMommy wrote:

amother wrote:

Don't be embarrassed. I hadnever heard of sifting the flour until I moved to Argentina....
I would venture to say that most Americans don't sift their flour.

And I had never heard of NOT sifting flour until ...a couple of years ago. All my friends and family sift flour. In America.

so like...does it depend which brand you buy or something like that? like if its from an old store sitting around, then you should be worried that it is infested with something gross...vs if it is a fresh more clean store, less to worry about?
is this like a chumra? and if so, is there a certain sect or something who keeps this chumra (such as- is this a lubavich thing? I have learned tons of things very speicific to just lubavich from being on imamother for example)?
the flour I buy is either gold metal or king arthur flour, depending on which store I am at, if that helps. I really want to know what it even means!! to sift flour!

shanie5

Tue, Nov 09 2010, 7:50 pm

I have only once found bugs when I sifted my flour-and that was a bag that I had for a long time. Still, it was enough for me to sift every bag I use. It takes 3-5 minutes maximum with the sifter I have. looks similar to this one;

http://www.cookware.com/asp/su.....S5078

Another reason for sifting flour is if a recipe says to. Sifting flour adds air, making a cup of sifted flour less volume than a cup of unsifted flour. That can make a difference in what you are baking.

BennysMommy

Tue, Nov 09 2010, 8:12 pm

Mrs. XYZ wrote:

BennysMommy wrote:

amother wrote:

Don't be embarrassed. I had never heard of sifting the flour until I moved to Argentina....
I would venture to say that most Americans don't sift their flour.

And I had never heard of NOT sifting flour until ...a couple of years ago. All my friends and family sift flour. In America.

Okay but I still believe what I said is probably true. Even though all your friends and family do, doesn't mean most Americans do...

Aidelmom

Wed, Nov 10 2010, 11:19 am

amother wrote:

I live in Israel where we are told to sift the flour. They sell flour in special bags that you don't have to sift but its way more expensive. Yes all flour I use is sifted. I buy special whole wheat flour that I don't have to sift because its not really doable or recommended to sift whole wheat flour at home. In the US you should ask your rav. My mother in the U.S asked and was told she doesn't have to sift - so don't panic - just ask your LOR - it might depend on the brand you buy or the climate where you live.