Hot take: Sifting flour might be a total waste of time for most bakers

I was reading this King Arthur Baking blog post last night and they cited a study that found sifting doesn't actually make cakes lighter or fluffier in most cases. Like, the air you incorporate basically disappears when you mix the batter anyway. But then I've got my grandma's old recipe for angel food cake that absolutely demands sifting or it turns into a brick. So which is it for a standard chocolate cake or quick bread? Has anyone actually done a side by side test with and without sifting?

2 comments

2 Comments

campbell.david6d ago

Honestly that angel food cake point is spot on. My buddy tried making one without sifting once and ended up with what he called a "depression cake." He said it tasted fine but looked like a pancake.

oliver_anderson6d ago

Campbell.david's depression cake story is hilarious but also proves that sifting matters for some specific recipes. The key difference might be that angel food cake relies solely on egg whites for structure while standard cakes have chemical leaveners doing the heavy lifting. Has anyone here tested a standard cake recipe side by side with and without sifting to see if the texture really changes or if it's just a visual difference?