Quick-Mixing Flour

• Using quick-mixing flour does not mean that it can be thrown as-is into any dish. Rather, the name signifies that the flour instantly mixes with liquids. This flour can be used in breads and other baked goods in lieu of all-purpose flour, however, it can have a different texture due to the nature of the flour. The most common use for this flour is for sauces and gravies, similar to cornstarch.

Purpose

• Sifting flour has two purposes: adding volume to the dry good as well as breaking up clumps. While quick-mixing flour has a fine texture, it can become packed down the longer it sits in a pantry or on a store shelf. Not sifting flour can result in a thicker texture in baking. However, if making sauces, it is the second consideration which is more important -- eliminating clumps in the sauce itself due to flour.

How To

• Creating a soft, fluffy flour texture is traditionally done through a sifter. However, a fine sieve or colander can work as well. For the sifter, measure in the desired amount and rotate the handle to produce the sifted flour into a bowl underneath the small hand-driven machine. Alternatively, measure the flour into a colander set over a bowl and move it back and forth, or tap it, to slowly sift the flour through.

Considerations

• Sift all dry ingredients at the same time together after mixing to ensure even distribution of each in the mixture. Be aware that some recipes call for sifting before measuring, which means that the amount will be quite a bit lighter than if they had been sifted before. This, however, is only seen with baking, and measured flour should be sifted after being measured when being used as a thickener.