The Best Flour Sifters (Review) in 2020

Anyone who’s ever baked anything can tell you how important flour sifters are: they help standardize and aerate dry ingredients, allow for more even distribution, and generally lead to a better-looking and tastier end result. But with so many different cooking sifters and sievers on the market, how do you pick the right one for your needs?

That’s where we come in – besides reviewing some of the best flour sievers and sifters, we also put together this detailed buying guide which should hopefully help you pick the best flour sifter for your budget, preferences and needs. Here, we talk about the things you should consider when purchasing a kitchen sifter, different types of sifters, how to properly use one and many things more. So sit back, relax and explore the world of sifting, sieving and baking with us!

Things to Consider When Buying Flour Sifters

To get the best flour sifter, it’s essential to consider a few factors first, meaning before you make any kind of purchasing decision.

• Material and Construction

First things first – you want a sturdy, durable cooking sifter that won’t bend, break or rust after a few months of usage. So how do you get it? Look at the build materials and overall construction. In general, stainless steel flour sifters are the most durable types, however, there are now various plastic sifters that not only do the job well, but also last a long time. Which is better for your needs is for you to decide, but bear in mind that besides the build material, the construction of the sifter matters as well. The sieve should have a sturdy construction, durable hand crank handles that are also easy to turn (if the sifter has a hand crank) and fine but strong mesh screens.

• Capacity

Different sifters can hold different amounts of ingredients, and it’s important to choose one that fits your needs the best. Usually, the capacity of cooking sifters ranges from 1 to 8 cups of dry ingredients, with 3 cup sifters being the most popular. For commercial uses, 5 to 8 cup sifters are the best, but for home use 1 to 4 are great. While larger capacity sifters may seem like a better option, if you normally don’t work with huge amounts of ingredients, you don't really need them. They can be hard to store and a little inconvenient to wash, so if you’re looking for a sifter for home use, we’d advise sticking to 1 to 3 cup models.

• Ease of Use

No matter how durable, beautiful and versatile your flour sifter is, if you find it hard or uncomfortable to work with, we can almost guarantee it will end up in the back of your kitchen cabinet, never to be used. Ease of use is an important factor to consider before making your final purchasing decision, especially if you struggle with shakiness, arthritis and painful joints. Look for sifters that are simple and comfortable to use even for beginners (regardless of your baking level!). If you want one with a crank handle, get a model that doesn’t require lots of pressure in order to turn. If you have trouble using hand crank models, look for simpler products, such as sifters that only need to be shaken side to side to work.

• Ease of Maintenance

It’s important to consider how easy or complicated the flour sifter is to maintain in good condition. By this, we chiefly mean how easy or how complex it is to keep it clean and neat. With stainless steel sifters, washing and drying is typically easy, even for models that need to be hand-washed (which is most of the products). All you need to do is wash them in warm and soapy water and then quickly dry them. Of course, this is only possible if your sifter is sturdy and rust-resistant – if it’s not, it will rust after only a few washes which will render it useless. As for dishwasher safe models, they’re obviously easy to clean but you do need to be careful with water temperature and how you place the sifter in the machine (they should always be on the top rack).

• Price

Finally, the price of the flour sifter matters too, at least to most of us. Ideally, all kitchen tools, including the flour sieves and sifters, should be of excellent quality and durability, plus be reasonably priced. But we live in the real world where we often have to pay extra not only for quality but good marketing as well. We tried our very best to include only sensibly priced items here, but even some of our affordable top choices may be little too much for your pocket. If that’s the case, don’t worry - you don’t have to pay a lot to get a good quality product. However, you do need to do a little bit of research on your own – whether cheap or pricy, look for sifters that are made of quality materials, have good construction and are easy to take care of. That all being said, quality flour sifters will naturally be a little more expensive than their lower-in-quality but cheaper counterparts, and it’s good to keep that in mind when making your final purchasing decision.

What Is A Flour Sifter?

Before we delve into different types of flour sifters, let us first cover the basics – what is a flour sifter anyway?

A flour sifter is an important kitchen tool, especially if you bake a lot. In fact, it’s safe to say that there would be no perfectly fluffy, light and delicious baked goods without flour sifters! This is because a sifter acts as a filter that breaks up (or sifts) even the smallest of clumps of flour, making the final product lighter, smoother and more even.

So, a flour sifter is used for:

Removing undesirable materials from the flour: many packaged flours are contaminated with dust and debris, sometimes even bugs. To filter the unwanted materials out of the flour, you have to sift it.

• Aerating the flour: besides filtering debris out of the flour, a flour sifter also filters out any lumps and clumps, creating a lighter and finer texture. This higher-quality flour is essential for baking higher-quality goods – there is simply no way you can create light and delicate pastry with non-sifted flour.
• Even distribution: by sifting the flour and removing lumps and clumps, your dry ingredients will be finer and easier to evenly distribute. This will make for even dispersion and therefore better baking. Besides sifting flour, a sifter can also be used for final touches – a light coat of cocoa powder or sugar on top.
• Better taste: when your ingredients are clean, fine and evenly distributed, they will lead to a better-baked product, and as a result, a tastier one as well. Sifted ingredients greatly affect the final result, including its texture, flavor and quality.

Different Types of Flour Sifters

There are three main types of flour sifters: a crank-style sifter, a shaking sifter and an electronic sifter. Let’s talk about the major features of each type so you can decide which is better suited for your needs.

• Hand crank flour sifter: this type comes with a handle which typically has a wooden knob. To sift flour and other dry ingredients, you need to grab the handle and continuously turn it to push the ingredients through a wire mesh.
• Shaking flour sifter: simple and easy to use, this type should be shaken side to side to sift flour. It’s even easier to use than the hand crank type, which is why many people with arthritis prefer it.
• Electronic flour sifter: this type works using a battery so no manual handling is necessary. All you need to do is pour the ingredients in the sifter and turn it on – done! The minus is that you need to be more careful with washing because water can damage the electronic parts easily.

How to Use Your Sifter

If you’ve never used a flour sifter before, here are a few simple tips to help you get started.

• Place the sifter over the bowl in a proper manner to reduce potential mess;
• Measure your ingredients on a weighing scale and then place them in a sifter;
• If you’re using a hand crank sifter, hold it with your left hand over the bowl while you repeatedly turn the handle with your right hand;
• If you’re using a shaking sifter, just shake it side to side over the bowl to sift the flour;
• Tap your sifter a few times to ensure all flour went through it;
• Once you’re done using a sifter, wash it with warm and soapy water and air dry it.

Our Top Pick

All 10 cooking sifters on our Top List are good-quality products, so whichever one you choose, we’re certain you’ll be pleased for years to come. As for us, we chose the Epica Bellmain Stainless Steel Flour Sifter as our Top Pick because it’s one great-quality flour sifter that is both versatile and reasonably priced. Made of top-quality stainless steel, this product is guaranteed to last a very long time as it’s sturdy and resistant to rust and corrosion no matter how many times you wash it. It’s great at sifting both fine and coarse flour and other dry ingredients, including cocoa powder, baking powder, sugar and salt. With its classic hand crank design, the sifter is also simple to use – the handle is very easy to turn no matter which ingredient you’re sifting, which is an important plus for people with arthritis. Another plus is the volume readings stamped on both the internal and external wall of the sifter, which make the measuring a piece of cake. And finally, with 3 cup capacity, the tool is enough for most baking and cooking applications, making it one of the best, if not the best flour sifter on the market.

Sources:

1. How To Sift Flour - HuffPost Life
2. A Smarter Way to Sift Flour - SouthernLiving