Okay, so I’ve been getting into baking sourdough lately, and I quickly realized that my regular flour sifter just wasn’t cutting it. The holes were too big, and I was ending up with clumps of flour in my dough. Not ideal, to say the least.
So, I started looking into getting a finer mesh sifter. I did a little research and it seemed like a 40-mesh sifter was the way to go for sourdough. It’s fine enough to get rid of those annoying lumps but not so fine that it takes forever to sift.
I went ahead and ordered one online. It was a pretty basic model, nothing fancy, just stainless steel with a hand crank. When it arrived, I was eager to try it out.
My first attempt was…interesting. I poured some flour into the sifter and started cranking. It definitely took a little more effort than my old sifter, but hey, that’s the price you pay for fineness, right?
- First lesson learned: Don’t overfill the sifter! I put way too much flour in at first, and it made it really hard to crank. Plus, some of the flour spilled out the sides.
- Second lesson learned: Go slow and steady. Trying to rush the process just makes a mess. A gentle, consistent crank is the key.
Once I got the hang of it, it was actually pretty smooth sailing. I was able to sift a good amount of flour without too much trouble. And let me tell you, the difference in the flour was noticeable. It was so much lighter and airier than before.
I used the freshly sifted flour to make my usual sourdough loaf, and I have to say, I was impressed. The dough felt smoother and more consistent, and the final loaf had a noticeably better texture. Fewer clumps, a nicer rise, and overall, just a better bread experience.
It might not be a game changer, but I think the flour sifter did the trick for me. It’s one thing to note, after cleaning the new flour sifter with water, do not wipe it dry!
Just let it dry natually.
