December 13, 2020 - 8:58pm
Do you sieve your store bought flour?
On my last two bakes I sieved the flour at the autolyse stage. I'm not entirely sure, but my impression is that the bread came out fluffier than without sieving the flour. Since there may be other variables involved in my bakes with and without sieving the flour that I may have overlooked, I wanted to ask if you ordinarily sieve the flour that you use at the autolyse stage and if it makes any difference for you.
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I never checked if there is a difference, but can't be bothered to sieve, although I often did when I started baking. Also curious if there is a real difference!
and the store. :) I sieve to remove foreign objects.
Or to separate the bran (and throw it into the sd starter.)
Are you asking if aerating the flour before hydrating gives a softer crumb?
Yes, that's really what my question is about.
with cakes and batters that are raised quickly with beaten egg white, baking powder or soda but with yeast there is a longer time for the flour to hydrate and yeast to activate so it may not make such a difference. I am willing to bet that sifted flour absorbs water faster than unsifted flour when compared so you may take less time to hydrate the flour. Whould that be a big enough start on gluten formation to make a difference? I honestly don't know. Perhaps a longer bulk rise can achieve the same crumb softness if there is a difference.
I don’t know about fluffier bread. My store bought flour is often sieved during the final mix is an attempt to avoid pea sized lumps of dry flour in the dough.
Imagine you were a professional baker about to make a batch of bread with 20kg of flour. Would you be sieving it?
What's good enough for a pro baker is good enough for me.
Lance
No, I don’t sieve store bought flour.
I sieve flour for cakes, but not for breads, not for quick breads either. But Sometimes I do fluff up the flour with a whisk, after I have weighed it in the bowl, before I add the starter or liquids.