Is there really a need for you to start looking for the best flour sifter? To be honest, it’s not exactly a kitchen tool that you can’t live without or bake bread without. It’s not like a loaf pan or a baking sheet.
I actually think that, when it comes to making bread, a dough scraper seems of a higher priority. Bread baking can be done perfectly without a flour sifter but desserts might be a whole different matter.
A fine pastry is a delicate thing that needs lighter flour. That’s one clear example where you need to get the best flour sifter.
Sifting flour is more of a step included by desserts recipes, which I’m not that comfortable with making. It’s an area where I rely heavily on buying.
Some recipes might even instruct that sifting must be done multiple times. That must be fun.
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Best Flour Sifter: My Top Picks
1. Top Pick: Norpro 3-Cup Stainless Steel Rotary Hand Crank Flour Sifter
Norpro makes one amazing crank flour sifter for one amazing price. It’s also very easy to use and it looks nice. Some users don’t wash it at all, they just wipe off the excess flour or blow it off with compressed air.
2. Very Popular: Bellemain Stainless Steel 3 Cup Flour Sifter
The Bellemain is very similar to the Norpro in price, design, crank style, quality, capacity. They’re both great but, if by any reason, you don’t want the Norpro, you can go with the Bellemain.
3. Medium Size: RSVP International 5 Cup Flour Sifter
This is the perfect choice for those who think that the 3-cup models are too small but the 8-cup ones take it a bit too far. It’s more expensive than the smaller best flour sifters but the quality is excellent.
4. Automatic: Norpro Battery Operated Sifter
If manual flour sifters no longer work for you for different reasons, you can buy one that’s battery-operated. Norpro has created a quite cheap sifter that doesn’t involve a lot of work from your part. It’s operated by only 1 C battery but the battery is not included. The mesh is stainless steel but the rest of the design is plastic. It has a 5-cup capacity.
Best Flour Sifter Reviews
I wouldn’t have imagined that there are so many flour sifters to choose from. A lot of research went into this post and I didn’t expect that I would have to spend a few days reading about and analyzing so many models.
Thus, I didn’t want to include too many options, I selected those that, in my opinion, are truly good and worthy of your money. I hope you’ll think so, too.
1. Norpro 3-Cup Stainless Steel Rotary Hand Crank Flour Sifter
The Norpro Flour Sifter is my first recommendation for the best flour sifter. If you need one of these kitchen tools, you should definitely check this one first.
Why is that?
- the price is incredible, I don’t think you can find a sifter of this capacity for a more affordable price
- normal 3-cup capacity – not big but it gets the job done
- made of stainless steel
- manual sifter
- this is a crank flour sifter
- very old-style but it works perfectly and looks nice
- lightweight, very easy to use, it’s a major selling point besides the pretty good quality and the affordable price
It’s easy to clean but that’s where the dilemma comes in: if you want to wash it, wash it by hand and then dry it as best as you can to prevent rust.
On the other hand, others don’t wash it at all.
They just wipe off the excess flour or use blow it clean with compressed air. I wouldn’t wash it, I would just use a brush to clean it and store it away.
The same manufacturer also has an 8-cup flour sifter but that’s way too expensive, about 3 times the price of this one, which is why I didn’t include it on my list. Still, I wanted you to know about it.
2. Bellemain Stainless Steel 3 Cup Flour Sifter
This is another extremely popular sifter. It’s very similar to the above one, almost identical in price. This is one is just an unnoticeable drop more expensive.
That’s not the only similarity between them.
The Bellemain also has a 3-cup capacity. It’s made of stainless steel. It’s a manual, crank style flour sifter.
I love the sturdy look of it, even though it’s another traditional design.
Once again, avoid washing it as much as you can, even if it says that it’s dishwasher safe. Once washed, dry it so you can make sure that it doesn’t rust.
3. RSVP International 5 Cup Flour Sifter
If you think that the 3-cup models are too small but you don’t want to go for the 8-cup ones, RSVP International offers buyers the option of a 5-cup best flour sifter.
It’s definitely more expensive than the above two models. As expected, it’s made of stainless steel.
The RSVP is another crank style flour sifter.
Moreover, it’s dishwasher safe, as well, but avoid washing it as much as you can to prevent rust.
4. Tovolo 1 Cup Scoop & Sift
This one is unusual, nothing like the other 4 sifters that are on this list but I couldn’t ignore it. It’s more like a very big spoon, a red spoon with a fine stainless steel mesh.
Although, the price is a bit much. The above Norpro Flour Sifter costs almost the same.
However, it’s so practical, simple, and easy to use that I just had to recommend it.
It holds exactly one cup, you can measure with it easily.
Once you’ve got the ingredients scooped up or added to this small sifter, you just have to tap the edge gently and the ingredients are dispersed through the fine mesh sieve.
The mesh is stainless steel, no rusting problems with it, and the rest of this 1 cup is made of BPA-free red plastic.
It’s a totally great design. Easy to store, too.
It’s dishwasher safe but just rinse it quickly by hand and maybe gently tap the mesh with a towel to dry it.
It’s a pretty good alternative to the above models, I just wanted to show you something different.
5. Norpro Battery Operated Sifter
Simply put, if you have hand or wrist problems but you still want to experience the joys of baking, you can opt for the Norpro Battery Operated Sifter.
I must admit that I am impressed with the price. I thought that it was going to be more expensive but I shouldn’t have because this is a basic kitchen tool that is operated by only 1 C battery.
Disappointingly, the battery is not included. It would have been nice if they had included the battery, too. If you forget to add the battery to your shopping cart, you can’t test it as soon as you get it.
Even so, this is an excellent automatic best flour sifter. The best you could get, which makes it totally deserving of this list. The list wouldn’t have been complete without talking about an automatic model.
The design is very simple, not the most beautiful tool you’ll ever use, that’s for sure. The mesh is obviously made of stainless steel but the rest it’s made of plastic, BPA-free.
It has a pretty nice capacity – 5 cups.
The attractive feature is that you just flip the switch and watch how the flour is sifted. It doesn’t get more easy than that.
It’s really fast but the noise is a bit annoying.
Even though it might seem flimsy, there are people who have used this model for many years, more than I would have expected.
6. TriTree Battery Operated Electric Flour Sifter
It only has a 4-cup capacity as opposed to the Norpro Battery Operated Sifter, which has a 5-cup capacity. The Norpro is definitely bigger.
However, I also love this one from TriTree a lot because it looks exactly like a big cup. It’s pretty awesome looking.
The design is modeled on the manual sifters. The big exception is that the body of this battery operated model is made from food safe, BPA-free polycarbonates. So it’s plastic.
However, the mesh is made of stainless steel. There’s no other way.
The button is on the handle. You just press the button and the flour is sifter immediately.
The handle is also the place where the batteries are put in. It works with 2 AA batteries but they’re not included in the package.
Since the handle is the compartment for the batteries, don’t wash it. At most, wipe it off with a slightly damp towel and the dry it off immediately. Obviously, don’t submerge the body and the handle into water.
If you don’t want to crank a handle, this battery operated model is an awesome alternative. Even the price is pretty affordable.
You can also sift sugar powders but make sure to add them in smaller quantities. When sifting flour, keep the sifter low to prevent diffusion. You don’t want to coat your nearest surfaces in finely sifted flour.
7. KitchenAid Sifter + Scale Attachment
If you’re in the mood for paying a lot of money on a special mixer attachment as the best flour sifter, then there’s this KitchenAid sifter + scale attachment.
However, it won’t work for all models, you absolutely need to check out its compatibility with whatever stand mixer you have at home.
The price is really expensive, nothing compared with anything that I reviewed above. But that goes for all KitchenAid mixer attachments.
This attachments consists of: digital scale, sifter housing, swivel chute, scale accessory plate. The scale accessory plate is the component that lets you use it separately on the countertop.
The sifter has a 4-cup capacity.
The scale and the sifter housing are not dishwasher safe. The rest of the components are.
Attach the attachment to the power hub of your mixer and then the sifter gradually incorporates the ingredients into the mixer bowl.
The scale is battery operated. I will definitely admit that it’s quite ingenious how the scale and the sifter are combined in a single attachment. That’s what I like. But I still wouldn’t pay all that money for it. Well, maybe if I were baking awesome desserts at least a couple of times a week but that’s not going to happen anytime soon.
Flour Sifter Uses
Nowadays, commercial flour doesn’t have any lumps. But there are recipes that state that the flour used must be aerated. That’s where a sifter comes in, which is a cup with a fine strainer at the bottom.
Sifted flour is just much lighter than unsifted one. It mixes with other ingredients more easily.
It also won’t create lumps that can weigh down the batter.
For example, you can sift flour together with cocoa powder, the two will be combined evenly before adding to them the rest of the ingredients.
Other ingredients can be added to the flour in a sifter, like baking powder, cornstarch, and more.
Tightly packed flour can be more accurately measured if it’s sifted. Or you can run your fingers through it until it’s fluffy once again.
A sifter can be also used for creating a light dusting of powdered sugar. Or you can use a dusting wand for that. It depends on what tools you have in the kitchen.
How to Pick the Best Flour Sifter
Since this is a pretty simple, basic kitchen tool there’s not much to consider when shopping for the best flour sifter. There are a few criteria that differentiate them so, let’s talk a bit about them so that you know what to expect.
Types of Sifters
Firstly, there are two categories:
- manual
- automatic battery-operated
I included an automatic best flour sifter because it’s quite popular and not at all expensive. There might be some of you who are ready to go from manual to automatic. There’s a review just above if you want to learn more about this type and what it offers.
Next, the manual ones can be broken down into:
- crank style – you turn the crank and the flour is pushed through a mesh, it’s simple, easy to use by anyone – these are the traditional ones, the most frequently encountered, and the most popular, if you go the manual route, this is pretty much the best option
- shaking style – you shake the sifter and the flour is sifted, straightforward and efficient, another very good choice
- handle press flour sifter – all you have to do is press the handle and the flour is pushed through the mesh but you also need a healthy hand for this type – I haven’t reviewed any of this kind because, in general, people are not very satisfied with them, it’s best to focus on the really good ones
Quality
Does it rust or not? That is the question.
Pretty much all are made of stainless steel. Which shouldn’t rust. But that’s not always the case. It’s a high possibility that they might rust.
After washing, dry it out completely to prevent rust.
I would also recommend using a brush to clean it instead of always washing it.
I’ve also seen mentions of using compressed air to blow it clean. It can definitely work perfectly but I don’t know how many people have compressed air at their disposal whenever they need it.
Capacity
The 3-cup flour sifters are the most prevalent.
However, for those who want more, there are quite a few 8-cup models to choose from.
If you don’t want to spend a lot of money at the moment, go with the 3-cup option.
I also included two 5-cup models: one manual crank style made of stainless steel, the other automatic made of plastic, the only automatic model featured on my list.
The Norpro 3-Cup Stainless Steel Rotary Hand Crank Flour Sifter is one of the most affordable that you can get and the quality is truly great.
How to Sift Flour
There’s just one thing that you need to pay attention to. It’s to the way things are worded by a recipe. This is what I’m talking about:
- x cups sifted flour – it means that you should measure those x number of cups after the flour is sifted
- x cups flour, sifted – measure the x cups before and then proceed on sifting it and then use it directly, without measuring it a second time
It sounds a bit too confusing to me but that’s the way it is.
Why is it so important to differentiate between the two?
Because one cup of sifted flour will weigh less.
Nevertheless,
Like I always say, it’s best to use a scale to accurately measure dry ingredients, instead of the cups method.
Besides that, how you actually sift flour depends on what type of flour sifter you have.
If it’s manual, the most popular is the traditional crank style. You turn the crank and the flour is pushed through a fine metal mesh. All the impurities are left behind and the result is a lighter fluffier flour than the one that went into the sifter.
The shaking style flour sifter means that you just have to shake the sifter gently from side to side.
The automatic battery-operated models do all the work for you. You just have to flip the switch.
Should you Wash your Flour Sifter?
The short answer is no.
To avoid rust, it’s best to clean it with a brush or compressed air.
You can also use a vacuum cleaner, just make sure not to blow the flour all over the floor.
You can wash it from time to time but dry it after.
Since most are made of stainless steel, you can even dry them quickly in an oven.
Flour Sifter Replacement
What can work as a flour sifter replacement?
A fine mesh stainless steel strainer is the perfect best flour sifter replacement.
It’s what my grandmother and mother use all the time, it’s what they’ve always used. It must be in the family. My mother always sifts the flour but I don’t. I never have.
Even when I used flour from a flour mill, bought in bulk, I didn’t sift it. My bread came out perfectly and my bread machine had no problem with making the same perfect loaves, as always.
All in all,
If you’re making desserts and the recipe indicates that you need sifted flour, you absolutely have to get the best flour sifter, you can start by checking out the reviews above.
