How long has it been since you have used or even seen a hand sifter? They made their mark in history years ago, but now they seem nearly extinct.
There are those die hard bakers who refuse to work without them, but is it really necessary? Today, packaged flours are pre-sifted which makes them ready to use right away. While packaged flour does compact and settle a bit during storage, you may not have to sift it before using.
One reason you might sift is if you live in a very humid area. The flour could clump up a little more from the moisture in the air. People used to sift their flour years ago to remove any....should I say "bug particles," but that's not so much a problem today. If you are using sugar to roll your cookie dough in before baking, you may want to sift it to remove the little bits of dough or sugar clumps that develop while rolling.
What does sifting do? It aerates the dry ingredients which helps the wet ingredients to combine thoroughly. This is helpful if you are making something light and airy like angel food cake. Leaveners like baking soda and baking powder clump easily and should always be sifted in with the flour. Have you ever taken a bite of a baked good and saw a little white clump in the crumb? That was probably baking powder or baking soda.
Another reason for sifting is that not every dry ingredient weighs the same or is ground the same. If you are sifting all-purpose flour and sugar together, obviously the sugar is heavier. Sifting helps to evenly combine all of the different particles.
When I bake, I don't use a hand sifter, but rather I use a wire whisk to aerate my dry ingredients. This is much quicker and does a fine job. But if you are going to use a hand sifter, be sure to measure out all of your dry ingredients first before sifting.
To answer the question, "to sift or not to sift," I would definitely sift if I was making a light or airy baked good. Things like quick breads and cookies don't need to be sifted. For me, I always use a whisk to aerate my dry ingredients, no matter what I am baking. That way, I know the lumps will be few and far between.
Happy baking,
Pam
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