More fun with the old cookbook, and using up things.

[chowmama]

4. If the recipe is old enough, they sifted before measuring.

It probably had something to do with the quality of the flour. The stir up, then dip and sweep, or spoon lightly and sweep techniques came along sometime after the war - I think the 60's, but I could be wrong. I do remember flour bags stating proudly "Pre-sifted" as if it was a new innovation. (I was born in '53 and hit the kitchen about 5 years later. Mostly, I read my mom's cookbooks and asked if we could try things. Once in a while, we could; otherwise I just hung around and watched what she did. It took a few years before I was soloing.)

Anyway, my first try is always strictly according to directions, which were quite specific this time. That way, if it goes wrong, it's the recipe and not me. Second try, I adapt, often quite freely. I like to weigh flour, anyway, as I don't have to worry if it's too packed in or too loose. If it needs sifting after that, just to aerate and mix, that's different.

The recipe calls for 1-1/2 cups of flour. If it's sifted cake flour, that's just under 5 ounces. If it's just standard (not sifted) AP flour, that's 7.5 ounces. If I sift the AP flour to measure, that's 6 ounces. I might just weigh out 6 ounces of flour and call it good.