Okay scratch bakers, should I be sifting my flour before I measure it or after? I always aerate and scoop into the measuring cup, then level, but I'm not sure about when to sift. Ideally, I intend to measure correctly, then weight it, so that I can use weights instead of cup measurements, as I believe it would be more accurate to do so.

Thanks for all of your help!

I learned here recently that you should generally measure before you sift . If the recipe says for example 4 oz flour sifted , you sift after measuring . The sifted flour weighs more

i sift afterwards...i believe its to ensure a lighter cake consistency...i think thats how you spell it =)

If it says "1 cup flour, sifted" you sift after.
If it says "1 cup sifted flour" you sift before.
If it doesn't mention sifting at all, you do it after.