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recommendation for hand crank sifter for high extraction flour

kbradley's picture
kbradley

recommendation for hand crank sifter for high extraction flour

I'm looking for a hand crank sifter to make high extraction flour.  I'm currently using a 40 mesh round sifter. It takes a long time to sift the flour, and I invariably make a mess.  Any recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Happy Baking, friends!

DanAyo's picture
DanAyo
kbradley's picture
kbradley

Thanks so much! What a clever setup.  Might be worth investing in the massager.  

headupinclouds's picture
headupinclouds

I was searching for the exact same thing recently.  I wanted a simple option for sifting and didn't want yet another appliance for our small space.

I would recommend taking a look at this thread too: https://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/62242/60-mesh-too-small-flour

Dan recommends some nice bucket-friendly sieves, which I briefly considered, but they didn't have the granularity I was looking for.

I didn't find any adequate hand crank options (mostly small pastry dusters).  I briefly considered an oscillating mechanical sieve shaker.  In the end, some sifting benchmarks in that thread using plain old (but large) test sieves with tight-fitting lids to support shaking convinced me that was the right approach for the volume I needed.  I think the key properties are:

  • large surface area: I initially bought a few small 6" test sieves online to save money, but now use 12" sieves -- the larger surface area is critical
  • coarse-to-fine configuration: I use a #30,#40,#50 some manufacturers only make 30/50, and I find that to be too big a leap
  • tight-fitting lid and basin: People seem to use a mix and match approach from their pantry to find a lid and basin that fit the sieves, but since I had yet to buy the sieves I wanted something that would fit together out of the box

Most test sieve options seem to cater to lab environments, and a good 12-inch test sieve can be more than $100.  The lid and basin, if available, aren't cheap either, and the configuration I wanted to work with can cost hundreds of dollars from common lab suppliers.  I searched through the link that @albacore posted at the bottom of that thread and was able to order a 12-inch #30/#40/#50 stack with a matching lid and basin for about $120.00. The fit is reasonably snug, but still requires a strap over the top when shaking.  After about 45 seconds of shaking, I open it up and use a plastic dough scraper to rake the bran back and forth across each of the test sieves for a few seconds before collecting the remaining bran and flour.  It is really quite fast with the right setup.

Here is a link to one of the sieves I purchased for $23.75.  In general, they work pretty well, although I would rank the quality as adequate or "good enough".  In comparison, I have a couple of small sieves from Vollum, and they feel like you could drive your car over them.  I didn't find the lid or basin from Vollum and they don't offer #40 or many other screen sizes in general.  There is a folded metal lip on the lower side of these new sieves, which is a bad design for the application and catches a little bit of flour each time, which would be nice not to have to deal with.

A comparable test sieve from Gilson is about $127.50.  The quality seems a lot nicer, and I believe they have lids and basins, but I wasn't willing to shell out $600 or so for the stack I wanted to put together.

kbradley's picture
kbradley

I cannot thank you enough for your thorough response and suggestions.  This is definitely the way to go for me!  What a welcoming and helpful community.  I'm truly grateful.