Why is there a bay leaf in our flour canister? More

We were at a friend's house over the weekend and saw something unexpected in her fridge: a bag of flour. When we asked, she insisted that this was the best place to store flour - not the pantry. Curious, we did some research... More

Bread bakers are a calm, serene, zen-like bunch. (Right?!)

But nothing gets us more paranoid than the fear of adding too much flour: too little and we have bubble-gum dough sticking to everything, too much and we've got a hockey puck.

Here's a quick tip we came across recently to help us find that perfect balance! More

Many people already use easily-dissolving Wondra Instant Flour for lump-free gravies and sauces. This wheat flour has been pre-cooked and then dried (much like instant rice), so it dissolves without seizing up when stirred into a hot liquid.

But its low-protein content and baby-powder-like consistency also make it great for other uses. It's one of those little secrets to keep in your back pocket. More

Last Thursday I gave a controversial assignment as part of Week Two of The Kitchn Cure: I asked you to pitch your processed foods.

And the questions started rolling in about what, exactly, processed foods are?

Processed food is basically food that has been changed from its natural state for the sake of shelf life and safety, or for the sake of convenience. It all started when in the late 19th century, thanks to the invention of the refrigerator to keep food, and the train to transport it across great distances, we began to believe that we deserved to have food that lasted longer than when it was plucked from the earth, or caught running across our property. More

Ever wondered why a cake recipe doesn't come out the same every time? It could be how you're measuring.

Pastry chefs and recipe developers typically weigh ingredients to get an accurate measurement. But since most American cookbooks aren't written by weight, and not all home cooks own scales, it's not fair to just tell you to weigh everything. So how do you get it right? More

Like pans and prep tools there is a dizzying array of baking ingredients available. Even a small grocery store will offer at least five kinds of flour, four kinds of sugar and lots of other things that promise to make your baking successful.

To get started, though, you only need a handful of pantry basics. Read on for our suggestions... More

It's Baking Week here at The Kitchn, and John Baricelli of the new PBS television show Everyday Baking asked us for your baking questions. We are also taking questions for Lisa Yockelson, who will answer your questions next week on baking with chocolate.

Here's the last of five readers' baking questions for John. Reader Michelle F. asks:

Q: Whenever I see a recipe for cookies or brownies, I notice that dry and wet ingredients need to be mixed separately before combining them. Why is that? I know that flour has gluten in it (which I think can make a tougher cookie if you mix it with liquid for too long) but can you mix everything together and just mix in flour last? More

It's Baking Week here at The Kitchn, and John Baricelli of the new PBS television show Everyday Baking asked us for your baking questions.

Remember we are also taking questions for Lisa Yockelson, who will answer your questions next week on baking with chocolate.

Here's the fourth of five readers' baking questions for John. Reader MMG asks:

Q. If you have regular cake flour on hand, but the recipe calls for self-rising cake flour, rather than run out to the store late at night when the baking bug bites, can you concoct something at home to substitute for it? More

How many times have you seen these instructions in a recipe: Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt... Quite a lot, right? How many times do you follow it? We're curious about how often you sift your flour and dry ingredients - are you a rule-follower when it comes to baking?

Take our survey then click through for our own answer, some more information on sifting, and tips like how to sift flour without a sifter.