"Cindy Firetto" > wrote in message >...
I am looking for a easy
> updated version. do you have to use cake
> flour? .

An angel food cake is a traditional recipe .

Tecnically speaking......If you want an upgraded one , it lies
initially on the quality of your cake flour although there are other
factors but which is beyond the scope of the undertanding of the home
cooks.

A really good angel food cake should use the lowest protein bleached
and chlorinated cake flour with a protein of just around 7 and a pH
of 4.8-5.0 and an ash content of 0.30-0.35. In comparison the typical
cake flour you buy in the store shelf can have protein of 8-8.5 and
pH of 4.8-5.5 and ash content of 0.35-0.40. More suited for other
less delicate cakes such as chiffons,sponges and layers.
Unfortunately that kind of angel cake flour you cannot obtain easily
as its more expensive due to the use of flour fractionation and much
lesser yield of flour based on flour extraction rate, to attain such
grade.
Therefore many formulators add some wheat starch to dilute the protein
content of the cake flour to obtain the desired flour protein.
But for home use I advise to keep it simple, no need for this cake
flour/ wheat starch blend, leave this point to the specialist cake
formulators.Any good recipe of angel cake will work fine as long as
you religiously follow the procedure and also understand every point
of it to ensure that you will obtain the best quality cake you can
get.
Keep this in mind......
Following recipe is different from understanding the technique in the
recipe; so combine the two principles and you will obtain good results
in your baking chores.

>Do you have to sift the flour?
Yes, its highly preferable in order that lumps will be avoided that
affect the uniform incorporation in the meringue. Even in the
institutional baking ,bakers still sift the flour for the same
reason.
Flour is sifted before its used, and it should sifted with the other
dry ingredients when folded into properly beaten sugar,egg white
mixture.
And be reminded, never over mix the flour and meringue which is one of
the reason of heaviness in cake texture aside from under and
overbeating the whites.
Roy