GadgetGuy
(Formerly Shermie)
I used to use the one in the top pic. I now use the one in the bottom pic, which does just as good a job!!!
Its traditional.I sometimes sift flour (the second of your pictures). Why, I do not know.
As you've probably noticed from my posts, I gave up buying supermarket bread a long time ago. I have occasionally bought bread from a proper bakers (there is one 5 minutes walk from me), but prefer to bake my own.15 years ago, flour was very scarce around here in Nakhorn Nowhere, and the only bread available was the sweet soggy sliced stuff from 7-11. I virtually gave up eating bread. However, things have now changed and flour is available in all the major outlets as is decent freshly baked bread. (7-11 still has the sweet plastic stuff though).
Not only is a sieve good for sifting flours, sugars, other dry ingredients, but like you said, it is also good for staining liquids & even gravies.
I have a set of three - small, medium & large,