Too Much Flour…

[WhateverYouWant]

So I bought a bag of AP flour online… thought it was 5 pounds but it was 10!

Now I usually keep my flour in a brown tinted vacuum seal canister, but it will only hold 5 pounds. How do I store the rest of it (which will be around for quite some time)? It came in a resealable plastic bag (like Bob's Red Mill). Do I just seal it back up and stick it at the bottom back of a dark cabinet? Or is there a better way.

 

[Andy M.]

Freezer

 

[GotGarlic]

P.S. I always freeze any kind of flour that comes into the house for a couple of days. It kills the eggs of whatever critters may have been missed in the process of making the flour, like pantry moths. It's impossible to filter them out completely.

 

[pepperhead212]

If you have a vacuum seal container, does this mean you have a Foodsaver, or something similar? If so, you could put it in a bag - I did this with the extra of a large batch of white artisan flour I got, and it stayed fine for over a year. I freeze whole wheat flour, but this worked fine for the white.

I also use GGs method of freezing the flours for a week, to kill anything that might be in it; though not everything is killed this way, many of the more common pests are killed. I've never gotten anything in flour, like Mom did, while I was growing up!

 

[WhateverYouWant]

Freezer

P.S. I always freeze any kind of flour that comes into the house

LOL… currently there is no room in my freezer for this giant bag.

If you have a vacuum seal container, does this mean you have a Foodsaver, or something similar? If so, you could put it in a bag - I did this with the extra of a large batch of white artisan flour I got, and it stayed fine for over a year

Yeah, short of asking a neighbor if they'd like some flour, this seems my only option at the moment.

 

[Andy M.]

LOL… currently there is no room in my freezer for this giant bag...

All flour will keep better in the freezer. It's more important for whole grain flours and also extends the life of AP flour. Can you stash it in the fridge? If you break the remainder of the ten pound bag into smaller amounts, can you make it fit?

If not, bake more.

 

[WhateverYouWant]

All flour will keep better in the freezer. It's more important for whole grain flours and also extends the life of AP flour. Can you stash it in the fridge?

There's plenty of space in the fridge (which I keep at 40°F). I have heard of folks keeping whole wheat in the freezer/fridge, but with AP, how does this affect moisture content? How do you deal with the inevitable condensation? Does this mean I'll need to start sifting before it is OK to use?

 

[GotGarlic]

There's plenty of space in the fridge (which I keep at 40°F). I have heard of folks keeping whole wheat in the freezer/fridge, but with AP, how does this affect moisture content? How do you deal with the inevitable condensation? Does this mean I'll need to start sifting before it is OK to use?

I haven't had any condensation problems when I've done it. It's perfectly fine when I use it. I never sift flour anymore; I whisk it with the other dry ingredients. So much easier.

 

[Andy M.]

If you seal the bag, moisture shouldn't be an issue. Sifting shouldn't be necessary but if it is, that's a small thing.

 

[Oldvine]

I also freeze flour as soon as I bring it home for at least a few days. No room in the freezer? In the fridg until I make room in the freezer, the in it goes.

 

[pepperhead212]

If you take some flour out of the freezer, and measure some into a bowl immediately, it will get some condensation if there is humidity in the room. I usually cover it, and let it come to room temp - usually a better temp to use it at, anyway. You can also let the bag warm up, but I rarely need all of it, unless getting to the bottom, so I just get what I need, and put the bag back.

 

[skilletlicker]

Years ago, I used the temporary freeze trick to kill pests when I was buying field corn from feed stores for homemade masa. I've never had critters in AP flour so don't bother to freeze it but really hardly ever buy AP. A five-pound bag lasts for years. I keep whole grain meals and flours in the freezer long term or fridge short term. I don't open the freezer bag to get a cup or tablespoon though. I'll get enough to last a month or so and keep that smaller bag in the cupboard for a week or the fridge for a few weeks.

 

[Katie H]

Somewhere along the line when this virus thing limited some of our resourses, I ordered 50 pounds of flour from an online site. Since I make all our bread products, that quantity is nearly gone. Havent't frozen any of it, but it has been stored in huge Tupperware bins. So far, so good.

Best flour, even better (IMHO) than King Arthur, which I was a dipped and dyed fan. Got it from a site called Bakers Authority. Between that flour and my SAF yeast, I'm sold.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

I buy in bulk from the Amish bulk food store near our daughter's when we visit. I've kept white whole wheat, whole wheat, and rye flours in the basement from year to year with no issues. The plastic bags from the store are put into well sealed plastic or metal tubs to keep out any moisture. Nothing has gone "off".

 

[pepperhead212]

I have not had WW flour last well for long periods at room temp. I even tried a small amount vacuum sealed in a food saver bag, for 6 months, to see if that helped, but it still went rancid. I never had rye flour go rancid. It seems that any cracked wheat of any type will eventually go rancid, but whole wheat berries (kamut, spelt, and that ground for flour) are fine for years! This is why I bought 35 lbs of hard white wheat when this pandemic started, plus 35 lbs of rye berries - I already had a grain mill, so I just started using it more! (I almost stopped using it, when I got the Vitamix).

Most of my whole grains and legumes keep well in the vacuum packs at basement temp., but those various cracked wheat types, plus brown rice and millet will go rancid, so those are in the freezer.

 

[GotGarlic]

If you seal the bag, moisture shouldn't be an issue. Sifting shouldn't be necessary but if it is, that's a small thing.

I don't even put the paper flour bag into a plastic bag. I just put it in the freezer in the plastic grocery bag (can't get DH to use the canvas bags he gave me from all the conferences he went to, argh! [emoji16] )

 

[GotGarlic]

If you take some flour out of the freezer, and measure some into a bowl immediately, it will get some condensation if there is humidity in the room. I usually cover it, and let it come to room temp - usually a better temp to use it at, anyway. You can also let the bag warm up, but I rarely need all of it, unless getting to the bottom, so I just get what I need, and put the bag back.

I don't use the process you described for the very reason you stated. I just freeze it for a few days and then take it out. When I need to, I refill the canisters in the kitchen from the already frozen flour.