Flour: How Long Can it Last

[shel]

Hi gang,

I rarely bake, although I may try doing it more often. I was thinking of buying flour in bulk, getting just what's needed for the recipe at hand rather than buying a 5-lb bag and have it sit around for a while and maybe go stale or bad.

So, does flour go bad? What's the best way to store it? How can I tell if the bulk flour is fresh?

Thanks,

Shel

[bubbamom]

I've kept flour in an airtight container for 6+ months with no problem. I think that in the South they also keep their flour in the refrigerator (think bugs). When I know I won't be doing a lot of baking, I purchase my AP flour in recloseable bags - - Pillsbury brand.

[KYHeirloomer]

Depends somewhat on the flour.

Bleached, all-purpose, in a sealed container lasts, apparently, 2 days longer than forever. Only Twinkies have greater longevity.

When I buy unbleached all-purpose and unbleached bread flours I transfer them to large zipper bags to keep bugs away. Other than that I don't take any particular precautions.

Whole grain flours, on the other hand, should be kept refrigerated or frozen to prevent spoilage. It's not just fear of bugs, here in the south. Once you break the protective husk of the grain, the oils can turn rancid pretty quickly if not kept refrigerated.

Shel, with the bulk bins it really depends on how quickly they turn the products. Keep in mind that even if the bin was refilled this morning, the main supply may have been in the back room for months.

I would check with the manager of that department and ask, straight out, how quickly they have to re-order.

[Joyfull]

first off ditto to what KYHeirloomer says! If you are buying from a grocery store at all, check and see how long its been sitting around. I thought I'd grab some bulk cornmeal at mine to save a trip, and the bin was teeming with bugs!! Hard to believe no one had noticed them..

I keep my unbleached white flour, my white bread flour in buckets with tight sealing lids.
I get the buckets from the local bakeries here as they usually just chuck them out when they're empty.

All the rest of my flours, WW, ryes, spelt, WW pastry flour, white and yellow corn meal etc.. I buy in small amounts when needed.. Usually 2 to 3 lb bags from my local health food store. They have a nice fast turnover as its the only health food store in my area.. I've never had any bug problems with buying this way.. I always store these flours in an extra fridge/freezer downstairs..

[m brown]

i would say that the white flours last longer but i have noticed the ww flour tends to go around 6 months along with graham and rye flours.
that's up north.

[siduri]

I once had a couple of kilos of flour (probably whole wheat?) which i put in a sealed tupperware bin - and forgot i had it. A year later it was weird-looking from the outside, didn;t look like flour was in there, and i realized there were some kind of bugs that replaced the flour - too squeamish to open it, i asked my husband to dispose of the contents. He said there was no flour left, only a huge mass of small dead moths. YUCK! Washing out the pot i noticed that it was riddled with worm-eaten holes, tiny channels in the plastic, some of which actually broke through. Horrifying.
This was probably because the moth larvae were already in the flour, i guess.
However since where i live has lots of these little beige moths, about 1/4 inch long, we usually end up having to throw away all flour (white and whole wheat) and flour-based products that are stored over the summer, EVEN IN SEALED CONTAINERS. they seem to be able to get in through anything. They certainly eat through the paper bags the flouor comes in, and sometimes through plastic bags. They can weasel their way through the knot or tie area of a plastic bag. I've had vacuum packed bags of flour in heavy plastic that seem to last. The plastic is much thicker than that of any plastic bag.
So i guess it depends on where you live.
the other question i'd have is whether molds can get at flour - i think they can - and would definitely stay away from storing rye flour at any length of time because of the risk of - what's it called - ergot or something.

[BettyR]

Being from the South: To keep my AP flour I have splurged and bought the good stuff, real Tupperware.

When I bring home a bag of AP flour it goes right into the freezer for at least 24 hours, sometimes longer, then into the Tupperware. The time in the freezer will kill any eggs that might have gotten into the flour on the shelf at the store and the Tupperware will keep anything on the outside from getting in. Whole wheat and rye are stored in the freezer whether they are opened or not.

Stored this way you can keep flour theoretically for years. I go through it fairly quickly, an average of about 5 pounds per week, so I'm not speaking from experience. Being from the South it's a rare meal that's not accompanied by either biscuits or cornbread.
Betty

[siduri]

I have a little nice dark rye i got in austria in the freezer, but our freezers are the top part of small fridges, so no way i can store much in there. How long can fkour be stored in a freezer anyway?

[BettyR]

Flour Storage Tips

Flour Storage Guide Kitchen Knowledge