Best methods to store flour long term?

[VariableRecall]

I live in an apartment, and I hope that I can "stack deep" a bit of whole wheat flour from a restaurant supply store. I'm starting to bake my own bread to save money and I'm hoping that I can stay ahead of potential shortages. Considering that I would go through about a pound a week, I'd prefer to keep my supply of flour fresh and dry. I'd like to have my flour stored in about 5lb increments in a series of hopefully airtight containers.

What's a good storage container for this sort of purpose? Are there any drawbacks and warning signs for flour storage that I should know about?

[Mal Paso]

I buy in bulk and use one of those air tight pet food containers with an o-ring.

[waksupi]

Put some bay leaves in the container, to keep bugs out.

[VariableRecall]

Put some bay leaves in the container, to keep bugs out.

Do the bay leaves deter bugs?

[Joe504]

Freeze it for about 2 weeke, that will kill any bugs/eggs in it. Then keep it air tight. Will last at least 2 years.

Same for rice

All of us need to have a vacuseal machine.

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[farmerjim]

I put rice and flour in 1/2 gallon mason jars and pull a vacuum on them.

[ShooterAZ]

Ditto on putting it in the freezer, if you have the space. My wife just leaves it in there, never a bug to be seen.

[bbogue1]

When we buy flour and rice and any beans for long term storage they go into the freezer for two weeks then immediately into vacuum pack bags with the opening(s) double sealed. Then they are stored at room temp in the dark. For dried fresh herbs we add a oxygen absorber and a moisture absorber.

[Scrounge]

I live in an apartment, and I hope that I can "stack deep" a bit of whole wheat flour from a restaurant supply store. I'm starting to bake my own bread to save money and I'm hoping that I can stay ahead of potential shortages. Considering that I would go through about a pound a week, I'd prefer to keep my supply of flour fresh and dry. I'd like to have my flour stored in about 5lb increments in a series of hopefully airtight containers.

What's a good storage container for this sort of purpose? Are there any drawbacks and warning signs for flour storage that I should know about?

However you buy it, throw it in a deep freeze and leave it there a week or so before repackaging it to kill the bug eggs and larvae. 5-gallon food grade buckets are stackable, though they waste some space, and are not rodent proof. #10 cans work reasonably well, too, though again they waste some space, and they're rodent-proof as far as chewing goes, but enough rat urine will eat them. Mylar bags are not at all rodent proof.

Bill

[Froogal]

Usually, the bugs do NOT get in it. The bugs are already in the flour, or maybe I should say the larvae is in the wheat that the flour is made from. If you read the label, there is always "inert" ingredients listed. The "inert" ingredients are insect larvae and possibly weed seed. Freezing the flour should make a difference.

[jlm223]

Interesting Thread learning a lot, I bake my own biscuits and cornbread, like to keep a good supply, wish I had paid my attention to my mom on this.

[Winger Ed.]

I bake a lot, and usually keep about 6 of the 5lb. bags on hand.
I just store them in the garage freezer/beer refrigerator in zip lock bags.

I also store rice for making our own dog food.
No special re-packing, we just keep a couple of the big bags in the beer frig. drawer.

[BJK]

You DO NOT want to store whole wheat flour if it's truly whole wheat. It has oils in it that will go rancid in a very short time. I have no idea about the whole wheat today that's called whole wheat but isn't.

If you really want whole wheat flour don't buy flour but buy wheat berries, they'll last for decades. Use the techniques suggested already for storage. But also get a flour mill and grind it fresh each time you want the real deal whole wheat. But practice using it now. Real whole wheat works differently than todays "whole wheat" which isn't whole wheat at all. Do some 'net research into whole wheat to find out what I mean. Or trust me. The same goes for any grain, nature has hit on the way to make things last. Grain that has been stored in Egyptian tombs has been found to be viable.

Back when I was able to eat bread I would grind my wheat berries 3x to get the bran fine enough so as not to deflate my loaf (acts like knives) and I'd also also add gluten strengtheners. Not making a loaf? Maybe crackers or cereal? Not as fine a grind is required. They'd be easy. You have no idea how much I miss wheat.

If you want to store flour store white flour. All of the good stuff has been removed and it will keep for a very long time. But for nutrition store wheat berries.

[fiberoptik]

Whole wheat does not store well. Turns rancid. Best kept in freezer or fridge. Whole wheat stores much better. Grind as you use it.

We store flour and cornmeal like this:
Washed out gallon or 2-3 liter bottles. Add 1/2 dozen bay leaves [emoji261]. Add 3-4” layer. 2-3 bay leaves.... to the top. Shake to fully fill, especially milk jugs (hollow handles). 3 leaves on top. Tear a small square of aluminum foil and add some small holes. Grab a bit of cotton ball and wet with 91% rubbing alcohol. Light it, then cap tightly. Seal cap with hot glue gun, & date.
For grains/beans/rice we do the same, but we add about a teaspoon of Diatomaceous Earth—food grade. Add some at the 2/3rd level and rotate to mix, then the rest at the top. Make sure it coats all.
It has multiple uses and should be in everyone’s pantry.

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[Ford SD]

At Xmas time there is a lot of places that sell Popcorn in a metal Can with lid

I Picked up a large one 20 years ago or so and use it to store my white flour

the one I have with a bit of packing will hold about 20 lb

How to get it in there

Open Bag of flour

Put empty tin over top of bag, pick up bag of flour and tin,
turn 180deg and place on chair or counter and then slowly
pull bag up by the bottom, tapping outside of tin to help settle flour.

Put it in the counter,

I have made bread, cookies, biscuits, donuts pancakes etc in a week and use lots of four during the winter, when it is cool out

Even set up the bread maker .. wake up in the morning and have fresh bread with butter on it ..... what dreams are made of

Leaving 9 lb or so of flour in the tin

[VariableRecall]

However you buy it, throw it in a deep freeze and leave it there a week or so before repackaging it to kill the bug eggs and larvae. 5-gallon food grade buckets are stackable, though they waste some space, and are not rodent proof. #10 cans work reasonably well, too, though again they waste some space, and they're rodent-proof as far as chewing goes, but enough rat urine will eat them. Mylar bags are not at all rodent proof.

Bill

I have 6 Food safe 8Qt containers (Like the kind you see in the backs of restaurants) that I am distributing a 50lb bag into. How can I ensure that I don't get any moisture in the flour when I freeze it 8qt by 8qt portion? Now that I live in a dry climate, I should have a bit of an advantage here on that realm.

What has been happening is that I picked up a book on how to bake whole wheat bread for daily use, taking advantage of active cultured yeast that you regenerate a supply of and maintain on a weekly basis. The book, unlike others of its kind, isn't very pretentious at all, and advocates for whole wheat as a healthy way to get your carbs and some protein throughout the day. Plus, considering that all I'm putting in the bread pan is wheat flour, starter dough, salt, and water, I'm saving a good deal of money on calories as well.
Plus, it's delightful, much like reloading, to enjoy something you've put together for yourself!

[VariableRecall]

You DO NOT want to store whole wheat flour if it's truly whole wheat. It has oils in it that will go rancid in a very short time. I have no idea about the whole wheat today that's called whole wheat but isn't.

If you really want whole wheat flour don't buy flour but buy wheat berries, they'll last for decades. Use the techniques suggested already for storage. But also get a flour mill and grind it fresh each time you want the real deal whole wheat. But practice using it now. Real whole wheat works differently than todays "whole wheat" which isn't whole wheat at all. Do some 'net research into whole wheat to find out what I mean. Or trust me. The same goes for any grain, nature has hit on the way to make things last. Grain that has been stored in Egyptian tombs has been found to be viable.

Back when I was able to eat bread I would grind my wheat berries 3x to get the bran fine enough so as not to deflate my loaf (acts like knives) and I'd also also add gluten strengtheners. Not making a loaf? Maybe crackers or cereal? Not as fine a grind is required. They'd be easy. You have no idea how much I miss wheat.

If you want to store flour store white flour. All of the good stuff has been removed and it will keep for a very long time. But for nutrition store wheat berries.

The book I had been reading had mentioned using wheat berries! They recommended a professional grade $300 electronic mill but I wasn't exactly willing to drop that kind of cash in an attempt to save money.

What do you use to mill your flour? If I can mill up the portion I want to use, i can make sure that I have absolutely fresh flour every time and keep the rest in storable shape!

[BJK]

There are many flour mills, you aren't tied to that books suggestions.

I have a mill that goes onto my Ankarsrum Assistent (not a typo), and it does more than just flour. It'll also grind coffee and black pepper, and the list goes on and on. We also have a Diamant for when I was doing 50# sacks for animal feed. Yes, it also makes flour and not just feed. But that's me. You don't need anything so grand. I'd do a net search for flour grinder reviews. Expect to work to make flour by hand. But it's good arm exercise.

[fiberoptik]

Aldi’s sells popcorn tins of soda crackers. They make excellent storage containers. Or a thrift store!
Try sourdough.
http://carlsfriends.net

Survival foods—great info. Try the 3.3 cent breakfast!
https://www.survivalplus.com/category/survival-foods/
Also has info on grinding flour cheaper. (Corona hand crank grain grinder)

Buy in bulk from Sam’s/Costco/BJ’s/Tractor Supply Co./Farmers market/Co-Op, etc.

We bought 50 lbs. of wheat berries (feed, not treated seed) from the grainery years ago. We put the wheat in the commercial cottage cheese buckets, topped off with a paper towel, added a chunk of dry ice, & waited till the fog ran over the top. Put lid on, marked & dated it. We finished it off 12 years later. Still good. No bugs. It no longer would sprout, but ate just fine.

[VariableRecall]

Aldi’s sells popcorn tins of soda crackers. They make excellent storage containers. Or a thrift store!
Try sourdough.
http://carlsfriends.net

Survival foods—great info. Try the 3.3 cent breakfast!
https://www.survivalplus.com/category/survival-foods/
Also has info on grinding flour cheaper. (Corona hand crank grain grinder)

Buy in bulk from Sam’s/Costco/BJ’s/Tractor Supply Co./Farmers market/Co-Op, etc.

We bought 50 lbs. of wheat berries (feed, not treated seed) from the grainery years ago. We put the wheat in the commercial cottage cheese buckets, topped off with a paper towel, added a chunk of dry ice, & waited till the fog ran over the top. Put lid on, marked & dated it. We finished it off 12 years later. Still good. No bugs. It no longer would sprout, but ate just fine.

In terms of what I'm using for my starter, I've started with a super-basic Flieshman's active dry yeast, prioritizing rise over the potential of sourdough. I'd been culturing a bit by leaving it on my counter at room temperature with the lid slightly open. I'm starting to get a teeny hint of Sourdough taste and a pretty good rise, but I'm certain it's going to develop into something lovely.
Thanks for the link on the sourdough starter! It will be nice to try out something from the pros!

So a granary would be my best bet for bulk wheat berries? Not sure where I can find some in my area as AZ isn't exactly wheat friendly. perhaps a farm supply store would be better?
Also, fantastic idea on using dry-ice to ensure your product lacks oxygen when stored!

[JimB..]

Couple thoughts.

Soda bottles and the like are gas permeable. It isn’t just that the lids leak, gasses pass through the plastic. They are not ideal for long term storage because of this.

Using dry ice to evacuate oxygen might work in AZ, but in NC the water vapor in the air condenses on the dry ice, so I’d be sealing in a lot of moisture. I don’t know, but isn’t the fog from dry ice really very fine water droplets…like in real fog?

If you’re buying 6 months worth of flour at a time, storage isn’t too critical, any sealable container kept in a closet will be fine. I still freeze it first. Speaking of which, I seal it first, then freeze so as to avoid any condensation on the product when taking it out of the freezer.

Oxygen absorbers are great, but the guys that make them say not to use them in combination with a desiccant. Your humidity is so low that you wouldn’t bother, just wanted to point it out.

FWIW, I like glass containers in the pantry, even though they are fragile. Mylar bags in buckets is probably better if you’re stacking really deep.

[Thumbcocker]

Any Amish store will have bags of wheat berries of different sizes. Also rolled oats and other grains. I bought 2 10 pound bags to sow on the garden plots for a cover crop.

[BJK]

I buy my grain from a health food store. It's special order (I buy full sacks every time) so I tell them what I want and have it next week. There are also places online to buy.

[memtb]

I guess that it depends upon what you consider “long term”! Flour does not store well long term, even when stored it plastic buckets, Mylar packaged with oxygen absorbers….it loses much quality after a few years.

Long term….wheat berries (whole grain) store in the above mention method will last 25+ years. You just need a grinder/mill to make your own flour! memtb

[MT Gianni]

My wife grinds her own with a mill for the Kitchen aide. She has had the same mill since the early 80's. We usually split whole wheat 50-50 with bread flower. We grind and keep about 5 lbs of flower at a time. She has some packets that absorb oxygen she puts in the berries before storing them.

[fiberoptik]

If you don’t have room in deep freezer you can always “toast” in the oven on cookie sheets. We have done our oatmeal and some rice that way.


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[Geezer in NH]

We store wheat berries, red and white, we also store oat groats along with popcorn. Grind all in our Whisper Mill and have a Country Living Mill for when the electricity is gone. I grind 16 cups of berries at a time and store the flour in a Rubbermaid cereal storage container.

We just bought a corm grinder from Amazon to make our own chicken feed supplementing the feed store purchases.

[MaryB]

I have 200+ pounds of wheat berries on hand, all spent 6 weeks in the deep freezer then went into 5 gallon buckets with gamma seal lids. I have a Retsel flour mill with real stones, there are also many cheaper mills out there if you don't mind an arm workout! The old Corona flour mills come to mind. Do a double grind with them for fine flour.

Little Ark Retsel mill with the pulley flywheel(I motorized mine) $310 https://retselusa.com/store/index.php/cPath/26/osCsid/i3jp3hg353d42ks6e48uslhki5 Retsel customer service doesn't exist, expect 6-8 weeks for delivery...

Corona mill, slow, takes time to grind enough flour for 4-5 loaves of bread, $90 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00838YC5A?m=A2C7LC6N81A0EI&ref_=v_sp_detail_page millions of them in use, parts readily available, can be motorized by modifying a pulley. Keep speeds slow!

Heat is the enemy of flour so the cooler you keep it while grinding the better, slow is better than fast!

Best price on gamma seal lids. When putting the adapter ring on the bucket use a rubber mallet and keep working around the rim until every hit is solid, if you don't the bucket won't have a tight seal. I see people reporting their buckets leak, they post pics and you can see the ring is not on straight so not all the way seated into the O ring. https://freckleface.com/shopsite_sc/store/html/product514.html

If you buy old strains of wheat you will find that people with gluten issues really don't have a gluten issue. They have a problem with a protein that modern wheat has in 10 times the amount old varieties have. Grocery store bread gives me stomach issues if I eat to much... old varieties of wheat I grind myself? I can eat as much as I want.

I use a food strainer(mesh type with a handle) to sift out some of the bigger hunks of bran when making bread. Makes a lighter more airy loaf. Can save the bran to make muffins, add to cereal...

Store excess ground flour in the fridge to preserve nutrients. Every day it loses some and at 2 weeks it has lost a LOT of its nutrient levels. I use excess to make a batch of sourdough waffles that I freeze. Take 2 waffles out, drop in the waffle maker to reheat them and crisp them up.

Sorry this got long!

[Jim22]

Usually, the bugs do NOT get in it. The bugs are already in the flour, or maybe I should say the larvae is in the wheat that the flour is made from. If you read the label, there is always "inert" ingredients listed. The "inert" ingredients are insect larvae and possibly weed seed. Freezing the flour should make a difference.

He's right. Maybe not larvae but at least eggs. People nowadays don't know why it became popular to run flour through a sifter. It's to sift out the weevils and such. Bakeries buy flour by the truckload - like ready mix outfits buy cement. Those bakeries have huge bins that the flour goes into. It gets automatically sifted as it is scaled and used.

Jim

[dverna]

Aldi’s sells popcorn tins of soda crackers. They make excellent storage containers. Or a thrift store!
Try sourdough.
http://carlsfriends.net

Survival foods—great info. Try the 3.3 cent breakfast!
https://www.survivalplus.com/category/survival-foods/
Also has info on grinding flour cheaper. (Corona hand crank grain grinder)

Buy in bulk from Sam’s/Costco/BJ’s/Tractor Supply Co./Farmers market/Co-Op, etc.

We bought 50 lbs. of wheat berries (feed, not treated seed) from the grainery years ago. We put the wheat in the commercial cottage cheese buckets, topped off with a paper towel, added a chunk of dry ice, & waited till the fog ran over the top. Put lid on, marked & dated it. We finished it off 12 years later. Still good. No bugs. It no longer would sprout, but ate just fine.

Link does not work

[Geezer in NH]

We have 2500 lbs plus of red berries from Walton feeds. My late sister was a Morman. Also have equivalent of the 4 for survival stored due to her influence.

Wheat berries inside a sealed Mylar bag inside a plastic bucket. 02 absorbers in each sealed mylar bag. Our combined order for pick-up at her church took 3 trips with a 1500 Chevy and trailer. (She bought for 6 pepole, we bought for three)

We use between 2-3 bucket a year and replace every year or 2.

I buy the white berries wholesale and store in our own Mylar bags using 02 absorbers, then in the mpty buckeys from the first purchase. The buckets get a Gamma lid from a previous purchase of a gross of them at an auction cost $2 per lid.

Sorry for typos and grammar it's raining heavy and my artyritus is bad today.

[fiberoptik]

[/URL] https://www.survivalplus.com/the-perfect-3-3-cent-breakfast/[URL]

Cooking in a thermos
[URL]https://www.survivalplus.com/saving-money-with-a-thermos-bottle/[URL]

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[Geezer in NH]

neat link thanks. her is the link to the book my sister gave to everyone in the family.


https://www.amazon.com/Passport-Survival-Four-Foods-Store/dp/0394492285

Passport to Survival: Four Foods and More to Use and Store Hardcover – April 1, 1974
by Esther Dickey (Author)

[fiberoptik]

Her daughter’s book looks even better!

https://www.amazon.com/New-Passport-Survival-Self-Sufficient-Living/dp/1882314247/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?qid=1648238721&refinements=p_27%3AEsther+Dickey&s=books&sr=1-3&text=Esther+Dickey


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[Idaho45guy]

I had no idea what a wheat berry was. Never heard of the term. I grew up next to thousands of acres of wheat fields. We use to go grab a head of wheat and roll it in our palms to separate the chaff from the kernels, then eat the kernels for a tasty snack.

Turns out, those are wheat berries. Learn something new every day.

[oldscool]

^^^^^
Same here.

[Iron369]

I just buy 12lb bags of all purpose flour. Vacuum seal them in mylar bags with O2 absorbers. Store them buckets for easy transport. Usually 3 12lb bags fit nicely in a 5 gallon bucket