[GrannieAnnie]

 

[shokkyy]

I emailed Shipton Mills and asked how long a sack would stay good and how to store, and this is the replay they sent, for anyone else who's interested.


Thank you for your enquiry regarding the shelf life of flour. The short answer is yes - at a rate of 2-3 kilos a week, you will easily get through a sack of flour before its best before date. Wholemeal flour has a shelf life from milling of 6 months because of the high "oil" content in the wheat germ. Beyond six months it will start to deteriorate and eventually go rancid in the same way that nuts do. White flour will be good for 12 months as the oils are taken out with the bran during the milling process which is what gives it the whiter colour.  We only mill in small quantities at a time and have a high turnover rate so you will have plenty of time left on the expiry dates when the flour reaches you.

Both can be kept for longer providing you keep them somewhere cool (such as a barn in winter!), and they can even be kept in the freezer which will have no effect on the performance or flavour properties.

Just remember though, if you’re using the flour to make bread, make sure you bring it back up to room temperature or warmer before you start to mix your dough as bread likes everything nice and warm in order to get the fermentation process going. On the other hand if you’re using it for pastry, you can use it straight from the barn or the freezer because pastry is the opposite and likes everything well chilled.

As for storage conditions, we would advise against tightly sealed containers as they prevent the flour from breathing and can cause the flour to “sweat” which will reduce its life and quality. Best thing to do (unless freezing) is to leave it in the sack it comes in and place inside a large crock, clean metal dustbin or a plastic bin with a very loose lid or one with holes in. Just ensure the holes are small enough (or covered with a mesh) to prevent insect or rodent infestation if you're keeping it in the barn.

[shokkyy]

Is there a local bakers or mill that might sell you some French flour e.g.

Shipton Mill Ltd
Long Newnton, Tetbury, Gloucestershire GL8 8RP
01666 505050 ‎ · shipton-mill.com

 I don't know how far this is from you,but they sell flour from their mill .

 They do a 25 kg bag for 21.50

Cheers Carl

Thanks for pointing this supplier out to me. I ordered the 25kg sack of French flour, it arrived inside 24hrs and is lovely flour. As long as I don't have any storage problems with it, I'll be using them again. They've got a nice selection of flours and I'd like to try some more of them.

[angelavdavis]

I thought you couldn't get weevils in Tupperware     I shall have to have a look at some of my flours. I know I have a bag of besan I've not used for quite a while. Eek

Well I don't want to put anyone off, but during my googling time, some sites say the weevils, bits of dead weevil and eggs can already be in the flour when its bagged up!  

Like you CQ, I thought my tupperware would keep any nasties out!  So now, every time I buy a bag of flour, or get one out of the cupboard, I put my 4x magnifying glasses on and scrutinise the bag inside and out first!  

Oh, just read that apart from not liking bayleaves, these little critters don't like the smell of sulphur, so you can put a box of matches in the cupboard with your flour, also wikihow, says to put your bag of flour inside a plastic bag, then freeze it for 96 hours, that will kill anything in the flour!    and wiping shelves down with eucalyptus oil helps too!  

Just reading this thread, I remembered exactly the same and have heard about freezing too (and sifting).  

In my husbands previous house (which was only 5 years old) I once opened a sealed box of lasagne sheets which had been bought from the big T the week before and they were full of holes and creepy crawlies - I was horrified and promptly threw the lot out into the wheelie bin and cleaned everything - thankfully they hadn't got any further!  It was bolognaise instead that night!

I have also tried the french flour with good results and have been recommended Canadian flour (thought Trillium might be interested to hear this).  I am still searching for it locally here.

[shokkyy]

They do have Canadian flour at Shiptons, both white and wholemeal, as well as a couple of bread flours that are a blend of Canadian and English. They have a huge selection of different types of flour for all applications. They also have a very nice selection of recipes to try.

But if you want Canadian from a local shop - I've seen Canadian bread flour in my local Sainsburys.

[angelavdavis]

But if you want Canadian from a local shop - I've seen Canadian bread flour in my local Sainsburys.

No chance down here - our supermarkets are hopeless - approximately ten years behind the rest of the UK