Does wheat flour go bad and how long can you store it so you can bake your own bread at home with the best quality.
As a new home baker, you might be wondering if you can buy a larger bag of flour and how long it can be stored, so you can make a new loaf of bread without the need to go to the grocery store to buy a new bag of flour.
Does Wheat Flour Go Bad?
When you start making your own bread, you might be buying more quantity of flour than you use, but you need to know that flour as many other foods can go bad, and every flour package comes with expiring date printed on it, to help you to know how long you can keep it, but in average it can be kept for 6 months.
How To Tell If Flour Goes Bad?
When you purchase a package of flour and you keep in the pantry, it might stay there for a few weeks or months before you need to buy a new package, but as flour has no taste or smell, it might be hard to know whether if it went bad or not, but there is a few signs you need to know to use the flour or not.
When you open the bag where you keep the flour, it should not smell at all and it should have the same look as if it was bought this morning, then your flour is good to be used.
When you open the bag and it has a strong smell, or if you notice some marks on the surface or some black spots, then the four is not good anymore and you need to buy a new package in the store.
How To Keep Flour To Last Longer?
There are a few tips that will help you to know how to keep flour for a longer time:
Don’t Keep It In The Bag
Most flour brands are sold in paper packages or bags, some will keep it in that bag after opening, some people will just fold the top of the bag and pinch a laundry pin to keep it close, by doing this, humidity and some insects can get inside the bag.
To keep flour fresher for a longer time it is always better to keep in a glass or plastic container with a close lid, and it will be better if you keep the glass container in a pantry where is protected from daylight.
If you know you won’t be baking often, it’s better to keep flour in the fridge in a closed container, where the temperature is lower and is protected from sunlight.
When you’re an avid baker, and you know you will often be baking, you can keep your flour in a closed container on top of the kitchen counter or in a cabinet.
What Type Of Flour Last Longer?
When flour has been refined, it will last longer, but if you like to use organic flour or whole wheat flour to make your bread at home, it will last less time fresh, as it has all its proprieties which gives it a shorter shelf time. In this case you might need to freeze it to keep it fresher longer.
How To Freeze Flour To Last Longer
Anytime you buy flour, you can open the bag and keep it in freezing bags, you can put one or two cups in each bag, place the bags in the freezer and take one bag out the freezer anytime you want to make a new loaf of bread.
Allow the flour to defrost at room temperature, for about one hour before you start using it on a bread recipe.
Do you have another idea to store flour fresh for longer time?
You can also read: How To Keep Your Bread Fresh Longer
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