storing flour

**RaineyDaye** · 10-17-2008, 09:36 AM

Do you store your whole wheat flour in the refrigerator? I have been keeping my bread making flour in the refrigerator, in the original bag within a plastic bag. I think I read somewhere to do that to keep out bugs. But I wonder if this is the only way to store flour. I would like to get my refrigerator back, but with the good sale on whole wheat flour recently, I now have three bags in the refrigerator. Do you have a good way to store flour? I only make bread about once a month, so I don't use it up quickly.

**nvmommyx6** · 10-17-2008, 10:32 AM

I do not. I take them out of their original bags imidiatly upon getting them home and store them in a 5 gallon bucket and have never had bugs!!

**HappyMama** · 10-17-2008, 11:59 AM

Originally Posted by nvmommyx6

I do not. I take them out of their original bags imidiatly upon getting them home and store them in a 5 gallon bucket and have never had bugs!!

I do the same unless I have freezer room and freeze 24 hours then put a bay leaf in bucket and store.

**Seona** · 11-09-2008, 10:08 PM

Whole wheat flour ... and any other type of whole grain flour ... should be stored in a cold environment, whether it be the fridge, freezer, basement or an uninsulated porch. The reason for this is freshness. Whole grain flours still contain the germ which can go rancid fairly quickly, especially during the warmer months. White flour has had the germ removed, so it is more shelf-stable.

I keep my whole wheat flour in the fridge because I use it a lot. I keep my other whole grain flours ... rye, buckwheat, corn, spelt, etc. ... in the freezer. I tend to buy those in smaller amounts and I don't use them as often.

**pat in east texas** · 11-10-2008, 12:51 PM

We're bread lovers here, and I bake all of it. Flour doesn't last long enough to get bugs or go bad. I buy only 5 lbs. at a time, though. If I bought it in 25 lb. sacks I'd have to think of some way to store it.

**AuntSissy** · 11-10-2008, 01:02 PM

Placing a bay leaf in your flour will repel bugs and weevils. I use them in cereal, cornmeal, rice, dried beans - - and have not had problems since.

Also, I run a handful of bay leaves through the food processor and use the powder to repel waterbugs (those huge, flying roach-monsters that loooove it here in the South). I toss bits here and there around the kitchen, under the sinks in the bathroom, and voila! No more critters!

Ants were a big problem for me, too...UNTIL I found that ants will not cross a chalk line. Soooo, I used chalk sticks (for chalkboards) to draw lines all around my kitchen (you cannot see it, as the dust dissipates). The Family and Friends thought I was nuts (bless their hearts) - - BTW, we've yet to see another ant!

ETA: OH! And I buy bay leaves in bulk from our local $ store...I have also gotten them super-cheap from the Farmer's Market here in town. Doesn't seem to matter if they're stale...the bugs still stay away!

Happy Critter Chasing!
Anna

**vigilant20** · 11-10-2008, 01:09 PM

Originally Posted by pat in east texas

We're bread lovers here, and I bake all of it. Flour doesn't last long enough to get bugs or go bad. I buy only 5 lbs. at a time, though. If I bought it in 25 lb. sacks I'd have to think of some way to store it.

Same here. I don't think you want to bake with cold flour either. That seems to have been the problem with my first couple loafs. Now that I store it in tupperware in the cabinet my bread turns out much better.