Storing Pastry Flour

[DaisyM]

Is it proper to store pastry flour in the fridge, freezer, or in the basement? I just got ttwo bags of King Arthur Pastry Flour. Thank you!

[Chemicalkinetics]

An air lock container for me.

[Kelli2006]

I double bag it to keep the moisture consistent. I only keep 5 lbs or less in the kitchen. the remainder is stored (also double bagged) inside of a Rubbermaind container in the basement on a secondary pantry.

[DaisyM]

Thanks, everyone. Flour is double bagged and sealed and stored in the extra basement freezer. Now, really stupid question....when baking do you let it the flour come to room temp or do you use it right out of the freezer? (this is for making pies)

[greygarious]

You can use it right from the freezer. It warms up almost instantly. Put the container back into the freezer right away, to avoid possible condensation damage.

[DaisyM]

Grey, you always know the answer to my questions! Thank you.

[greygarious]

Although the freezer and fridge are best, in that order, but if space is at a premium and your basement is cool/cold, go ahead and put your airtight container down there. Colder is always better, as long as the flour stays dry.

[jjjrfoodie]

No need to fear pests that love and feed on flour, but just need to recognize when and how they got in and how to stop any spread.

For the moths, I get at least one e-mail a year from a friend that asks, "how the ^&%$ did I get these little moths flying around in the kitchen once it got warm?" LOLOLOLOL. Then it's just a scavenger hunt in their pantry to find teh source.

Both teh moths and beetles get in anywhere from flour to whole spices in bags to crackers to pasta or really any packed flour,pasta, seeds or spice you buy. Host for me for the last moth go-round was a big jar of raw sesame seeds I bought for sushi. I think the beetles came from crackers I bought at an Asian market or some low-turnaround ethic market.

Freezing kills the moths but not the beetles. But, if you've ever eaten grasshoppers, or any other fried bugs, they pose no health risk if cooked and ingested.

Hard plastics or glass keep the beetles out and screw or sealing lids keep the flying and agile critters out. At least it does for me.

It's just mother nature's way of say keep on baking and use up any old flour in the pantry a'la a good storage turnover process. :-)

[jjjrfoodie]

Aside from air and heat (heat will cause teh oil from the ground germ to go rancid over time thus making the whole batch of flour rancid--BTDT), don't forget about flour moths and wheat beetles a.k.a. red flour beetles.

You can google both, but I've had both and now only use lock lid plastic bins or screw top or rubber sealed glass jars for my flour.

The flour moths are a nusiance, but the wheat beetles (about the size of the head of a pin) have sharp pincers that allow them to "chew" through paper wrappers as well as freezer bags and plastic storage bags. You can tell by the perfectly round 1/16" dia. holes they make in the wrapping.

Airtight and secure is the only way I go .

[DaisyM]

I think I'm a little freaked out about the wheat beetles!

[roxlet]

Refrigerate or freeze. I keep AP flour in a click-clack container in the pantry. Other flours are in the refrigerator.

[todao]

I also make sure that the flour is tightly sealed inside an air tight (think freezer bag) plastic bag inside the air tight container. Air is the enemy of flour in storage.

[DaisyM]

Thank you!

[Uncle Bob]

Air tight container....fridge or freezer