Bread and sweetness

Uberkermit,

Here are some observations from my use of frozen flour:

- No problems encountered with using the cold flour thus far.  It may take the dough a little longer to warm up, but with some breads that is a blessing.  You can always measure out what you need ahead of time and allow it to come to room temperature before using, if you want.

- The flour is so dry (compared to blueberries or hamburger, for instance) that it doesn't really give microbes a toehold, so repeated trips in and out of the freezer don't build up a potentially dangerous population of nasty germs.  During the time that you have it out for measuring, it isn't going to thaw, really.  And even if it did, it would just go from a cold, dry, free-flowing powder to a warm, dry, free-flowing powder; not at all like a food with a high moisture content that changes from a solid block to a liquid or semi-liquid puddle when it melts.

- I haven't witnessed any solid masses or bricks in frozen flour.  I supposed it could happen if the flour were allowed to sit out unprotected a few days in a very humid climate before freezing.  Even so, you would already notice some clumping of the flour while it was still at room temperature in that situation.

- I haven't pushed the envelope on long-term frozen storage for flour, so I really don't know what the limits might be.  Since whole grain flours can go rancid in a couple of weeks at room temperature, it might be best (from a flavor standpoint) to try to use them within 6 months if frozen.  That's purely a guess though.  Since AP and other white flours are stable for a year or more if stored properly at ambient temperatures, I would guess that you could probably double that for freezer storage.  Again, that's purely a guess.

I hope that this helps.

PMcCool

PMcCool said pretty much everything I would have said - only better!

> re "shelf life"

Bear in mind that the first time your whole grain flour is likely to see the inside of a 'frig or freezer is when you put it in yours. At least try to buy it from a store where there is a good turnover.

White flour has an recommended unrefrigerated shelf life of one year (the expiration date is always printed on the bag) though it doesn't mean the flour won't be perfectly serviceable after that date. Since white flour omits the germ, storage conditions for white flour are generally less demanding than those for whole grain flour.

As I guess, I would say a conservative estimate for whole grain flours would be 3 months refrigerator storage or 6 months freezer storage. There might be some flavor degradation after that but it certainly won't be going rancid on you due to the oil content of the germ. I honestly think you could probably hold it in the freezer longer than that. However, bear in mind that I usually mill most of my whole grain and bean flours in the amounts I'll need for immediate baking, so I don't have a whole lot of experience with long-term flour storage.

Grain, on the other hand, will keep at least a year under reasonable storage conditions (70sF or below and not humid over prolonged periods). I've milled flour from grain that was two years old and the flour was sweet and fine. Yeah grain!

>PS ..

When you purchase whole wheat flour, check the label to make sure it is milled from the entire grain. Some brands omit the germ (longer shelf life for the supermarket; inferior flavor for the consumer).

Try to find stone ground flour since slower milling generates less heat in the process. Modern roller mills heat the flour to high temperatures, with a discernable loss of flavor. For example, I prefer Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour to King Arthur traditional whole wheat flour. Both are milled from hard red spring wheat but Bob's Red Mill stone grinds theirs, while I believe King Arthur's is commercially milled.

Do you think the condensation is from moisture in the flour or b/c your 'frig is very cold but your kitchen is much warmer?

If I refrigerate or freeze flour, I use a binder clip to keep the bag closed tightly then I put the flour bag inside a zip lock bag. Would that help?

But I hardly think you need worry since you already make such beautiful breads...

I freeze several flours such as wheat, rye, seminola, and pasta, by putting either the original flour bag inside a Ziplock bag or dumped directly into a Ziplock bag.  I never notice any condensation on the inside of the bag but then I do only allow them out for a very short period of time only to measure and then right back into the freezer.  I do make sure I squeeze out every possible bit of air from those bags before sealing so perhaps this makes the difference for me on not getting the condensation inside the bags. 

As for white flours, I go through so much flour so quickly I simply keep those in sealed containers in my pantry although I generally freeze them for at least 24 hours before storing just to kill anything that could be living inside from the market or mill.  Often, though, I know I'm going to use the flour very quickly so don't even do that.

When I need to use rye or wheat that I keep in the freezer, I just try to remember to measure it early so it can warm up before dumping into the mix but sometimes I don't worry about that either.