The Fresh Loaf

A Community of Amateur Bakers and Artisan Bread Enthusiasts.

San Francisco: bulk buying flour for home made sourdough

courierdsf's picture
courierdsf

San Francisco: bulk buying flour for home made sourdough

Hi there,

I have been baking sourdough for a few months now. My main ingredient is Organic Type 85 which I order from Central Milling directly (5lb bags). The shipping cost to San Francisco ends up being non-trivial so I was wondering if there are more folks in the city that order from central milling and are interested batching orders together.

Alternatively, if you have suggestions for local retailers for Central Milling products or flours that you've found yielded great results flavor wise.

Cheers

Side note: my bread making went from sad deflated things to airy, chewy and flavorful breads thanks to this forum, I cannot thank you all enough.

citygirlbaker's picture
citygirlbaker

Have you tried the downtown Costco?  I've seen CM flour there, 20lbs for about $11.  Not sure if it is Organic Type 85 though. 

G. Marie's picture
G. Marie

Good luck finding people!

Costco carries the Beehive AP flour. 

harum's picture
harum

Have you tried this store?  Good for all things bread.  There's a good brewery across the street, too.

CharlotteS's picture
CharlotteS

I believe you can order online from Central Milling and then pick up your order at Giusto bakery in Petaluma. It’s a bit of a drive but you might want to consider it. I haven’t tried CM flours but when I next need to make a large purchase of flour, I would be happy to try their flours and pick up your online order when I pick up mine. Not sure when this will be—I’m currently pretty well stocked and don’t have unlimited storage space. 

CharlotteS's picture
CharlotteS

I hadn’t seen harum’s post when I posted my comment, but Giusto’s retail store is closed due to COVID (per their website), but I believe that they will allow you to pick up items that you have ordered online. 

tplsfbay's picture
tplsfbay

I order online from Central Milling every 3 weeks or so and pick up in Petaluma. On a few occasions I’ve ordered something from Giusto’s and they have had it waiting with my CM order. 

courierdsf's picture
courierdsf

My summary:

- try downtown Costco (they happen to sell my favorite cheeses too so that would be pretty ideal)
- try picking up from Keith Giusto store in Petalum (a bit more involved, I might make a weekend trip out of it)

Side note: I wonder if there is an online forum of SF bread makers. Might be fun to share local tips, starter discards (mine is ever growing...), etc.

 
jo_en's picture
jo_en

Hi,

I live in the Bay Area but I am trying the grains (upon recommendation from a TFL-er) from azure standard.

You can get  a delivery (no shipping) by Feb 23 if you order in the next couple of days.

https://www.azurestandard.com/

 

sidel80's picture
sidel80

Hi,

I'm just curious if you were able to find the Type 85 flour in the city? I've been trying to locate some myself and the closest store is in Petaluma.

 

Thank you!

Simon

courierdsf's picture
courierdsf

hi there,

I have not. I keep ordering from central milling. I'm about to place a new order actually, lmk if you want to bundle haha.

Cheers,