How Do Restaurants Store Flour?

Most of the restaurants keep the flour in bags in the dry storage, this storage has some special perforated sections that allow the air to pass through all its structure and avoiding contact with the floor, when the flour is stored in these sections the ideal is to place the bags in the form of a cross to allow the air circulation in the platform.

Restaurants can also store the flour in moisture-proof containers and can store it in the refrigeration room.

Unlike restaurants, in homes the flour is usually kept in the pantry, looking for a dry and cool place, but it is not always enough to prevent it from going rancid or bugs appearing. The refrigerator is another place where flour is often stored to prolong its shelf life, but flour can also be stored in the freezer.

When you make homemade pastries and baked goods, it is easy for several packages of flour to accumulate in the pantry, if you make bread often and buy several kilos of flour and also different varieties, white and whole wheat flour, rye flour, oat flour, spelt flour.

The main concern is to keep it in perfect condition until use, normally the flour can last several months without problem, but sometimes we are surprised by a package or a jar of flour with unexpected inhabitants, larvae, moths, weevils… that is unpleasant.

Flour, as well as other cereals, grains and nuts, is susceptible to rancidity and also to the appearance of bugs. And when the flour is wholemeal, the risk of spoiling it is greater, as it preserves the germ of the cereal, which is rich in fatty acids, and you know that fats are very prone to go rancid. 

So it is very important how the flour is kept in the pantry to avoid both things, although in the first case we have not found.

On the contrary, sometimes you could find packages of flour just bought that when you open them were no longer in good condition, that is, they had larvae, and this in principle is the result of bad conservation in the trade, humidity, warm temperatures, this can also happen in the pantry at home, when spring arrives it is time to take extreme precautions so that the stock of flour does not go to waste.

Normally the pantries are spaces with little light, dry and with a not very warm temperature, but everything depends on where you are. 

The flour needs to be well packed, with little air, and in a dry and fresh environment. One way to make the flour last longer is to store it in the fridge, but did you know that the flour can be stored in the freezer?

It can be said that the flour can be frozen with the aim of prolonging its useful life, like that of all foods that you freeze, but of course, it does not respond the same way because its water content is barely appreciable.

Recovering it for use is very easy, just leave it a few minutes at room temperature. However, it is advisable not to open the container or package until the flour has been tempered, as the humidity of the air would condense on the cold surface and could affect the taste.

To freeze flour you can use glass jars that close hermetically, also freezer bags, vacuum bags (you can also vacuum pack the flour to keep it longer in the pantry or in the freezer), in the same package that later will be introduced in a suitable bag or container and always trying to keep the minimum of air inside.

How to preserve the flour in the best conditions?

It is easy to think that the flour should be kept in a cupboard, preserved from light, humidity and heat, and well packaged, either in its own package, because if they sell it packaged in that way it is because it suits them, or in any closed container.

Well, to begin with, you must forget about opening a packet of flour, take the necessary amount and close the same packet with a tweezer or with a rubber band, the flour must be put into a jar, preferably a glass one with an airtight lid, to store it correctly.

Keeping the jar with the flour in a cupboard in a cool and dry place is not bad if it has a lot of rotation, that is, if it is spent in the day to day, but you have better guarantees of conservation if it is kept in the refrigerator or fridge. 

It does not need to be in the coldest part, you can put it in the highest part which, in theory, is where it is less cold, a place especially dedicated to yoghurts, cheeses, eggs, etc.

If the consumption of flour is not very common, you do not know when you are going to spend it, you have a lot of quantity or you intend to prolong its conservation for a month or more, nothing better than freezing the flour, either in an airtight container or in freezing or vacuum bags. 

When using it, it should only be left at room temperature for a few hours, depending on the season and the temperature of the kitchen in particular.