How To Store Baking Products?

[solittletime]

I'm hearing that "flours" need to be refrigerated/frozen?? what's the best way to store them? I currently have potato starch, corn starch and Bob's all-purpose in the cupboard, but I don't want them to spoil... any suggestions...

thx

Hil

[purple]

If they say freeze, do that but bring to room temp before using. I refrigerate the ones that say so. Nut flours need to be frozen or kept in the fridge and used promptly. The others I store on the shelf. All go in a ziploc bag. If you don't bake much, keep them in the fridge. I keep xanthan gum in the fridge too unless its mixed up in a homemade flour mix like Carol's Pancake mix. Homemade flour mixes I put in a plastic container and label them with the recipe so I don't have to keep looking it up. I bake often so I don't worry about the flours going bad.

[HiDee]

  solittletime said:

I'm hearing that "flours" need to be refrigerated/frozen?? what's the best way to store them? I currently have potato starch, corn starch and Bob's all-purpose in the cupboard, but I don't want them to spoil... any suggestions...

thx

Hil

Bean flours, sorghum, brown rice, millet, quinoa, amaranth (pretty much any whole grain flour), flax and nut flours need to be refrigerated or frozen as they can go rancid quickly (depending on how quickly you use them as Purple said). I think the starches and white rice flour are OK to leave on the shelf if they are stored in airtight containers in a cool place out of the sun. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I buy flour in bulk and keep most of it in the freezer and a good amount in the fridge to use when needed and then replace with the frozen stuff. I also keep mixes (bread, pancake, and all purpose flour mixes) in the fridge for easy access.

Can Xanthan gum go rancid too? Is that why you keep it in the fridge, Purple?

[purple]

  HiDee said:

Bean flours, sorghum, brown rice, millet, quinoa, amaranth (pretty much any whole grain flour), flax and nut flours need to be refrigerated or frozen as they can go rancid quickly (depending on how quickly you use them as Purple said). I think the starches and white rice flour are OK to leave on the shelf if they are stored in airtight containers in a cool place out of the sun. Someone correct me if I'm wrong.

I buy flour in bulk and keep most of it in the freezer and a good amount in the fridge to use when needed and then replace with the frozen stuff. I also keep mixes (bread, pancake, and all purpose flour mixes) in the fridge for easy access.

Can Xanthan gum go rancid too? Is that why you keep it in the fridge, Purple?

I keep xanthan gum in the fridge b/c it says to on the bag. So does brown rice flour and Millet, so I keep those in the fridge too b/c I don't use them much. Sorghum is my favorite. I use all Bob's Red Mill flours except I bought ArrowHead Mills buckwheat but I haven't used it yet so I keep it in the firdge too for now. If I were to buy in bulk like you I would freeze all that I could.

[dbmamaz]

omg, I need to buy a freezer!! and find somewhere to put it!! My fridge died the day before thanksgiving a few years ago, and the guy at lowes recomended i go down a size because if it didnt fit, it would be 3 more days w no fridge . . .so w a family of 5, we're totally crammed for space.

I want to buy some small square bins for my flours, becuase I have so many and they are just piled up on the pantry shelf and I really need to get them more organized and less messy. I guess if I ever get brave enough to throw out my old flours, I would have a bit more space . . .

also, i guess I missed that fridge/freeze stuff - i put the flax meal in the freezer because it started to smell rancid, and the first brown rice flour i bought (not fine enough to bake w) is still in there, but the rest is just on a shelf in the pantry. I wonder if thats the real reason my millet cookies tasted so bad?!