Flour and its packaging

Of course it costs more.

I don't use much flour, so I buy it unpackaged at a health food store in a plastic bag and at home I transfer it in a airtight glass container.

I use a lot of flour and I do what CJ does. A glass container with a tight lid and a 1/2 cup scoop inside keep everything easy to access. I use various flours and have a separate container for each. You can also get one of these:

Aha. Not available here in the demimond.

Things are improving though in the last few years (there's an asian section!).

Cool. I'd no idea.

Money of course, if you have a lot of flours like me..

Still, an improvement.

FWIW, I like King Arthur flour best. I 'cheat' and use a Breadmaker (nice crust). The bread loaves are very consistant. This Breadmaker was a wedding gift in 1988.

I split the flour 50-50 between White Whole Wheat and Whole Wheat. I add some freshly ground flaxseed to this mix. I sift the flour with Nifty Sifter.

After I buy it, I transfer the flour after purchase to Tupperwear. I'm somewhat crazy 'cause I line the container with Saran wrap inside the tupperwear making it closed up inside it.

Cheater, cheater...

on the other hand, bet it beats the store.

On another thread, I tried a rye bread recipe for the second time and it almost worked. (No knead rye bread, some thread of mine, a recipe from breadtopia - or wait, I mentioned that second attempt as an add on to the dinner tonight thread). The almost worked bread was wonderful - hard to detail how rich with flavor.

Third time will be the charm.

those are sweet - where do I get one?

Chefs Catalog
http://www.chefscatalog.com/product/24450-flour-sugar-storage-dispenser.aspx

thanks - love it.

Great - I want some of those too.

To make sure it spoils quickly ... why else?

I was just growling at my torn Gold Medal flour package (yes, I prefer King Arthur but it's more money). I tear nine out of ten packages while trying to open them carefully. Going to have to break down and upgrade...

I do put my flour in individual big glass jars, but there's always some left over in the torn package, grrrr. (Have never seen a flour moth in Albuquerque, but did have them in Los Angeles and northern California. I used laurel bay leaves in the flour there, and that most always worked.

Today I looked up to see if this was a problem for others, and, yes, and there's a reason:

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/magazine/2013/10/packages-that-need-a-makeover/index.htm

quoting,

Gold Medal Flour

The issue. The flour is tightly packed into a delicate paper sack that’s tricky to handle without tearing or making a mess.

The company’s response. “It’s very classic and the way it’s always been,” a customer-service rep said. “And flour is an openly traded commodity. We don’t make much money on it.”

Editor's Note: This article appeared in the October 2013 issue of Consumer Reports magazine.