My $40 bag of fancy bread flour went stale in 3 weeks

I got this bag of imported bread flour from a speciality shop in Portland last month. Thought it would make my sourdough taste amazing. Paid $40 for a 25 pound bag, way more than the regular stuff. But I didn't seal it tight enough and it sat in my pantry. After 3 weeks the flour smelled off and my loaves came out flat and dense. I should have just stuck with my normal King Arthur flour from the grocery store. Anyone else waste money on expensive flour that didn't work out?

3 comments

3 Comments

stone.jesse14d ago

Read that flour goes stale fast because of the oils in the wheat germ going bad, especially in warm weather. Guess that $40 bag had a higher fat content from being super fresh stone ground or something. My buddy's wife is a pastry chef and she swears you gotta freeze expensive flour in a sealed bag to keep it good. Pretty annoying to drop that kind of cash just to have it bomb out on you like that.

the_eva13d ago

Heard the same thing. Freezer is the move for pricey flour.

henrygrant13d ago

...and like @stone.jesse said, it's those oils going bad. I had a fancy heirloom wheat flour go rancid in two weeks during a summer heatwave. Lesson learned. Freezer is the only way for the pricey stuff. Regular King Arthur from the grocery store never gave me that problem.