I’m concerned about storing my various bags of grains and milled flour that I don’t use up fast. Is it better to freeze flour? What about grain? Currently everything is in good storage containers but at household temperature. I have a deep freeze with room in it, but is this the best idea?
I keep my whole grains and white flours in sealed containers in a cool basement. No oxygen absorbers or special additions. The temp ranges from low 60s to mid 70s depending on the season.
My whole grain flours and high extraction flours are in my basement refrigerator – freezer would be fine too, but I actually have less freezer space.
Nuts and seeds (high oil content) are in my freezer.
Things to consider are space (of course) and how long you think it will take you to work through your supply. If I were keeping wheat berries and flours for several years, I’d probably do the oxygen absorber thing, but I go through everything in several months to a year.
Here’s a conversation that goes into some options for storage.
Thanks so much for this reply! I’m assuming from what you say that you don’t mill your grain before storing it. Since I have the room, I think I’ll freeze what takes longer to use up. After learning that grain isn’t going to last very long, I guess it’s just going to be baking day more often!
I’m sorry I don’t think I was clear. Your grain can last for decades. In its intact/whole form, there’s not much you need to do to keep it fresh. Just don’t way overheat it, or get it wet, or expose it to pests.
Once flour is milled you should use within a few months if at room temp, but much longer is fine if it’s kept cold. The oils in the bran will eventually go rancid if the bran is crushed/milled and the flour isn’t chilled. This is why grocery store whole wheat flour is often a little unpleasant tasting–it’s been in on shelves for a while. Also why it makes sense to buy flour from somewhere that mills at the point you order it rather than months ahead. And why white flour was originally considered an innovation in shelf stability. It lasts longer because it has minimal bran/oils, but also has less nutrients.
In my case, I automatically store my grains and my flour in my freezer, which is in my garage because my house is small and I have no basement. Am I wasting freezer space on the berries?
Thanks
Thanks so much for clarifying! I understand now. Milling my own flour has been fun and an education in just how delicious and varied flour can be!
1 Like
If your freezer space is limited and your other storage options are fairly cool, then I’d free up the freezer…unless you like to mill a lot of berries at once. The cold starting temp of your berries might be good for keeping the flour temperature down. I mill under 1 kg at a time and don’t worry too much about that.
My other options are not cool, which is why I store things in the freezer. As a result, am I right in thinking that even though the berries can be good for decades, at my house they’re better off in the freezer?
We are new to buying grains and milling our own flour. We usually get around 7, 5lb bags of grains from Breadtopia and plan go use them within 4 to 6 months. Now we keep the grains in the bags in storage bins in our basement. (we live in Michigan) . We keep the open bags in one box and the unopened ones in another bin. Is this a good storage method? We would like to get some advice from you on storing grains. We do not have a freezer now.
Thanks,