# Best type of flour to store long term?



## Tacitus (Dec 30, 2012)

I'm thinking of buying some flour to put in a bucket with O2 absorbers for long term storage. Any hints on what is best for long term storage?

I have access to bulk amounts of "bread flour" and "all purpose flour."

I am thinking all-purpose is best, as I have this idea that less gluten will store better? I did a quick search, and didn't find anything.

My wife doesn't use a lot of flour. When she does, I think it is all purpose flour.

I would love for us to start baking our own bread, but it won't happen in the near term. But if the SHTF, we would try (assuming we could get the other ingredients, too).


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

For true long term storage you want to buy wheat and a grinder.


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## lazydaisy67 (Nov 24, 2011)

My understanding is that flour looses it's nutritional value after 18 months so for LONG term storage I would agree that whole grain and a grinder is the way to go.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*Correct*



Caribou said:


> For true long term storage you want to buy wheat and a grinder.


They opened an Egyptian tomb that was over two thousand years old and one of the things found inside was wheat stored in earthen jars. They were sealed with Bee's wax and had been in the controlled atmosphere of the tomb , oxygen free for two thousand years plus. As an experiment , they planted one hundred grains of this wheat and two of them sprouted.


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## PreparedRifleman73 (Nov 2, 2012)

BillM said:


> They opened an Egyptian tomb that was over two thousand years old and one of the things found inside was wheat stored in earthen jars. They were sealed with Bee's wax and had been in the controlled atmosphere of the tomb , oxygen free for two thousand years plus. As an experiment , they planted one hundred grains of this wheat and two of them sprouted.


Very cool.


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## cowboyhermit (Nov 10, 2012)

Like others have mentioned, flour does not store well "long term" as soon as it is ground (like most things) it starts loosing nutrients etc. White flour will last longer simply because the parts that go "rancid" are taken out already. So I would say if you don't use a lot of flour or have a concrete plan to use it before it goes bad, don't buy a lot of it. Buy stuff you will use or stuff that will last longer imo.

With regards to bread versus all purpose, there isn't going to be much difference imo, gluten is protein and is fairly stable, starting with a higher protein wheat would not be a bad thing. If you planned on making bread a lot I would recommend trying the bread flour, if you planned on making lots of pasta there are others you could try. But all-purpose works well enough for most people and is usually cheaper.


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## Tacitus (Dec 30, 2012)

Agreed regarding the value of wheat vs. flour for long term storage. But, grinders are expensive.

I do buy wheat; I do have a cheap grinder.

So, assuming that flour was a portion of your preps, what type would you buy?


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I buy all purpose but only up to a years worth.


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## Tacitus (Dec 30, 2012)

cowboyhermit: You posted while I was typing my post. You are right that all-purpose is cheaper. I may just go with that.

To date, the flour portion of my preps have been from the local LDS bishop's storehouse in #10 cans. I think that is all purpose flour. 

But I don't have easy or regular access to them, as I am not LDS, and I need to be invited/escorted by a member. I was thinking about putting away a single 5-gallon bucket of flour, for diversity in my preps (and the account for the fact that my grinder may not be reliable).


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## Tacitus (Dec 30, 2012)

Caribou: Thanks. I'm not sure how much flour my wife uses in a year. She is still mostly in charge of our short term preps (although she wouldn't call it that). I suppose I could just buy a few 5-lb bags and put them in the back of the pantry, and only rely on the hard wheat for long term preps. That is what I have been doing. But I guess I thought I might want to try to put some flour away anyway, since the LDS self-reliance folks think it can be stored for 10 years with O2 absorbers.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

Another option is to buy wheat and pay someone a fee to grind it for you, if you need it before you are able to get your grinder. That was my plan. I just ordered my grinder and should have it shortly. I figured the wheat was more important. 

I've never known a mormon that wouldn't help someone that was trying to help themselves. My plan was to go to the LDS cannery and ask to borrow their grinder, clean up after myself, pay whatever they asked, and if they asked for nothing I would leave 10% for their charity.


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## Caribou (Aug 18, 2012)

I use AP flour for everything. If I want a lighter flour, like for a cake, I just run my AP flour through a sieve.


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## weedygarden (Apr 27, 2011)

*What is your family currently using?*

I buy the cheapest flour on the shelf at the grocery store and I buy what is available at the LDS storehouse. I have considered buy flour from Sam's and Costco, but have not done so yet.

I did just learn that there is a type of flour called "double o" or "00" that is good for making pizza dough. I think having the makings for pizza would be a real comfort in hard times. Mozzarella will be harder to have, but parmesan would be a possibility. Just a thought when considering types of flour to store. I think it is not super cheap, but may be reasonable enough to have some. I have not found it yet.

Flour is a short term prep, however, if your wife only currently cooks with white flour, not having any in your preps will create a huge challenge. I have red wheat, white wheat and white flour in my preps. I use all 3. In retrospect, I would have little red wheat and more white wheat, but that is just based on what I have read since I purchased some red wheat.

I was very fortunate to find an electric grinder, a Retsel, on Craigslist in excellent condition for $24.00 a few years ago. I thought it was an error. I would never have expected to find it for that price. Like you, I thought I could never put out money for a grinder, but I had had one of the cheap hand grinders for decades. I would encourage you to keep trolling craigslist, garage sales, and thrift shops for grain grinders.

I found a corn grinder for $5.00 at a garage sale many years ago. It is all metal, but it may be what we need some day.

I also found a grinder that is really two stones, one smaller and one larger with an indent to hold the grain. It was at an educational warehouse of donated stuff and I hope I never have to use it, but it would beat nothing. Someone used it at sometime, but I do not know the history. I consider it my last option, if all else fails. It would be a lot of work to use it.

A coffee grinder is not so easy to use to grind a quantity of wheat, but could be an electric substitute. I have never used one, but have heard that some have used them.

This is just to help you understand that you do have some options, if you work it and watch and wait.

I also used to live in a community where a grinder was shared. The neighbors had one in their basement and several households shared it. We made all of our own bread with wheat and used no white flour. It was heavy bread and now I keep trying new types of bread recipes because I like my bread a little lighter than that. Many people do. I have yet to try Ezekial bread, but that is on my list to try soon. I also want to get some bread conditioner, but haven't done so yet. I understand bread is lighter and stay fresh longer.

If you can figure out how to get your wife to trade out flour to keep the rotation going, consider keeping some flour. And encourage the use of whole wheat in your home cooking.

I know of more than one household where the man of the house makes the bread. I know people personally for whom this is true and have seen this on youtube. In a few of those situations, it is a fresh loaf everyday. You could potentially have a bread machine set up close to your preps and keep it out of her territory, if that would be a problem. Breadmakers are easy to find for cheap these days. I prefer baking my bread in a pan in the oven, but a breadmaker that mixes the dough is quite an asset. This all depends on us having power or not.

I have read about one person who opened a can of flour that was a few years old and threw it away because it was rancid. Personally, I would rather have it and not be able to use it, than not to have any.


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## drfacefixer (Mar 8, 2013)

awesome question. This is one of the reasons I joined. I may be able to set up a surgical center in my garage, but I lack in some of these basic areas. 

Q: What about the quality of the various canned wheat from prepared essentials aguason, ect, ? If ground and vacuum packed in #10 cans does the flour hold up well? I know there are cheaper ways, but I want quick, reliable and trust worthy. I don't want to find out a year from now that I saved a few bucks on a cheaper bucket only to find weavels in my wheat. I've purchased some and used it to make sure I like it, but I've never stored it more than a year yet. Most of my LDS friends don't go too far outside the LDS prepping list or stocking what they currently eat - so aren't much help in answering this. 

Thanks in advance.


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## ContinualHarvest (Feb 19, 2012)

TLDR; Buy whole wheat berries. Flour will go rancid more quickly. Also pick up a hand cranked grinder or two.


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## BillM (Dec 29, 2010)

*When you store*



drfacefixer said:


> awesome question. This is one of the reasons I joined. I may be able to set up a surgical center in my garage, but I lack in some of these basic areas.
> 
> Q: What about the quality of the various canned wheat from prepared essentials aguason, ect, ? If ground and vacuum packed in #10 cans does the flour hold up well? I know there are cheaper ways, but I want quick, reliable and trust worthy. I don't want to find out a year from now that I saved a few bucks on a cheaper bucket only to find weavels in my wheat. I've purchased some and used it to make sure I like it, but I've never stored it more than a year yet. Most of my LDS friends don't go too far outside the LDS prepping list or stocking what they currently eat - so aren't much help in answering this.
> 
> Thanks in advance.


When you store your whole grains like wheat or corn, put it in a Mylar bag inside a five gallon bucket and before you make that air tight seal on the Mylar bag put in a 2000cc oxygen depleter packet. Weevils can not live without oxygen .


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