← Grain and flour storage H56-06 · Module 6 of 7 · Pages: 20 · Worksheets: 7

Storing flour and semolina

How long each flour, semolina and bran keeps, what to keep them in and where, how to recognise rancid, mouldy and insect- or mite-infested flour, and how much to keep in the house

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Whole series: Grain and flour storage, €39

Storing flour and semolina

In short

  • Wholemeal flour keeps 1–3 months at room temperature, whole cornmeal only 1–2 months. White flour 6–12 months.
  • Flour is kept cool, dry, dark and closed, away from smells. Wholemeal is best below 15 °C (59 °F) or in the freezer.
  • Mill or buy 2–4 weeks' worth of wholemeal and 2–3 months' worth of white flour. Keep your reserve as grain.
  • A bitter, "soapy" or stale smell means rancid flour. Lumps, threads and a mouldy smell mean it isn't for people at all.
  • Every container has a label with the milling date, and the oldest is used first.

What's inside

Chapters

  1. Why flour spoils faster than grain
  2. How long each flour keeps
  3. Freshly milled: cooling and resting
  4. Containers for flour
  5. Where to keep flour
  6. Rancid, mouldy, infested
  7. Insects and mites in flour
  8. Semolina, bran, germ and oats
  9. How much flour to keep in the house
  10. Rotation and labels
  11. Safety
  12. Common mistakes
  13. Printable checklist

Worksheets

  • Maximum stock calculator
  • Flour container calculator
  • Flour use-by dates
  • Flour and semolina inventory
  • Check log
  • Flour labels
  • The flour year

Fields and checkboxes can be filled in with Adobe Acrobat Reader (desktop and mobile), and the calculator adds up by itself. Filling in may not work in some browsers. A print version comes with the screen PDF.

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