When I first started venturing into the world of baking, knowing how long my ingredients were going to last was a real learning curve, especially if I had made them myself. I should note that this was before smartphones and the world of cooking blogs, so the answers were not as easily accessible as they are today. I’ll never forget my first experience of having bugs crawling out of a bag of flour in my pantry, like some kind of horror movie, migrating to my pasta, rice, and anything else that wasn’t sealed. I sure did learn the value of airtight containers and all-natural bug spray that day!
While the internet can be both a blessing and a curse, now baking tidbits like this are easy to come by online, so you (hopefully) don’t have to deal with a dreaded weevil plague as I did all those years ago. So without further ado, let’s get into flours! What’s their shelf life? How do you know if they’ve gone bad or not? How can you keep them fresher for longer?
Let’s dig in.
What Affects The Shelf Life Of Flour?
Several factors will affect the shelf life of any flour. The main ones are oxygen, temperature, and moisture. Even flour with a long shelf life will be no match for mold and mildew creeping in on a humid and warm day. So, the golden rule for all flour, store it in a cool and dry place in an airtight container! The pantry is okay, the fridge is even better, and the freezer is excellent if you have the space (though we understand that is unrealistic in many households).
The other general things I have found:
- Packaged flour purchased from a reputable supermarket lasts wayyyyyy longer than flour you have made yourself. For example, chickpea flour I’ve milled will last a couple of weeks, maybe a couple of months if you’re lucky, whereas the packaged kind has lasted me six months if I’ve stored it correctly.
- The fat content of the flour might make it go rancid faster. Oils can be sensitive to light and heat and get a stink to them more quickly than flours with less fat.
- Processing – Flours that have been minimally processed will have a shorter shelf life than those that have undergone lengthy processing (e.g., whole wheat flour will have a shorter shelf life than bleached white flour)
- What the flour is made from and its key ingredients. I’ve kept cornstarch and arrowroot starch a long time past their expiry, with no sign of spoilage, I assume due to the very high starch content and low moisture content.
Which Flours Have The Longest Shelf Life And Which Have The Shortest?
A rule of thumb for your general all-purpose flour, bread flour, cake flour, etc., is six months or so. Gluten-free alternative flours such as nut flours and gluten-free blends tend to last less, and high starch varieties last longer. The exception to this might be coconut flour, which despite its high-oil content, has a long shelf life if stored correctly. You can check the shelf life (and more) of 60+ different flours in our comprehensive list!
Flours with the shortest shelf life (store-bought)
- Buckwheat flour 1 month
- Chestnut flour 2 months (European chestnut flour, not water chestnut flour)
- Sorghum flour 1-3 months
- Graham flour 1-3 months
- Almond flour 2-4 months
- Barley flour 3 months
- Whole wheat flour 3 months
- Pecan flour 3 months
- Red whole wheat flour 3 months
- Cashew flour 3 months
- Self-rising flour 3 months (until it loses its rising ability)
Flours with the longest shelf life (store-bought)
- Apple pomace flour 12-24 months (sometimes this is added to baked goods to improve their shelf life!)
- Okara flour 18 months
- Lupin flour 18-24 months
- Arrowroot flour 2-4 years, sometimes indefinitely (though it may lose effectiveness after 2 years)
- Vital wheat gluten flour 1-7 years, depending on the brand
Tips for Storing Flours at Home to Maximize Their Shelf Life
No matter what type of flour you store at home, the most important thing to remember is always be stored it in an airtight container away from heat and moisture. This includes freezing your flour. An airtight container will stop moisture from your freezer from sneaking in and causing clumping.
If you are worried about bug eggs being in your flour when you buy it (spoiler alert, they’re in most flours!) then freeze your flour for 48 hours before taking it out and storing it in the pantry. This will kill any existing eggs, and they shouldn’t hatch.
Don’t buy big batches of flour if you aren’t going to use them! Many people like having flour as one of those ‘on-hand’ pantry staples, and that’s great if you use it. If not, plenty of grocers now sell flour by weight, so you can just buy what you need at the time. I say this because if you do get random bugs infesting your flour, they often will travel to other things in your pantry to try them out too. While purchasing small amounts of flour here and there may be annoying, as a survivor of a pantry bug infestation, it is 100% the lesser of two weevils.
How to Tell If Your Flour Has Gone Bad
- Check for strange smells, clumps, black spots, and discoloration.
- Check for visible bugs or larvae.
- Check the expiration date on the package. While flour can last a while past it, if it’s a long way past it, better to get rid of it.
FAQs
Flour can usually be eaten past its expiration date without any consequence other than an unpleasant taste or your baked goods not rising correctly. The thing to watch out for is mold. If there is discoloration in your flour, it may be mold which can be toxic if ingested at certain doses.
Yes, it does. While it may be slower to expire than opened flour, it still is susceptible to spoilage.
I have, and the results are hit-and-miss. Its ability to fluff up and rise has usually diminished, and it can be a bit clumpier if I’m using it to thicken things. So I don’t recommend it if you are baking to impress, but it might be alright if you use it just to bread and fry something.
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