Aberdeen and shire didn't have that. Maybe folk up here can think outside the box. As I said initially it was the case but within a couple of days they were stripped bare like the rest.
I still use my local coop for staples such as milk and bread. But forget it for pasta/rice/anything in a tin / flour
I managed to order a 16kg sack from here earlier this week.
www.fwpmatthews.co.uk
Matthews flour is pretty good, I nearly went to work for them when the mill I worked at in Gloucester was bought out and closed.
They have been through some turmoil in the last few years as their borrowing was nearly twice their asset value. We had a head miller join our firm from them last year as he thought they might fold.
Hopefully this upturn in trade might save them, though the profit margins in standard flour milling are stupidly low I hope that their speciality range has a higher profit margin?
Stupid Q: how long does flour stay "fresh" for once opened? It does have a best before date but how long before it's goes to a state where it's not great?
A 1kg bag of wholemeal lasts about 2 weeks here and was thinking about getting a 16kg bag
TBH the term "fresh" is subjective.
Flour usually has a shelf life of a year less so for wholemeal and coarse brown as the oils in the wheat germ goes rancid.
Many bakeries prefer flour with a bit of age on it as its more consistent. The original firm that owned our site used to market their flour as "Bin Proved" many years ago we used to pass "Diox" gas through flour to improve the colour and artificially age the flour!
The flour will gradually dry out (if stored correctly) as the paper sack is breathable so you will find you need slightly more water in the mix to achieve the best results.
Plenty in Sainsbury in Prestwick this morning,
Don't rule out your local convenience store, ours hasn't really suffered at all during this recent period, I think folk attacked the supermarkets and assumed the wee shops would be bare.
We’ve just ordered a 16kg bag from Hobbs House Bakeries - hello@hobbshousebakery.co.uk
Apparently the problem is not a lack of flour, but a lack of packaging, so if you’re happy to buy the packs intended for hotels restaurants etc, there’s plenty available.
ditch_jockey if your near Hobbs bakery your a lucky man 🙂
And your spot on its not lack of flour its lack of flour in the silly little sizes 😉
@MrOverShoot - does your mill sell direct to the public and have online sales?
We had a head miller join our firm from them last year as he thought they might fold.
Heh 🙂
I don't think we do, though I have an account as years ago I used to supply a friends wife with flour for her massive home baking habit 😀
Have a look here
https://www.4flour.co.uk/products/
bearnecessities
Subscriber
We had a head miller join our firm from them last year as he thought they might fold.
Heh 🙂
I think that might be baking your thinking of 😉
Alright pedant! Better?
We had a head miller join our firm from them last year as he thought they might fold.
Trouble at t'mill.
For anyone without yeast, try knocking up a sourdough starter (google how to) and have a go at making bread that way.
That's what I've been doing. It's a bit of a faff, but I leave it to prove in the fridge overnight which is a bit more time efficient.
bearnecessities
SubscriberTrouble at t’mill.
I hope not as I'm on call this week till 6am Monday 😉
For those doing sourdough the slow cold over night prove ranos mentioned is well worth it. Bake first thing. We use a lidded cast iron oven dish which goes into the oven for 40 minutes on max before the bread goes into it. Replicates a steam oven and gives better rise.
We were low on bread flour and struggling to get any however fortunately managed to get 25kg of pizza flour. Should last a few weeks.
In Aldi in Harrogate they had the grand total of three bags of plain flour at 9.30am and I took one of them. The person on the checkout said flour is the one thing they are still struggling to get from their supplier.
Ended up getting some from a ‘reuse low waste’ place but they were limiting to 1kg per customer and you had to spend £5 on other items.
Not much baking to be done by our girls.
our local (small, independent), supermarket down in East Sussex has had flour every time I've been in recently. I am meant to have my regular batch of 00 arriving in the next week - though we'll see if it is delayed/cancelled due to 'shortages'.
Bakerybits.co.uk still has plenty of stock of flour etc.
Probably get shot down on here now but I just made a year and share scone to have with the coffee, 15 maybe 20 mins of my time, 225g proper self raising flour, 25g of sugar, 40 g of butter, half a cup of milk, wee dash o bicarb, 13 mins in the pre heated oven and some rasp jam
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Have a look whether you have a zero waste shop nearby. We have two in town and both have plenty of flour as they buy in bulk as per the previous page so their supply lines are barely affected. You'll be pleasantly surprised at the prices too - I rarely have to go to a supermarket nowadays between those and a local CSA
Those in Ipswich or close by Makro had white bread flour (16kg) and yeast on the shelves yesterday. The yeast is the Allinson dried stuff in a tin not the rapid use variant. I have an opened bag of patent white (AYLI Mr Overshoot so around 11.5% protein?) that I can let you have a kilo or three of @ 56p a generous kilo.
The weekend bakery has some good info on sourdough and other loaves for those needing some ideas.
