How to Handle Twenty-Five Pounds of GF Flour in Your Kitchen

The holidays are fast approaching and I need Baking Free Gluten-Free all purpose flour.  Of course, I had tested the flour now produced by the new mill that we had gone to in August, but I was stymied by the fact that they cannot produce the smaller bags.  All that is available is the twenty-five pound bags. Like most of our bakers, I always ordered at least 3 of the regular bags to get the free shipping, and to have enough gf flour in the pantry to last for awhile.  Twenty-five pounds is only another couple of bags of flour.  I know I will be able to use it, I just won’t have to order as often!  But how will I store it until I can use it?

Lucky for me, one of our loyal customers had made a suggestion that we offer very strong storage bags with a zip top so the flour could be broken down into smaller amounts.  What a great idea!  We researched strong storage bags and decided on the ones pictured.  They are strong, have a bottom that allows them to stand up, and have a zip closure.  They are a size that holds about 5 pounds of flour.  Perhaps this would be a good solution for our home bakers.

The next step is to see how difficult it will be to use these bags for the flour.  I was concerned, because I know how fine the flour is, and how it can spread in the air.  Will I make a mess?  I thought about this for a day or two waiting for my delivery.  I decided that I wanted the large bag down lower than the counter so it would be easier to scoop the flour out.  I put it on a kitchen chair next to the table where I was going to work.  I set up one of the storage bags on the table, opened it and began.  Using a one-cup dry measure, I scooped up about a cup of flour.  Keeping the excess within the large bag of flour, I leveled the scoop and gently transferred the flour to the storage bag.  I carefully placed the scoop of flour at the bottom of the storage bag so I didn’t create too much flour in the air.

I was delighted with the result!  I continued to slowly and carefully add scoops of flour to the storage bag until I neared the top closure.  I left about 2 inches between the top of the flour and the closure which allowed me to seal the bag securely.  I think each bag took less than 5 minutes to complete.  I weighed the finished bags and they were between 4 3/4 pounds and 5 pounds.  Since I had ordered only 5 bags, I found that I had a bit more than I could put in the storage bags, so I added the balance to my gf flour canister.  I was delighted!

Such a great solution!  I now have 5 bags that sit proudly in my pantry, flour in my canister, and can begin my holiday baking using gluten-free flour that I know will work with my family recipes.  I highly recommend these storage bags as a means to make the twenty-five pound bags of gf flour more reasonable in your home.  Happy Holiday Baking!