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!