Flour Storage.
To have flour in the best condition for the baker’s use is a problem which most of us do not give enough attention. Flour should be kept in a dry, light and well ventilated room. The temperature should be from 70 to 75 degrees F. and the flour should be so piled as to allow a free circulation of pure air to every sack.
Light is a strong factor on the proper aging of flour for baking purposes. Give the flour all the light you can. There are a great many bakers who store their flour in a dark basement. Some of these may be fairly well ventilated and dry, but the flour receives no light. Darkness and dampness go hand in hand. Flour requires light to give it the best conditions for it to age.
Putting flour in a cold, damp cellar is like putting meat in cold storage. The aging process is checked by the cold and the flour remains as it was when first put in storage. No aging process takes place. The flour has simply been preserved in the same state as when placed in the cellar.
Possibly you have placed a handful of flour in a thin layer in the bright sunlight for two or three hours, and then compared it with the original flour. It has been bleached by the sunlight, and if it were baked beside the same flour which was not placed in the sunlight, you could hardly believe they were the same flour.
Occasionally moving flour helps to age it; if it is turned over once a week, or preferably more often, the aging process is hastened.
Flour should always be sifted before using. In packing in packages, flour is compressed and sifting loosens the small particles and mixes air in the flour. There are machines on the market specially adapted for this work. Besides being sifters these machines have beaters, which throw the flour and drive air into it. This aerating not only assists in aging but has added value of giving it greater water absorbing power, thus having the flour in much better condition for bread-making process.
Under conditions of a well ventilated room, pure, dry air, well lighted, and at temperature of 70-75 degrees F., flour will probably be in the best condition to use in about ninety days.
Many bakers do not have storage facilities for carrying their flour ninety days. With this in mind, we stored flour at a temperature of 84-86 degrees F. for thirty days. The results received were very satisfactory. This manner of storing for thirty days could be readily carried out by many bakers who have not facilities for storing their flour for a longer time. This would give much better results than the general storage conditions which many bakers have now.
Where the flour storage is limited and no heated warehouse, the space on the floor above the ovens can be used for flour storage. The heat from the ovens keeps the flour warm and insures a warm place to store flour. It is also warmed quickly if it is necessary to use the flour immediately. If the flour can be held for some time stored in such a manner it ages quickly. It is necessary, however, to be sure no flue gases come in contact with the flour, as these gases quickly destroy the gluten. The above method has been very successfully used in places where flour storage was limited and no means of heating the flour was available.
During the aging of flour there is a slight loss of moisture, which is utilized in two ways:
1. Part is absorbed by the air.
2. Part is used by the gluten in the aging process.
When water is added to aged flour in mixing dough, the loss in moisture is more than made up by the larger percentage of water it will absorb. Flour which is aged will on the average absorb 5 per cent. more water than flour which is freshly milled. The baking value of the flour is greatly increased by proper aging. The gluten is much more elastic and tough and makes a much better handling dough. The flour is whiter in color, the fermentation period is more easily handled, and it makes a much better loaf of bread in general.