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What Can You Do With Expired Flour
You can compost the flour if it has gone bad to keep the environment clean. All of these types of flour can be disposed of without difficulty in a composting facility. You can compost the flour and use the decomposition as a soil fertilizer after it has been composted.
I know that I am not the first person who has asked whether or not it is possible to bake with expired flour — the answer, simply put, is NO. There is one simple thing that you can always do to see immediately if your flour has gone bad, and that is check the expiration date on your flour bag. Most flours really have an expiration date printed directly on the bag which tells you about how long your flour is supposed to last. Also, if you are keeping the flour in a container of any kind, you cannot exactly look at the expiration date on the bag.
The point is, you probably would not know that your flour is expired by simply looking at it (it does not turn moldy or smell bad immediately). In fact, you are probably going to get hit by that fetid, acidic smell as soon as you open your flour bag or container, which is an obvious sign the flour is rotten. Fresh flour has a neutral flavor, however, the rancid flour smell indicates the flour has aged or spoiled, or vice versa.
There are oils in the grains used in making flour, which eventually break down and produce the rancid flavor. Rancid flour smells acidic or moldy, while expired flour has either no smell at all, or has a slight, nutty flavor. Consider tasting a small amount of the flour to ensure that it tastes fine, since tastes change before changes in scent are apparent.
| Storage Places | Shelf Life |
| Fridge | 6 months |
| Freezer | 24 months |
| Room Tempereature | 2 years |
Flour can be past its shelf life in the package, and you may still be able to use it if it smells fine. If your flour has passed the expiration date, chances are that it has been contaminated with mold or bugs, or has simply changed smell and texture. Expiring flour does not pose any risks when stored properly, and so it is fine to use for years past its expiration date.
If you are moving your flour into a sealed container before stashing it, mark the container with the “Use By” or “Expiration” date before discarding the flours original packaging. Of course, in order to utilize an expiration date as a measurement of your flours viability, you need to either hold onto your baggie at all times, or record your expiration date, before throwing it out.
The first thing to keep in mind is that flour keeps long past its “use-by” or “best-by” dates, as long as you keep it in its original container. Like a lot of other foods, flour will stay good well after its best by or best if used by date, which you can find on the original container. Regular flour typically stays good for 6-7 months after the print date, whereas whole-wheat flour is usually good for just another 4-6 months.
All-purpose (wheat) flour may last for six to eight months after the date printed on the bag; whereas whole-wheat flour is best consumed four to six months later. While all-purpose flour lasts for two years at room temperature when stored in a refrigerator, it lasts for two years when stored in the freezer. Refined flour (white flour) lasts for a long time – as long as two years – when stored cool and dry.
If, however, you have more flour than you plan on using during its expiration date, keep a portion of it in an airtight container or baggie in your refrigerator or freezer. You can double your shelf life by keeping any flour you store in the refrigerator, keeping it airtight too. If you use mostly all-purpose flour, and you do it fairly often, keeping it in an airtight canister in the pantry makes sense.
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Flour freezes very well, so if you end up with excess flour leftover from making bread, cookies, muffins, pancakes, or other baked goods, store it in airtight containers. Because flour needs to be room temperature when you need it (because #bakingscience, guys), keep a sufficient amount of flour on hand for everyday use in the pantry.
Yes, you can bake with post-best-by-date self-rising flour; but your baked goods might not rise quite as much. Flour heats quickly, and it is likely that temperature does not matter much for your regular cookie or brownie recipes, but for certain more sensitive recipes, including many bread recipes, using flour at room temperature is essential. This is an excellent idea when you have got hot weather in the house, if you live in a damp climate, or if you are not going to be finishing quickly. If you have an avocado that is a little less ripe than you want, you can use flour to help accelerate the ripening process.
While it is easiest just to store flour in the bag that it comes in, fold over the top, and store in your pantry, this method only really works if you are using your flour often. Typically, if you discover expired flour (or any expired ingredients) in your pantry, you simply sigh, throw it away, and get more.
Outdated flour also has the potential to alter the texture, since flour that has been sitting around for too long has probably been exposed to lots of air, which may have damaged the protein structure, leading to sturdier baked goods. The colour and texture of the flour may also be used to help determine whether or not it is been contaminated. Expiring flour does not pose any health risks for us, but, truthfully, its scent may change and dictate how the creamy recipes will turn out, making it smell like burning butter; so, keeping it is advisable, as we explained.
Flour does indeed expire, but if stored correctly, it lasts for months on end for cakes, cookies, brownies, and bread. Flour starts to degrade both in flavor and in performance after its best-by date — that is why we date our flour, to ensure that you are having the most successful experience possible.
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I made sure to cover topics such as shelf life dates and what they mean, how long various types of flour will last, crafts that can be made using older flour, and, of course, how to tell when it is time to package up your old flour and toss your bags. You will see these firsthand in todays post, where I am sharing the 9 most amazing uses for flour around the house.
How can I tell if the flour has gone bad?
The smell of rotten flour is a simple indicator. While some nut and alternative flours have a sweet or nutty smell, most flour has no smell. The smell of spoiled flour is sometimes musty, sour, or like rubber or Play-Doh. You should be looking for flour bugs, commonly referred to as weevils, in addition to ruined flour.
Can you use flour past its best by date?
The product should be fine for a few months after the printed date, provided it is protected from moisture and does not show any signs of deterioration. There is no reason why you should worry about getting sick if you use expired flour most of the time.
Should I throw out expired flour?
In order to ensure the shelf life of white flour, it should be placed in an airtight container at room temperature for a minimum of one year. As far as eating spoiled flour goes, there isn’t much harm that can be caused, except that it is going to smell somewhat sour as it has gone bad.