It’s been so long since I’ve had flour go bad that I can’t remember it, though I have racked my brain. I simply go through flour so fast, it’s hardly ever an issue.
But last night, I made some of my favorite sour-cream muffins, and after one bite, I knew the flour was off. Rancid flour is a great way to ruin a bowlful of otherwise wonderful ingredients.
Fortunately, it’s easy to tell if your flour is bad: Just smell it. You’ll know.
I think this may have something to do with the heat put off by my new oven…drastic temperature changes can’t be good for the flour that sits on the counter right next to it. I guess I will have to move things around a bit.
I will add, this recipe uses self-rising flour, which in fact, I use for hardly any other recipes. But I still go through 2-3 5-lb. bags a year, well within the storage guidelines recommended by baking911.com, a site I can’t believe I hadn’t found before. It’s for baking geeks. Yes, I already paid $24 for premium membership. [Hey, you go to the mall, I go to the kitchen. It's all good.]
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I keep all my flour in the fridge and baking powder in the freezer. Because I just don’t do a lot of baking. So I haven’t had any trouble with this. I also keep my nuts and chocolate chips in there, too.
All my sealed canisters are filled with loose-leaf teas, so I pretty much don’t have a choice but to keep the flour in the fridge!