Where has all the four gone?

[Poppyfr33]

Did my regular shopping on Thursday in Lidl, no plain flour. Just been to my local co-op, no plain or self raising flour, is it being stockpiled?

People think they're going to make bread with it when the apocalypse arrives 🙄 It'll most likely end up in the bin.

It seems to keep for ages. It was only by chance I discovered earlier this year the flour I (rarely) use had an expiry date of 2017.

Everyone's a baker now because of the coronavirus! DS needs strong white flour for food tech next week. There is none! We have plain and self raising in the cupboard but not what he needs!

I make 3 batches of bread a week and usually a pizza and I’m down to my last packet. This is causing me more angst than loo roll.

Don't keep flour for years, the mite eggs will hatch eventually and infest all the books and crannies in your kitchen, and get into everything

@BlessedBeTheFruitCake if you can’t get any send him in with plAin. It won’t be as nice but will kind of work and at least he’ll know the technique, if you live near me SW I’ll let you have some. School also often have spare.

Was 2 packs per person in aldi this morning unfortunately the till operator was bullied into giving in. Couple in front of me bought 24 large bags. It was all falling out of their trolley.

Meanwhile everyone else bought their normal weekly shop.

There is a Sainsbury’s recipe for normal plain flour bread - not trued it yet (might do though, the kids love dough balls at the moment! )

I use flour regularly, for bread, pizza and cakes. Went to get my normal shop and couldn't get any! The thought of the cake tin being empty is more petrifying than the virus !!

I've made plain bread flour by accident and I've used chapatti flour. It did rise and was ok.

joystir59 I replaced mine when I noticed the date. I couldn't see any signs of life in it, though, fortunately!

Probably the back of people's cupboards.

I had to hunt for my regular stock, this week.

#weevilcentral. Keep it in the freezer.

Personally I'd be more worried at not having sugary things in the house. All of us having a sugar detox would make us very crabby .

But I always keep a lot of flour in the house, I like baking and it has a fast turnaround.

Strong white for pizza dough, self raising for cakes, plain for chapattis, Yorkshire's, pancakes etc.

Just gone to my local farm, plenty of local flour, eggs, they gave the fill your own container pasta, rice all completely full.

I went to buy some plain flour today (for the first time in years!) as I planned to bake a cake this Sun to surprise my new man with. And prove to him that I can actually bake/cook (okay, that's the real reason )

No flour to be seen anywhere. Or sugar. Or porridge oats. Or spices. The world has gone completely mad.

So I won't be surprising the new man. I'm very grumpy about it as I bought a cake tin specially. Never thought I should check first that shops have flour in stock!

Pasta flour all gone too. I do have all the gubbins for making pasta when I can be bothered. People wont be making it and will just throw the unopened packets out in a few months. Selfish bastards.

I actually do make all my own bread and have been caught out by this only got half a pack so God knows what I'm going to do apart from go to the bakery every day as don't think my kids will eat bread out of a packet now

I buy 2 bags of breadflour a week as dd and dh both bake bread daily pretty much (pizza bases, sourdough, naan, pittas etc).
I’m another one who is more worried about not getting this than loo roll 😂

Some people are such selfish fuckers I was in Home Bargains yesterday and they had toilet roll,s in stock people were walking around with trolleys full of them

I bought plain flour and bread flour yesterday in Lidl. It is something I regularly buy and use but I do expect to use more if/when we go to full lockdown

You couldn't buy any of the longer life bread products like pitta or tortilla though.

I always buy flour as I use it for a few things. In my local supermarket there was no flour but loads of sugar eggs milk yeast etc - I do wonder if all the people panic buying the flour actually know what to do with it - it’s not actually terribly useful if you don’t know how to make bread or cakes, or if you don’t also buy the other ingredients!

Unless they plan to use the apocalypse as an excuse to finally start practising for their GBBO audition of course.

It also amused me how all the tomato products were gone but nothing else - what are these people planning to eat? And all the kidney beans were gone but there were tonnes of baked beans - I think BB are more versatile than plain random beans.

If you’re going to panic buy it’s only really useful to get more of stuff you use anyway rather than things you have to learn to cook with in a pinch.

Flour doesn't keep for years,it usually only has a few months on it. If you keep it way beyond its BB date,it may have weevils in it.
Regarding what people are going to make with all this stuff they're panic buying,I'd say that pasta and toilet roll bake seems pretty likely.

Thanks @billybagpuss Managed to get some for ds to use at school next week. There was a woman grabbing six so it won't have lasted long!
I'll get him to take the whole bag in to give to classmates if they're without.

Essential shopping