OK to use Strong flour 4 months out of date ?

[dottiedodah]

Right ,so not a lot (some ) bread in Sainsburys .Got what I needed ,just thought if we have to be locked down could do some baking .Found a bag of bread flour Nov 19 use by .Is it still safe do you think? Also will it still be good to use as in a good finish to the bread .Many thanks for any replies here!

It will be safe but may not be as high quality

No weevils ? Use it

It will be fine for a while yet, I'd happily use it.

Pour it through a sieve. If there are no weevils left in the sieve then bake away.

I think the flour itself will tell you if it's edible or not. If the pack was sealed I'd say is probably ok. Open the pack and observe it in good light.

I think, not a scientist though, that the something or rather that make the bread rise (is it the proteins?) are less effective the older flour gets so I'd give it a little extra sugar to feed the yeast and give a good rise or use for flat/ thin pizzas where a puffy texture is not desirable.

I did similar recently... didn't realise the flour was full of weevils until my pizza had cooked! 😫😫 has to bin it all! Check first! 😂

Hi everyone Thanks for your replies .Pack is sealed in a dry cupboard .I think I will pour through a sieve and see whether anything comes out! Thanks for the sugar tip will defo go with that.

I keep my opened flour in airtight plastic bags, then in storage boxes, and in the fridge, it lasts much longer.

It should be fine after 4 months but check as the pps have said. I have often used flour that is older than that with no problems.

completely fine. I do it regularly.

Weevils are tiny. Sprinkle a little bit on a dark surface. If it starts to move about, then bin it!

Weevils is the main problem with out of date flour.

They normally sit at the top of the flour (I have experience with out of date flour!)

Yes, I make bread fairly infrequently, so I nearly always use flour that’s years over its date. If it’s been stored dry and sealed it’s fine. If it seems a little musty, you can disguise the flavour with some nice caraway, fennel or dill seed in the mix.

The caraway and fennel masks the weevil too

I think even if there are bugs in it you can just sift them out. These are desperate times!

I used some dated 2016

Yes I would use it. I've not seen any weevils in my baking products since about 2009

Which is odd as I do sometimes buy specialty flour with good intentions and then it sits there!