# King Arthur arrived today! Storage questions



## pacanis (Dec 8, 2007)

Finally, my order from KA arrived today.  I've been looking at my new bread machine from Amazon since the beginning of the week, both ordered at the same time. What a ridiculous way they must process orders.

I hope to give the machine its maiden voyage later today and hopefully be eating fresh bread later 

Anyway, I ordered some flour, instant yeast, dried milk..... along with some other stuff.  I am wondering what the best way to "keep" these items is. I don't imagine I'm going to go through it as fast as some on here and don't know if these items last indefinitely, should be refrigerated (hope not, no room) frozen, just put in a ziploc bag and put in the cupboard.....

Any suggestions and advice would be appreciated.


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## Katie H (Dec 8, 2007)

I store my yeast in the freezer, pacanis.  I put it in a glass jar with a tight-fitting lid.  I wouldn't depend on a ziploc bag to keep it.  Too much risk of the bag getting a puncture or not sealing completely.

I always have about 15 to 20 pounds of flour on hand and keep it in a huge Tupperware canister.  Dry milk is stored in Tupperware, too.  Those are stored at room temp.

Oh, boy, now you're going to have fun!!!!


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## Uncle Bob (Dec 8, 2007)

It kinda depends on the volume you have on hand, and how fast you will use it. I keep flour & meal in cannisters with tight fitting lids on the counter in a semi dark area. Masa Harina, which I use less frequently I store in it's original bag, and double bag with freezer bags.


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## pacanis (Dec 8, 2007)

Cool  Thanks!  I'm glad all that stuff didn't need to be put in a the fridge or freezer.  Looks like I'll have to make a stop at Wally World today for some tupperware type containers.  I'm really looking forward to getting going on making some bread later today.


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## pacanis (Dec 8, 2007)

Thanks UB. I did pick up some Masa Harina at the store the other day, too. Caseca or something it's called? I might as well get a container for that, too and put it in the freezer.  Maybe I'll pick up the fixins for chili when I'm out today.  That's one more thing I'm looking forward to trying out.


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## Chief Longwind Of The North (Dec 8, 2007)

To add to what katie said, nuts and seeds have oils in them that can and will go rancid over time.  These shuld be kept in an air-tight container in a cool place.  It's best to keep them in the freezer of refridgerator if you have room.  They do have a good shelf life if kept in a cool-dark place, such as a pantry.

Freezer bags, and other locking, sealing plastic bags are good only for short term storage.  You can increase the storage time for most items (such as meats and veggies, by removing all air from the bags before sealing.  But contrary to popular belief, not even this is foolproof.  No matter how good the seal, plastic is not airtight.  Think of a balloon.  When you blow it up, and then tie the knot in the stem, it appears to hold the air in, thus inflating the balloon by expanding the rubber.  Over time, the balloon deflates.  This is not because of leakage through the knot.  It is because the gas molecules in the air are small enough to squeeze between the rubber molecules and out into the atmosphere.  The greater air-pressure inside the ballon causes this migration of gas molecules from out to in.  It is the same for plastic containers.  They are not truly airtight.  It's just that the migration is so slow that it appears that the plastic is airtight.  

When the air is sucked out of the bag, it creates a vacuum.  The outside air pressure is much greater and the bag is pushed by that bressure against the food.  Over time, air molecules (nitrogen, oxygen, helium, and other trace gases) infiltratie the bag, corrupting that vacuum.  This allows them to react once more with the food.

But, if you take that same, evacuated bag, and place it into a second, larger bag, and fill that second bag with plain water before sealing it, and then freezing it, no air can get through the ice to corrupt the first sealed bag.  This is a great method for long term storage.

I knwo this isn't exactly what is asked, but is offered as a helpful bit of knowledge.

As for flour, whole grain flour has more natural oil in it than does processed white, or unbleached flour.  It should be stored in a large glass container with a tight-fitting lid.  Unlike plastic, air molecules can't get through the glass.  White and unbleached processed flour will last a long time in a good tupperware container.  That's how I store mine.  My whole grain flour's are in gallon glass jars.

Yeast is a living organizm and will die if not fed.  Yeast becomes dormant when refrigerated or frozen and don't need to feed.  yeast spores have been found in space, and in the upper atmasphere, in a dormant, but living state.  Yeast needs to be stored in an sealed container and refregerated.

Herbs and spices contain volatile oils that will evaporate at room temperature, and that can be destroyed if exposed to light.  These need to be stored in a sealed container, in a cool-dark place.  

Hope this sheds some light on storage.

Seeeeeeya


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## pacanis (Dec 8, 2007)

Goodweed of the North said:


> Hope this sheds some light on storage.
> 
> Seeeeeeya


 
Ooooh, just a little 
Thanks a lot. And I had no idea about the grains or nuts and oils.  Now I do


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## Michael in FtW (Dec 8, 2007)

Yeast - if it's the fresh cubes, they get used within a week or two, for active dry or instant ... if I'm not going to use it within a month or two - it goes in the freezer (but take the amount you need out of the freezer about 2-hours before you intend to use it to let it come up to room temp - or it won't work right - it has to warm up before it wakes up). If it's in a packet or jar - they just go in the freezer - if it's in a large bulk container, it goes into a freezer zip bag.

Powdered milk - I only use fat-free - I just store it in a zip bag on the shelf ... it's good for about a year.

Flour - I usually buy in 5-lb bags, and keep 2-3 on the shelf that I use on a FIFO rotation (First In First Out) ... flour actually improves with age up to a point ... but never more than I will use within a year. If you have a problem with bugs - put the unopened bag into a gallon zip bag. When I open a bag - I pour it into a square, clear, polycarbonate food container (cannister) I picked up at a restaurant supply. The 8-qt holds a 5-lb of flour, the 18-qt holds a 10-lb bag ... the 4-qt will hold a 4-lb bag of sugar. I prefer the square to round because they hold about 1/3 more than an equal size round container - and I didn't have any space to waste. 

I've been doing things this way for about 10 years and have never had any problems.


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## Dave Hutchins (Dec 9, 2007)

I keep my dry yeast in the freezer and my flour in a very large glass jar I bought at Wally world on the counter. all of my spices@herbs are in glass with tight fitting lids in the dark closet. Hope this helps just a little


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## pacanis (Dec 9, 2007)

Thanks for the tip on bringing the yeast up to room temp, Michael.  And the lb to qt conversion for storage containers.  I was wondering about that.

Thanks again for all the tips everyone.


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## jet (Dec 9, 2007)

I store my open flours (white & wheat) in plastic containers, and a spare 5lb bag of white flour in the cupboard.  The dry milk I store in the original box, also in the cupboard.  My yeast I keep in the refrigerator.  I make bread weekly using the delay on my bread machine, so the yeast is able to achieve room temperature before the machine starts.


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