I have been considering the same. I do have a large Tupperware container - for transporting a double layer of cupcakes. I was thinking of decanting a couple of kilos into a smaller bag and storing the bulk on top of the kitchen cabinets in the Tupperware.
I currently have a mouse that’s moved in recently so am being wary.
We have something like this but didn’t pay that much for it.
I keep some in big Kilner jars and more with other perishables in sealed cliplock boxes from Sainsbury. All nice and mouse proof.
I’ve lost cliplock boxes of flour to weevils before so any new flour does a couple days in the freezer before being admitted to the stock proper. A little obsessive I know!
Thanks for the advice and ideas. Sadly my freezer packed up just as coronavirus arrived and we replaced it with a fridge with ice box, as we’re planning to move house. I could get smaller bags in the ice box and can always decant the big size and freeze it in batches. I’ll give it a go. Does it damage finer flours, like the patisserie type? I guess the answer is not as much as a weevil infestation!
I’ve got most of my flour in glass storage jars with some in clip lock boxes - and I’ve been doing that with cereals too since we had mice a few years back. But none of the jars are big enough and the kitchen’s got very cluttered since I’ve been doing more baking under lockdown so I especially love the idea of the big dog food box.
the flour has always been fine after freezing - need to just make sure it is wrapped well/sealed in plastic bags or a container to stop any dampness getting in. Weevils seem very random, and to be honest infrequent. I’ve had them in flour bought direct from a windmill, and also occasionally seen them on supermarket shelves of flour, in which the whole stock is probably contaminated. Some people say just cook with it anyway. I am not one of those people…
I think every bag of McDougalls flour I’ve ever bought has had them. Maybe I’ve just been unlucky. But (touch wood) I’ve never had them in those tubs of Homepride that come with a sealed lid. Which was fine for plain and self raising when I could get out and about and only buying a range of flours occasionally. I’m always nervous of them now and inspect my flour for them every time I use one. I haven’t seen any since I’ve been doing this, but since I’ve been buying two bags at a time and would like to buy bigger bags I shall try the freezing. Ick ick ick at the thought of eating them!
Lots of discussion but a little while since we had a baking pic. Here we go, today’s white loaves, very happy with them.
Hello Neil
Please can you point me to your recipe? I’d love to bake sourdough, but I’m put off by the recipes which seem so much hassle!
Is your Dutch oven a Le Creuset casserole?
Sure! The recipe I followed for the bread is this one:-
As a beginner to sourdough, I find there is some faff from feeding the sourdough, but mostly it’s just waiting time, which I find much easier to handle while working from home!
Baking in the Dutch oven and taking the lid off for the second part of the cooking time really helped with getting a good rise and crust.
My Dutch oven is a GreenPan cast aluminium one - much lighter (and cheaper!) than a Le Creuset and non-stick too.
Agree with @neilw; the faff is when you are first getting your starter going when you do have to feed it regularly. Once it’s up and running, you can let it sleep in the fridge for a week or so between bakes. And although it does take time, Neil’s right in that it’s easier if you’re in the house anyway. Mine sits on the counter under a glass bowl and, after the first hour or so when you first mix and stretch, it’s basically wandering through every hour or so and giving it 20 seconds of attention. That tends to correlate with my WFH drink schedule (non-alcoholic 
) so is easy enough.
Any casserole pan with a lid will work; Le Creusets get called out because the cast iron holds the heat so well. I have a piece of granite that I stick in the oven and just slide my loaves onto.
One useful tip is to turn out your loaf onto a piece of baking parchment and use that to help lower it into the Dutch Oven or onto a baking stone - you don’t want to disturb the loaf too much.
I also find that misting the raw dough with water before it goes in, helps that balance of getting a good crust v giving time for it to expand.
Elements of this read like a Ray Bradbury story. “You don’t want to disturb the loaf too much.” Oh no …
A sourdough starter is not just for Christmas
Latecomer baker! But thanks to the amazing Bread Ahead tutorial videos, it’s going well…
Focaccia, ciabatta and some absolutely unbelievable amaretti biscuits. I am now 94% almond.
Where’s everyone getting their yeast? Preferably fresh but dry also fine!
Oh wow Fran! That all looks amazing!
I got yeast online from Wellocks At Home and Scandi Kitchen. But I can’t get out to the shops so I don’t know how available it is locally.
Looking good! Well done for getting the hang of it.
As I managed to pick up some more flour the other week and Sainsburys also seemed to have some on the shelf, I decided to start a new starter. My old one hasn’t been quite the same since I resurrected it. I’m baking with it for the first time today and my dough does seem to have more ooomph before I shaped it… we’ll see how well the final raise and bake goes.
And the answer is pretty well… I reckon my dough raised by 25% more than with the new one and the dough seemed to shape better too. I’ve got that lovely crackling noise as they cool down which I don’t think I’d managed since the resurrection of Sammy. Hmm… this one might have to be Sammy Junior… not sure I’d be comfortable with Son of Sam sharing the house!
Daughter of Sam?
We’ve been a little quiet in here but hoping this will raise some new inspiration.
After taking the oven door to bits so I could clean and reseal the glass, I was inspired to do a little time-lapse of my last sourdough loaf rising - now that I can see through the glass so much clearer! It’s probably the first 10 minutes of the bake condensed into 14 seconds.
