4 ms·

I don't get this. Don't resturaunts use flour and make bread? Why are stores resistant to selling the industrial size bags?

by wbl 7y ago

Exmoor 7y ago
I have heard anecdotally that some grocery stores are starting to carry 25lb bags. Another grocery store apparently started having their bakery rebag flour into smaller bags and sell it. I made the mistake of buying a 25lb bag of flour a couple years ago. It's a complete pain to store, even as someone with a relatively large american suburban house.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
DoreenMichele 7y ago
It's a way to pass the time during quarantine. It isn't about baking as much bread as you would normally eat if you were eating at a restaurant. It's about having something to do other than go stir crazy from being confined to home while scared about what's going on.
- tonyedgecombe 7y ago
  It's quite useful for us, traditionally we would have done a small shop to top up with bread between normal trips. Now I make a loaf of bread to avoid that journey.
robjan 7y ago
Restaurants in the UK (which the article is about) are currently closed, since it's on lockdown. People want flour at home to make cakes and sourdough bread.
- pfundstein 7y ago
  At risk of stating the obvious, but the advantage of making sourdough bread specifically is that you don't need to buy yeast (which is also in short supply), just flour, water, and salt.
  - remmargorp64 7y ago
    Don't forget the other three essential ingredients... The three T's: Time, Temperature, and Technique
- toohotatopic 7y ago
  To state the other obvious point: GP is arguing that since restaurants don't need the flour that they are usually serving, why isn't shifting delivery enough to fulfill demand? Why do mills have to work overtime? Where have people got their calories before?
  - matheweis 7y ago
    It says in the article, they have the flour, it’s a problem of packing. Restaurants were buying large bags, people want small bags. The mills don’t have enough small bags and/or people to fill them. > Alex Waugh, director general of Nabim, says the issue isn't being able to mill enough flour - but the lack of capacity to pack it into small bags for retailers.
pfundstein 7y ago
Lack of demand, shelf space is expensive. When was the last time you think most consumers tried to buy anything more than 1kg of flour? To buy in bulk wholesale restaurants and bakeries don't go to the local supermarket, they go straight to the source, or through a wholesale grocer or supplier.
dehrmann 7y ago
My guess is that the sizes are wrong. Bakeries want 50-pound bags, consumers, even pandemic-panicked consumers, want 5 or 10-pound bags. > Only around 4% of UK flour is sold through shops and supermarkets > existing packing lines can't easily be adapted to produce smaller retail bags.
vanniv 7y ago
Many of my local restaurants are buying extra 50lb flour sacks and making 2lb ziplock bags of flour go customers to buy. They are having no problem getting their delivery each day, and they barely have half the custom, so they have plenty to spare. The thing about 50lb sacks is that you can't store the flour in the sack after you open it -- and very few homeowners have enough sealed containers to put 50lbs of flour in, nor the cabinet space to put them in. My local store does stock 50lb sacks, in addition to the 2, 5, and 10lb home-sized bags. The small sacks are always sold out, unless you get there before opening (I asked), bit the 50lb sacks last most of the day each day. I managed to snag the very last 10lb yesterday morning, so I can finally bake again.
- Turing_Machine 7y ago
  > The thing about 50lb sacks is that you can't store the flour in the sack after you open it You could make it into ship's biscuit. It'll keep for years, and you can always use it in soup or something. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyjcJUGuFVg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyjcJUGuFVg
  - remmargorp64 7y ago
    Just brainstorming here... What would happen if you double-bagged the 50 lb bag of flour in some big Hefty garbage bags and tied them really tight? I wonder why that wouldn't work for keeping the flour fresh for at least a couple months?
    - vanniv 7y ago
      The big issue here is that garbage bags do not have to be food-safe. They could be made with materials that would leach harmful compounds into the food, or packaged in unsanitary conditions.
      - remmargorp64 7y ago
        Well yeah, but I'm still keeping the flour in the paper flour sack (with it rolled up tightly), so the plastic bag encompassing it doesn't actually come in contact with any of the flour. It's just there to keep air, moisture, and bugs out.

I don't get this. Don't resturaunts use flour and make bread? Why are stores resistant to selling the industrial size bags?

by wbl 7y ago

I don't get this. Don't resturaunts use flour and make bread? Why are stores resistant to selling the industrial size bags?

Exmoor 7y ago

I have heard anecdotally that some grocery stores are starting to carry 25lb bags. Another grocery store apparently started having their bakery rebag flour into smaller bags and sell it. I made the mistake of buying a 25lb bag of flour a couple years ago. It's a complete pain to store, even as someone with a relatively large american suburban house.

deleted 7y ago

[deleted]

DoreenMichele 7y ago

It's a way to pass the time during quarantine. It isn't about baking as much bread as you would normally eat if you were eating at a restaurant. It's about having something to do other than go stir crazy from being confined to home while scared about what's going on.

tonyedgecombe 7y ago
It's quite useful for us, traditionally we would have done a small shop to top up with bread between normal trips. Now I make a loaf of bread to avoid that journey.

robjan 7y ago

Restaurants in the UK (which the article is about) are currently closed, since it's on lockdown. People want flour at home to make cakes and sourdough bread.

pfundstein 7y ago
At risk of stating the obvious, but the advantage of making sourdough bread specifically is that you don't need to buy yeast (which is also in short supply), just flour, water, and salt.
- remmargorp64 7y ago
  Don't forget the other three essential ingredients... The three T's: Time, Temperature, and Technique
toohotatopic 7y ago
To state the other obvious point: GP is arguing that since restaurants don't need the flour that they are usually serving, why isn't shifting delivery enough to fulfill demand? Why do mills have to work overtime? Where have people got their calories before?
- matheweis 7y ago
  It says in the article, they have the flour, it’s a problem of packing. Restaurants were buying large bags, people want small bags. The mills don’t have enough small bags and/or people to fill them. > Alex Waugh, director general of Nabim, says the issue isn't being able to mill enough flour - but the lack of capacity to pack it into small bags for retailers.

pfundstein 7y ago

Lack of demand, shelf space is expensive. When was the last time you think most consumers tried to buy anything more than 1kg of flour? To buy in bulk wholesale restaurants and bakeries don't go to the local supermarket, they go straight to the source, or through a wholesale grocer or supplier.

dehrmann 7y ago

My guess is that the sizes are wrong. Bakeries want 50-pound bags, consumers, even pandemic-panicked consumers, want 5 or 10-pound bags. > Only around 4% of UK flour is sold through shops and supermarkets > existing packing lines can't easily be adapted to produce smaller retail bags.

vanniv 7y ago

Many of my local restaurants are buying extra 50lb flour sacks and making 2lb ziplock bags of flour go customers to buy. They are having no problem getting their delivery each day, and they barely have half the custom, so they have plenty to spare. The thing about 50lb sacks is that you can't store the flour in the sack after you open it -- and very few homeowners have enough sealed containers to put 50lbs of flour in, nor the cabinet space to put them in. My local store does stock 50lb sacks, in addition to the 2, 5, and 10lb home-sized bags. The small sacks are always sold out, unless you get there before opening (I asked), bit the 50lb sacks last most of the day each day. I managed to snag the very last 10lb yesterday morning, so I can finally bake again.

Turing_Machine 7y ago
> The thing about 50lb sacks is that you can't store the flour in the sack after you open it You could make it into ship's biscuit. It'll keep for years, and you can always use it in soup or something. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyjcJUGuFVg https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FyjcJUGuFVg
- remmargorp64 7y ago
  Just brainstorming here... What would happen if you double-bagged the 50 lb bag of flour in some big Hefty garbage bags and tied them really tight? I wonder why that wouldn't work for keeping the flour fresh for at least a couple months?
  - vanniv 7y ago
    The big issue here is that garbage bags do not have to be food-safe. They could be made with materials that would leach harmful compounds into the food, or packaged in unsanitary conditions.
    - remmargorp64 7y ago
      Well yeah, but I'm still keeping the flour in the paper flour sack (with it rolled up tightly), so the plastic bag encompassing it doesn't actually come in contact with any of the flour. It's just there to keep air, moisture, and bugs out.