What to do with old white flour

[CarolynRenee]

I made some homemade hamburger buns last night with some old flour. Didn't even rise, so now I have hockey pucks.

I've got about 10 lbs. of it. I was thinking about making a "biscuit" or something & just letting them cook on the woodstove & giving them to the chickens because I hate to waste all that flour (not to mention having to crank up the electric stove to cook really bad biscuits).

Any other ideas?

[ladycat]

When I have ended up with old flour, I pour it in a bucket, then add water to make a paste or dough-like concoction. Then dump it in the chicken yard. The chickens like it.

[uyk7]

I was going to say bake it up and feed it to the birds. Maybe mix in some birdseed.

.

[coalroadcabin]

if you've got kids; make play dough. It's a great rainy day project.

[Common Tator]

When my bread won't rise, the problem is old yeast.

[watcher]

When my flour or meal goes belly up (usually because I left it out of the freezer and the bugs get it) I feed it to a critter. Mix it dry into horse or hog feed, mix water into it and feed that to the chickens or cook it into a bread, cover with pan drippins' and feed it to the dogs.

[Windy in Kansas]

Originally Posted by Common Tator

When my bread won't rise, the problem is old yeast.

That is my thought too. I'm not sure gluten would ever/could ever get to the point of not working.

Generally old flour will have a distinct odor to it letting you know it wouldn't be the best human food.

You can always simply put it into the compost pile to help feed micro-organisms.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

i second the old yeast or improper temps i used to kill the yeast with too hot of water
or my rising spot was too cold.
there is always flat bread , pancakes , quick breads , thickening gravies, dumplings , noodles , speisel , or making bread for the sake of bread crumbs , it doesn't need to rise

[MELOC]

i use old or leftover flour to make dough for birds. i mix it with pan drippings or shortening and add a little birdseed. i stick it on a piece of hardware cloth/screen and hang it in a bush. the last time i used peanut butter instead of grease as i have a few jars of outdated peanut butter.

[Yvonne's hubby]

I have to go along with the yeast being the culprit, flour isnt what makes the dough rise, its the yeast. Try this, bake up some regular ol biscuits, with bakin powder, if it still tasts bad you have instant puppy treats or chicken feed.

[frontiergal]

Play hockey ;-)

[stormwalker]

Originally Posted by coalroadcabin

if you've got kids; make play dough. It's a great rainy day project.

I think the play-dough idea is great!
I agree with the others about dead yeast being the problem with the rise, but if you think the flour is too old for humans- I think it's too old to feed to other creatures!
A saying with a little age on it now is ,GIGO!
Garbage in-Garbage out! My reference is based in the computer world, but I think it's quite meaningful through many areas of life.
Feeding animals material you do not think is wholesome for humans is not going to pay a good dividend when you consume some portion of the beast- egg, meat ,etc.!

[soulsurvivor]

Observing animals groom themselves sorta gives an entirely new perspective to garbage in - garbage out.

[pheasantplucker]

Viagra or Levitra?

[Pouncer]

OK so I just have to ask....how old is too old?

If you don't have a bug issue, I would think flour would be relatively stable for years if kept cool and dry?

[Cindy in NY]

I vote for the yeast also. Either old or your water was too hot or too cold. The only thing that should bother flour is bugs.

[ladycat]

Originally Posted by Pouncer

OK so I just have to ask....how old is too old?

If you don't have a bug issue, I would think flour would be relatively stable for years if kept cool and dry?

After a few years, it gets an "off" taste. It gets to the point it's unusable because it starts tasting so horrible.

[Pouncer]

ladycat, I am trying to figure out how this happens....it's never happened for me, and I have had bags of flour for at least five years before. Now, I bake breads fairly regular and I always have several hundred pounds on hand that I rotate through. But I will say that I have fairly stable temperatures, and I don't have a bug problem since most of the flour that arrives in state has been frozen in route. It will "pill" a bit and need to be sifted, but I have noticed no issues with taste or performance.

I am planning on putting it all into plastic food storage buckets so it won't absorb any excess moisture from the air, though. I wonder if that is what happens over time? It takes up a bit of moisture and odors and whatnot, like baking soda will do?

[MariaAZ]

Originally Posted by Pouncer

OK so I just have to ask....how old is too old?

I bought several 5 lb bags of white flour on sale a month or so ago. Glad this thread came along, because I forgot to wrap them up and put them in the freezer.

The bags are stamped with a "use by" date some time in 2010.

[CarolynRenee]

The flour I was talking about is Bread Flour, and I'm guessing it's over 5 years old, kept in gallon-sized zippy bags. I'm pretty sure it's not the yeast, as I used it before and after the hockey-puck incident. I'm leaning towards not letting it rise in a warm enough spot....it's been a bit on the cooler side & even though I put it by the woodstove, I'm sure that there is quite a draft near it.

Regardless, I'm glad I asked because think of all the new ideas I have now for what to do with "bad" flour!