What happened to all the Flour?

[Deleted member 147267]

Overall preparation time about the same as any other home bread making.

That doesn't sound anything like the process I read about. Are you sure we're talking about the same thing? From what I've read it's an on-going process that requires initial germination (if that's the correct term) and blending partially fermented batches with more ingredients until several days later, you actually have something you can work with - plus other partially processed batches that you may or may not have any use for.

 

[isladogs]

You need to obtain or make a sourdough starter that you then use for all future batches of bread.
The starter contains 'natural yeasts' e.g. from fermenting apples. Once it is active, it is stored in the fridge until needed.
The idea is you never use all of the starter.
The day before you want to make some bread, you 'feed' the starter with additional flour and water to double the volume then return to the fridge.
The next day use half the starter to make your dough and return the rest to the fridge.
This link has more info: https://www.hobbshousebakery.co.uk/blogs/recipes/tagged/sourdough

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Well I'm still not 100% sure, I would like to talk to the horses mouth

Someone we won't name on this forum suggested I was the other end of the horse. Will you take MY word for it?

 

[Deleted member 147267]

So as I suspected, the lack of flour in the supermarkets isn't due to hoarding/baking

Think about that for a sec. If so many people weren't baking, there'd be no need for the producers to do anything different in terms of normal production methods that supply either consumer chain. The root cause is the pandemic IMHO. The fact that producers and/or the supply chain can't manage specific market segment demands is secondary.

 

[isladogs]

Your 'excellent article' is largely restating points already made in this thread more than once.
There is no conspiracy which seems to be what you are suggesting.

The retail supply is in smaller bags which have been purchased at a greater rate in recent weeks.
Retail suppliers haven't been able to increase supply to meet the increased demand.
There is still plenty of flour around but it is in the larger bags as supplied to bakeries etc by different suppliers.
At some point production will be modified sufficiently to cope with the increased retail demand

 

[AccessBlaster]

There's never been any flour, so there's nobody buying flour because there isn't any, that's the point.

Lol @ uncle

 

[Deleted member 147267]

that's the point.

The point here is that there is no point here other than yours.
Ciao!

 

[Darrell]

Now with homebrew (beer or wine), I can definitely say that what I can make is nowhere near as good as anything I can buy. So I no longer bother

If these were from kits then that is understandable, they've come a long way but most kits are still terrible.

I make both (mostly beer now though) and whilst relatively easy to make something as good or better than commercial, you do need a bit of specialised equipment which can be rather painful on the wallet.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

I stopped trying to make homemade beer a long time ago. What I brewed up went in yellow and foamy, came out yellow and foamy, and I couldn't see I was doing anything with it. Got tired of being the middleman.

{Yeah, I know... old joke. But I'm an old guy. What did you expect?}

 

[Darrell]

...went in yellow and foamy, came out yellow and foamy...

Well at least your body got the pleasure of stripping it of alcohol in the meantime

 

[Minty]

Packaging it on-site, that's a great idea!

 

[kevlray]

Well around here (Central Valley, California). Flour and yeast are in short supply. Milk was for a while. Ice cream is available (hard to get a few weeks ago). Plenty of fruits and vegetables (at least in one of the stores I go to) available.

Of course there are still shortages of toilet paper, paper towels, sanitizer, and any PPE (Personal Protection Equipment).

 

[The_Doc_Man]

We were in a local supermarket chain called Rouse's - started in south Louisiana. We are starting to see hand sanitizer in abundance on the shelves but it looks like it was locally concocted. Still can't get Clorox sanitizing wipes, but got some nitrile gloves. Major brands of TP and paper towels are hard to find, but we found a less famous brand that is more or less acceptable.

 

[Gasman]

We were in a local supermarket chain called Rouse's - started in south Louisiana. We are starting to see hand sanitizer in abundance on the shelves but it looks like it was locally concocted. Still can't get Clorox sanitizing wipes, but got some nitrile gloves. Major brands of TP and paper towels are hard to find, but we found a less famous brand that is more or less acceptable.

I had to buy some major brand TP when I got home from the USA. Not well pleased, I can tell you.

 

[kevlray]

A local (40 miles away) brewery started making sanitizer last month and was giving it way at the time. Since all the bars were closed. It was a way to keep his employees working.

 

[Steve R.]

My wife and I have a new hobby. Every-time we return (individual trip) from the supermarket we review what was available and what was not available. Last week, she could not located corn bread (the mix). This week it was available. So I guess we are slowly being trained for how to live with rationing. <- supposedly that represents sarcasm.

 

[The_Doc_Man]

We always make a list beforehand and check / scratch out what we find. What we don't find goes into next week's list.

Right now we can't find any "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" margarine, our preferred brand.

 

[kevlray]

I remember photos of the USSR back before the wall fell and people waiting in line for scarce supplies.

 

[ColinEssex]

We always make a list beforehand and check / scratch out what we find. What we don't find goes into next week's list.

Right now we can't find any "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter" margarine, our preferred brand.

Scratch out?? Is there a shortage of pencils? I could send you some.

Our local Sainsburys has a shortage of fish food for my pond fish. Plenty of bog rolls though.

BTW, have I missed something? Where is Jesus fan Adam?

Col

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Col, thanks for the offer, but my wife insists on making her lists in ink. But there is some hope for her entering the the brave new world. She still uses paper for our grocery list but she has started using the "Notes" feature on her cell phone for some other things and will simply erase the entry when done there.