Flour for our long-term emergency stockpile?
“Do I really need flour?”
“Which kind of flour do I need to get?”
“I don’t know how to use flour in an emergency situation.”
There are many ways to use flour: bread, pasta, noodles, cookies, crackers, cakes, cereals, etc. But do you expect you’ll be able to bake any of these examples in an emergency? I do not. I do not consider myself a great cook, and I don’t think I will be baking bread in the middle of an emergency situation. But if we find ourselves in a prolonged, long-term emergency, we might miss eating bread. That’s why flour is on my long-term food list. I know it is hard to bake bread without an oven (it’s hard enough with an oven!), but when people really want to eat it, they can make a temporary oven using rocks and fire. People can do it when they get serious.
We can use the hand grain mill for corn, rice, soybean and coffee. Flour doesn’t have to be made from wheat. A hand grain mill will open up more options in an emergency.
Remember, pasta and noodles are made from flour. We don’t need to keep flour to make them. We can just buy the pasta and noodles for long-term storage. Rice can become rice flour, corn can become corn flour, and both of them can be made into bread. But flour can not be made into rice or corn. Can flour be used as a substitute for other ingredients? I can’t think of any. So, rice is more important for me. If you are like me, you will not make a big space for flour. And if I really need flour, I will go find someone who has it and barter with them, in exchange for my other food.
Nevertheless, we need to know which flour we should get for our long-term stockpile. The best way for long term storage is to get unmilled grain (wheat berries) and then mill it yourself. It is said that you can keep unmilled grain more than 25 years, if you store it correctly. And homemade flour is healthier than commercial flours. Much of the commercial flour you find at the grocery store contains additives. Furthermore, you might need a grain mill which doesn’t need electricity (Wonder Mill). We can use the hand grain mill for corn, rice, soybean and coffee. Flour doesn’t have to be made from wheat. A hand grain mill will open up more options in an emergency.
I am not much of a baker. (Did I mention I’m not a good cook?) I don’t think I will be baking bread in an emergency. I buy normal wheat flour and put it in mylar bags with oxygen absorbers. And then I put them into a strong container to protect against animals and bugs. If we keep the flour more than 5 years, the bread will not rise well, so, we should periodically use it and replace it with fresh flour. Also, the reason I don’t buy whole wheat flour is because it has a high-fat content, which gives it a much shorter shelf-life than white flour. Left in our long-term stockpile, the oils in whole wheat flour can become rancid in less than three months. Furthermore, whole wheat flours have not been refined or processed. Whole wheat flours contain the grain’s bran and germ, which are rich in fiber, nutrients, and oils. And it’s precisely these extra fibers, nutrients, and oils that spoil whole wheat faster than refined white flour. Good for day-to-day healthy eating, perhaps, but not so good for long-term storage.
Things to Remember
- Keep your flour in a cool, dry place, no high humidity and no direct sunlight.
- Please do not forget that before eating long-term stockpile foods, absolutely check the food’s appearance and smell. Trust your five senses. Eat them at your own risk.
This is my plan for using flour in an emergency situation.
Suiton (Easy way)
Japanese wheat dumpling soup. Suiton is widely eaten in Japan. During WW2, the dumplings became an alternative food to rice because of shortages of food overall.
1.Make the dough for the dumplings. Put flour in a bowl, add water, and mix well until it’s a smooth consistency, like slime.
2.Boil water. (If you have dashi stock, or any kind of meat or root vegetables, you can add them. Your soup will taste better.)
3.Cook over medium heat until the vegetables are tender. Then you need to add soy sauce, or miso, or maybe salt.
4.Drop spoonfuls of dumpling batter into the soup and cook 5 more minutes.
5.Enjoy!! (Try these dumplings in your favorite soup!)
Between Tortillas and Crepe? (easy way)
1.Make the dough. Put flour in a bowl, add water, and mix well until it’s a smooth consistency
2.Drop dough batter into the pan and make flat.
3.Cook the tortillas? over low heat until lightly browned each side.
4.Enjoy!! (Try chocolate spread in a warm tortilla and wrap it. It feels like eating a crepe.)
Suiton and tortillas need to be mixed with water. The processes for both are very similar, but one is boiled, the other grilled. In emergency situations, we have to cook with limited food and tools. I think these are two good ways to go if you have flour.
Here is video showing authentic damper (bread) being made in the bush.
See you next time.