The price of flour is rising

18 years ago

This was a news item from Wegman's email today

Bread Is Rising

Mary Ellen Burris 1/24/2008

ItÂs usually yeast that causes bread to rise, but lately, leavening in bread is the least of our worries. The cost of flour is still going up and up! Our bakery experts tell me they have had to put through another round of bakery price increases. This time our popular "Giant-sized" variety sliced sandwich bread is going up 20 cents. Other packaged breads are up 10 to 30 cents. In-store baked breads are up 10 to 50 cents; sheet cakes are affected, too.

IÂve written before about the reasons. A recent article in Fortune magazine described the flour market as "a perfect storm." Poor wheat harvests domestically and abroad reduced the supply; drought, floods and low carry-over stocks from previous harvests sent prices soaring. Additionally, farmers were shifting their wheat fields to corn to net better prices, thanks to government subsidy for corn-derived ethanol for fuel. On the demand supply, the exploding economies of China and India lead to more grain consumption (as people have more money, they eat more meat, which takes more grain to produce). And the weak U.S. dollar makes our farm exports more attractive in the global market. Increased fuel prices mean more costly shipping of wheat and flour.

Current prices are the highest we have ever paid in our own bakeshop. Other bakeries and other products are similarly affected, so prices everywhere are going up. Example: National brand packaged products such as bags of flour, cake mixes, etc. One national brand flour supplier has given us multiple cost increases totaling 37%.

ItÂs not a pretty picture, and we know your gas bills, tax bills, and holiday bills are all due, too. We remain committed to being priced competitively, so you wonÂt have to pay more to shop with us!

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Comments (11)

grainlady_ks
18 years ago
This is where milling your own flour from whole grains really pays..... As well as having hundreds of pounds of wheat in storage that were either cheap or free. -Grainlady
donnar57
18 years ago
I noticed this past holiday season, that Gold Medal flour didn't hit its usual low of .79 for a 5-lb bag. I think the lowest it got was .99 here, but it didn't stay that way for long.

The cheap brands here were $1.79 a bag yesterday for both all-purpose flour and bread flour. I think Gold Medal and some of the other brands were higher that that, but I needed bread flour.

I just bought a small amount of Vital Wheat Gluten Flour at Henry's (like a Sprout's, for some of you), for $2.49/lb.

DonnaR/CA
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This reminds me of a game I played years and years ago at a Tupperware party. The hostess passed around 8 little tubes of white powdered stuff with only numbers on it. You had to write down what foodstuff you thought it was - flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, powdered milk, etc. etc. Surprisingly enough, I won with 6 correct - I'd mixed up baking soda and baking powder. It stressed the importance of LABELS. If you put something in a container, label it. I'm still not very good at remembering to label something myself ... ask me about having chili over spaghetti noodles one time because I didn't label a red sauce as chili in the freezer! But I learned something from this. I didn't know how you could tell the difference between the two kinds of flours. Thanks, Linda and Ann! DonnaR/CA
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Thanks, Grainlady. Actually, I went ahead and experimented by sort of combining the above recipe and a recipe I found on line for spelt bread. I used a combination of King Arthur whole wheat flour and the white spelt flour, about half and half, partly because I had already made the biga with the whole wheat flour. Then, I used the following recipe, adjusting the spelt flour amounts and water amounts to try and have the correct total for each ingredient. I used the technique for making ciabatta, where I let it sit, turned the dough, let it sit, turned the dough, until I was ready to bake the bread. It ended up making 2 loaves, which I baked in loaf pans, instead of ciabatta style. Surprisingly, it turned out surprisingly well, considering at the last, I tried to make one loaf out of it, and when I saw the dough spilling out of the pan I realized I had to deflate it yet once again and put it into two loaf pans. Here's the other recipe I used. I used dark honey instead of brown sugar. It's from Versagrain.com. Spelt Flour Recipes Sweet and Hearty Spelt Bread Recipe To cook this Spelt bread recipe you will need a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan and patience. Unlike white bread this recipe for Spelt bread will take twice as long to leaven. From start to finish, it will take 2 - 3 hours. Ingredients (Makes 1 Loaf) 1 1/2 cups warm water (just barely hot to the touch) 1 package active dry yeast (1/4 ounce) 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 1 tablespoon whole flaxseed (optional) 2 1/2 cups whole spelt flour 1 1/2 tablespoons butter, melted 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar 1/2 tablespoon salt 1 3/4 cups whole spelt flour 1 tablespoon butter, melted Directions In a large bowl, mix warm water, yeast, 2 1/2 tablespoons brown sugar, and 1 tablespoon of flaxseed (optional). Mix in 2 1/2 cups of spelt flour. Let set for 30 minutes, or until big and bubbly. Mix in 1 1/2 tablespoons melted butter, 2 1/2 tablespoons of brown sugar, and salt. Stir in 1 3/4 cups of spelt flour. Flour a flat surface and knead with spelt flour until it pulls away from the counter but is still sticky to touch. This may take an additional 1 to 2 cups of spelt flour. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to coat the surface of the dough. Cover with a dishtowel. Let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 30 minutes). Punch down and place in greased 9 x 5 inch loaf pan. Allow to rise until dough has topped the pan by one inch. Depending on your yeast this will take between 1 - 2 hours. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 30 minutes; do not over bake. Lightly brush the tops of loaves with 1 tablespoon of melted butter when done to prevent crust from getting hard. Cool completely. TIP: Place a loaf pan of the same size over the top of the loaf while baking to create a better crust. Substitutions and Additions Honey can be substituted for the brown sugar in this whole spelt bread recipe. Substitute white spelt flour, hard white wheat flour, or bread flour for the 2 1/2 cups of whole spelt flour to create an even lighter and fluffier loaf of whole grain bread. To give this recipe a crunch, consider adding walnuts. In this whole grain bread recipe we included the option for flaxseed because here at versagrain.com we are big proponents of incorporating flaxseed into your diet. Its high protein, fiber, and omega 3 fatty acids makes flaxseed a nutritional powerhouse your body can use to fight depression, cancer, and heart disease.
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Thank you Zalco. chisue, NW Oklahoma has been in drought for about 2.5 years. The panhandle is starting to resemble the Dust bowl days. Huge cracks in the ground, dust piling up against fence rows and roads. It's frightening! Kansas is experiencing the same. My SIL is the 4th generation of family farmers. They decide what they plant. I haven't clue how they come to this decision. He & DD recently bought out his Dad on the family farm. Now it's all on his shoulders. What is disturbing is that anytime land goes up for sale in that area -- usually by auction, the amount it sells for is unrealistically high and not purchased by locals. My kids have been able to purchase more land, but it's through private sales, the owners sell out because their kids don't want to farm. and because the owners don't want the conglomerates buying it. Farming ain't for the faint of heart, nor for sissies. Harvest is next month. The state has gotten a lot of rain the last 2 weeks. Their area hasn't gotten quite as much. Any wheat that survives will be stunted and not the best grade. While many of the fields are a total loss, there are a couple that may have some yield. SIL purchases crop insurance. It'll pay out -- at least enough to where they break even. There are some farmers that don't buy insurance, and they'll loose out completely. Probably more info than you wanted... LOL My kids live in the red area at the top of the state.
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User
18 years ago
All-purpose flour (5#)at Marc's is 2/$3 ... rye, whole wheat is averaging between $2.99 and $3.99 for 5 pounds, still baking my own bread is cheaper than buying a loaf.

The other day they said wheat was at $10 a bushel.
donnar57
18 years ago
I wrote that $1.79 on January 27th. In the store today, looking for regular flour and bread flour -

Grocery store brand has gone up to $2.69/5 lb bag.

Gold Medal brand was $2.89/5 lb bag. This was at my regular store. Regular all-purpose Gold Medal was on special at Vons (Safeway) for 4/$5 ($1.25/5 lbs) but they did NOT have any Better for Bread at that price.

WalMart's price was $2.49/5 lb bag of Gold Medal. Yipes.

DonnaR/CA
lindac
18 years ago
And so is the price of corn and beans and salad crops and beef and chickens etc.
It's all due to the cost of oil.
Not sure milling your own will help...you still have to buy the grain and pay for the energy to grind the wheat...
I sould like the "little Red Hen...but it's true!
Linda C
laceyvail 6A, WV
18 years ago
It's only partially due to the cost of oil. Much of it is due to the fact that farmers who formerly grew wheat have switched to corn for bio fuel, and because about 20 percent of the corn crop is going to bio fuel, that's why prices of beef (feed lotted), chicken, and dairy products are rising.

Yesterday on NPR, I heard a baker whose wheat flour had gone in one year from $18.50 a bag to $54.
danab_z9_la
18 years ago
US farmers had a good and record crop of grains this year. It is already forecasted that grain needs for next year will exceed the amount that farmers were able to supply this year. That increased demand alone will continue to raise food prices. However, should bad weather ruin any crops this spring lord help us with what we all will be paying for our food. We Americans have been spoiled for many years with low food prices. We will all pay dearly for Washington's rush to help out the farmers with those ethanol subsidies. It makes absolutely no sense (other than political) to turn food products into fuel when grain products are in short supply.

Dan
triciae
18 years ago
I receive a lot of economic stuff, via email, because of DH. I was just reading a report from the bank's economist this morning that contained this...

"...several retailers warned that customers are trading down to save money, buying chicken instead of steak, burgers instead of chicken. This is consistent with the recent drop in gasoline sales (volume, not dollars) as well. Consumers are finally feeling the pinch of food and energy prices to an extent that is forcing behavioral change."

Right now, oil is trading at 107.73. DH tells me that they are seeing more & more people use CCs to pay for groceries. They are also receiving more applications for 'Pay Day' loans. Their application drop-out rate for mortgages has risen to over 40% because of excess debt (25-30% is considered normal for his conservative shop).

He told me yesterday that discussion of heating oil prices has replaced Britney & Paris in the company lunch room.

Even though I don't stock pile grains anymore we do still maintain a rotating food storage program. In anticipation of continuing higher & higher food prices I'm going to start moving my storage away from luxury goodies & increase the basics. I'm also going to get DH to help me fill-up both our Excalibur dehydrators with granola. I've got a 5-rack & an 8-rack. My granola is darn near a complete meal. I use rolled oats, rolled triticale, dry milk powder, wheat germ, peanut butter, molasses, honey, cinnamon, nutmeg, almonds, pumpkin seeds, & sunflower seeds as a base & then add lots of dried fruit after it comes out of the dehydrator. Vac-packed & stored in the freezer, it lasts a year. If food get too high we can always eat granola! lol

/tricia
dgkritch
18 years ago
/tricia, do you have a specific recipe for your granola you'd be willing to share?

TIA,
Deanna
triciae
18 years ago
Deanna,

No, I don't really use a recipe. I did many years ago but it's 'evolved' over time. lol

I start with 12 cups of rolled oats & 6 cups of rolled triticale. To that, I add stuff in quantities of 2 cups for these ingredients...2 cups of Carnation Dry Milk Powder, 2 cups of peanut butter, 2 cups of honey, 2 cups of almonds, & 2 cups of pumpkin seeds because they're bulky. Then, I use about 1/2 cup molasses, a cup of raw sunflower seeds, 2-3 tablespoons of cinnamon, & 2-3 nutmegs depending on size. The oil is usually between 1-2 cups. I add it last & only use enough to bind everything nicely together. After it's dried I add some combination of dried apples, apricots, pineapple, raisins, dates, papaya, or figs. It's not an exact science by any means. It sure is good though. In my dehydrators, at 140 degrees, it takes 5-6 hours to dry thoroughly. This makes a lot of granola...enough to last DH & I about 6 months. When the 3 kids were home we'd blow through a batch every 6 weeks, or so.

/tricia
trudy_gw
18 years ago
Living in Iowa and seeing all of our corn, bean and wheat fields being turned into housing divisions is sad, no wonder farms cant meet the demand.

Would it not be smarter to make our own fuel rather than depend on other countries. In an organic magazine last week, they had an article how we are using 2 barrels of fuel to every one barrel that is produced. Now not that I really now what is going on, but it all just doesnt make sense.

My moms friend passed away a year ago, his farm is being sold in an auction in a few weeks, well its prime land for a sub-division for a housing project.....even though the housing market is down, I am afraid that a farmer wont be abe to buy it, but a builder will. End of the growing era for this farm..........and dont think it will ever produce farm products again.

The price of flour is rising

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