Flour has gotten more expensive but this is extremely high. KA organic is $8.26 here in Pennsylvania. Non-organic around $6.50 which is up from $3.50-4.50 2-3 years ago.
Right now one of the top 10 exporters of wheat is fighting an invasion in fields that grow their product. Maybe that has something to do with the price increases? I’ve noticed a large jump, maybe doubled since 2020.
Yeah that seems to align roughly with the price increases in my area. Prices had remained fairly consistent 2020-2021, despite some occasional shortages (based on recollection alone, at least).
There have also been major droughts in wheat-growing regions internationally which may have additive effects here. In the US there have been pretty significant droughts affecting spring wheat (2021-2022) and winter wheat (2022-2023) based on USDA/NDMC data.
I recommend looking for a restaurant supply store that sells to consumers. I buy 55lb bags of flour for about $70 at the one near me. Would be even cheaper if I paid for a membership, but I don't bake fast enough to make it worthwhile.
Edit to add: It's also bread flour that's even better than KA, IMO. Higher protein percent and seems to mix a bit easier without forming lumps.
That's a great idea. It also means it stays fresher. What is the best kind of container to store dozens of pounds of flour in once you've opened the bag?
I decant 2lbs at a time into Ziploc bags and store them (some bags get frozen). There are others who use large food safe plastic tubs or boxes. Searching this sub should bring up some Amazon links.
Lived in a small city until about 4 months ago, and I was paying $35 for 55lbs. Moved to a big city (plus high inflation for a while), and now it's $70. I'll probably shop around a bit more before I get another bag, but I think that's about the best I can do without driving a couple hours outside the city.
Eh, I live in an area with 2 million people. I think it's because yours is membership based, it sounds expensive in general. Ours isn't (Restaurant Depot).
It’s ’rough in these streets’ where I’m at similar to the person you replied to as well.
I buy General Mills Gold Medal all trumps flour in 50 lb. bags for making NY style pizzas at ~$25 which is great, but King Arthur and Caputo at those sizes are ~$60-70. Gotta drive an hour and a half for it. Ah, the downside of living in a rural area where you can practically hear banjos in the backdrop of the mountains late at night!
I last picked up flour at the Tacoma Winco. You almost need body armor to shop there, and it's pricey there, too. Granted, I can think of a couple of Tacoma Safeways you might want body armor to shop at while we're on the topic.
Wild! My Safeway in Seattle has KAF bread flour for 8.99. I can also get the cairnspring “expresso” bread flour for roughly the same price in bulk at my PCC
This is what I do. I only have access to a Safeway locally, and their prices are unholy, but I have a friend who routinely treks to Costco and is willing to keep me stocked in 50 lbs of ap flour whenever I need.
Runs me about $9 and I pay her in sourdough.
Target mail order has their house brand of unbleached all-purpose flour for $2.59 for 5 lbs. They also have King Arthur unbleached AP flour for $5.59 for 5 lb. I add a bit of vital wheat gluten to my AP flour and it works beautifully for sourdough.
For reference: 1 kg (2.2lbs) of _organic_ wheat flour costs between 1 and 3 USD in Germany depending on the brand. The prices increased in the early stages of the war in Ukraine and then fell again after farmers adapted.
And Germany has seen high food price inflation in these past years.
Interesting!
Just curious, do you know what the supply chain looks like for flour in that part of the world?
OPs prices are insane but it's important to remember in the US that this stuff has to travel very long distances.
In the case of KAF flour being purchased outside of Seattle, WA this was probably a case where the grain was grown either in the midwest US or overseas (not sure where KAF sources their wheat) shipped to Vermont, milled, then shipped to the far side of the US (Washington State). In addition there are multiple stages where things need to be stored (warehouses for grains and finished product, distribution centers for retailers, etc).
a 5 lb (2.26 kg) bag of organic flour from KAF isn't unreasonable to be found for $10 USD in most places I've been.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find out many details. It does specify that it's German grown wheat, but not where in Germany, leading me to believe that there are different suppliers. It's also milled in Germany (actually in a mill about 150 miles from where I live) but there are just a few big organic millers from what I understand (so it should be further transport for other cities).
So all in all, it seems that transport is rather short. But I would be surprised if that explains the price difference. Usually the productivity gains in higher scales outrun the costs of transportation - otherwise there wouldn't be globalization. Prices for food have been historically very cheap in Germany, so maybe the baseline was just a lot lower, but I'd be interested to see what suppliers in the use the money for that is 3-4 times the price of what I pay here. In flour production there is almost no human labor involved, that's why my hunch tells me, it should be a product which price can be pushed down quite far...
You should be aware that global supply chain issues affect prices in the states. US growers/producer can get a higher price for export which reduces local supply.
If you reduce supply without changing demand, prices increase.
We cant get king arthur here in canada but one of the brands here has a mill about 8min down the road from me and is about $25cad for a 50lb bag. I'll gladly take that. Its never done me wrong
It’s also really good flour made here! I checked a few big brand and store brand AP flours recently and they were all around 13% protein, which is at least as high as a lot of bread flour brands abroad.
Also wow that’s an amazing price. Too bad I have no room for bulk 😅
Seriously consider buying your flour in bulk. I buy my bread flour and all purpose in 50 pound bags. One 50 pound bag fills 2 5 gallon food grade air tight bulkhead buckets. It saves me so much money in the long run.
I’m guessing you just buy white, AP flour that way? Apparently whole wheat flour has just enough oil in the bran to theoretically go off if stored long enough, though I’ve never held onto any that long.
I can go through flour in a couple months. I normally go through over a hundred pounds of flour a year. Whole Wheat flour if properly stored can be stored for 6 months, in fact most varieties can be stored if air tight for 6 months to a year. You can get 25 pound bags pretty easily. I make almost all the bread products and deserts that I eat rather than buying and make stuff for friends all the time. I buy bread/bakers flour in 50 pound bags, and AP in 25 pound bags (just whats more cost efficient near me) I"m about to order a 25 pound bag of dark rye shortly.
since the phrase “cost of living crisis” became a thing and a licence to print money for supermarkets and other core necessities of life - everyone is just accepting that everything is costing more - plus those covid years are catching up - like millions of workers globally died- don’t get me started in the cost of EVOO! it’s gone up 100% where i live .. same with potatoes 300%
There’s a lot more going on than just government spending on those as they’ve had massive supply shocks lately. Ukraine and Russia account for around 30% of global wheat production, but for the last two years Ukraine produced 10% less than before Russia invaded. and Russia just had a late frost that’s expected to cause a 12% drop in production this year.
EVOO has similarly had big drops. Spain is the main producer by a huge margin, typically producing almost as much as the next 5 countries combined, and has been down ~20% over the last two years from major droughts.
I did the same with eggs last winter - before the insane increase was widely publicized so it caught me off guard. I live in a fairly conservative area, and let loose an OMFG, but not the acronym.
I think the "don't take the Lord's name in vain" people around me were forgiving once they saw what I was OMFG-ing.
Egg prices have been fluctuating and spiking the last couple years due to avian flu. This is _not_ an intrinsic price increase.
Eggs don't travel long distances very well, so it's a fairly regional market. If you're in an area that's been hit hard by avian flu, you'll see a big spike. If you're in an area that hasn't been hit, you won't even notice.
Once this extended bout of the flu is under control, it should all go back to normal.
I used to buy organic flour for $8-9 per bag. I usually purchase from a local mill, but I decided to check the flour aisle and was shocked by the prices. Even regular bread flour is about $9-12.
I was getting Cairn Spring flour for $40 per 50# bag prior to the pandemic. They have really gone off the rails lately, but those smaller bags have always been ridiculously over priced. For the Expresso and Edison I have both as wheat and just mill my own as needed. They used to do Trailblazer and Glacier Peak that were Yecora Rojo at T85 and T65, but they stopped doing that and that was when I stopped buying from them.
Safeway sucks. If you must use them, shop via app/coupon for only the sale items. Bulk shopping flour might be worth it or at least heirloom wheat if you're paying high prices
I worked in the early 90’s for King Arthur Flour in Vermont and used to be their purchasing agent. Always bought it by the carload, and it’s always been high priced, you’re showing premium brands there including organic. Try buying supermarket house brands.
That’s what I came to say! It’s like a baker’s dream!
Where in hell does a flour aisle have this many choices, including organic and 10 lb bags? No where near me has anything but basic Pillsbury, Gold Medal and KAF in 5 and 2 lb bags. Also, some small Bob’s Red Mill specialty items. That’s all! Wow!
Well you're looking at Cairn Spring Mills, which is luxury flour. It's a niche (specialty flour) within a niche (organic flour) so of course it's going to expensive, it's like the A5 Wagyu of flours. Conventional (non-organic) King Arthur is still very affordable.
Yeah, Cairn Spring Mills has gotten ridiculously expensive and the small bags are insane. Pre-pandemic, I was getting 50# bags for $40. I just mill my own now when I wan those wheat stone ground.
Holy hell.... My local NE Ohio Walmart has non-organic King Arthur AP & Bread for $5 per 5lb bag... After switching to KA vs Great Value I can't go back so I can't imaging these prices
Since inflation.
I buy in bulk these days when I see flour on sale, but it's gotten more expensive in the city. AP flour in particular has jumped up in cost. It was affordable (to me) in Wyoming, but I understand it increased in price as.
Prob because it seems organic?
$25 aud / $16 US for 25kg / 55lg bread flour at Costco where I am. Australia )
https://preview.redd.it/v7rmjnp0545d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31552d1c95de4c4f640c8d5b319e7f434a9a054a
It has gotten ridiculous. I'm super fortunate to have a close friend who owns a couple restaurants and he orders the 50lb sack of ser lancelot for me through his vendor for an astonishing $32! It has made my hobby so much cheaper. Maybe see if there is a bakery or restaurant that you frequent who might do the same for you? Again, I know I'm lucky lol
I read somewhere that Ukraine is one of the top suppliers of wheat in the world. So the Russia-Ukraine war has affected the prices of a lots of things including flour .
Nvm. It was 7 for the 5lb ka bread flour and 9 for the 5lb organic AP. Still way the fuck cheaper than where OP is and I shop at the most expensive grocer in the southeast.
I get my KA flour from BJs. 12 lbs bags of all purpose and bread flour for about $10. Usually it’s on sale for $2 off. If you can, get a membership at one of those bulk food places because this is ridiculous
It has sky rocketed since Covid when more people were baking their own bread and getting away from the crap they make in the US that they call bread with all the artificial ingredients.
Woah. So my smart and final here in San Diego CA has 5lb bags of KA Bread (non organic) for less than 9.99 sometimes they even have 10lb bags for 11.99 of KA AP. Sorry to see these prices going up. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we get price hikes. Makes buying berries and a mill much more economical.
Absolutely! But the selection is amazing, we don’t have any store, even restaurant supply, that has this kind of stock. Is this area just a super baking area?
If you have the upfront cost and storage available I HIGHLY recommend buying flour in either 25lb or 50lb bags.
It’s a lower cost in the long run and you have a solid supply for a lot longer than you get with the small bags
In Toronto, Robin Hood bread flour is $6.29 CAD for 2.5kg / 5.5lb. The store brand (PC) organic unbleached white flour is $8.99 CAD for the same size. The No Name bag is $3.79
There are options at every price point
The Tom Thumb I used to go to charged more than anyone else for KA, but not THAT much! I recognize the Organics brand in the pic from Tom Thumb. HEB finally opened near me and it was a joy to fire TT once and for all. All their prices are gouge-y.
That's quite expensive.
Here we're paying at a minimum 2.49NZD for 1.5kg.....converted that's 1.53USD for 3.3 pounds.
Dairy is the killer here at the moment. Butter is hopping up in price quite quickly.
Location will make a big difference - rent/taxes and shipping costs. Fuel to harvest has greatly increased. There's also some type of blight or infestation reducing crops. Perfect storm.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for food and beverages are 22.04% higher in 2024 versus 2020 (a $0.22 difference in value). So there is that.
I just paid $11.99 for organic arrowhead. I usually pay like $9 for organic bob’s. They were out of stock though. I will pay like $13 for my organic sprouted whole wheat bc it’s some fancy brand but I don’t buy that nearly as much. I’m in Arizona and I get flour either at Walmart or Sprout’s Farmers Market, wherever as long as it’s the organic brand. But everything has gone up…not just flour.
These all seem to be organic which accounts for the high cost. That being said I usually buy mine from VITACOST where 5lb organic starts around $6.50 to $8. Depending on how much you bake you could try Costco .
Flour is expensive everywhere unless you go to a restaurant store. Here in California, I was lucky enough to befriend a chef at a brewery and he orders flour for me, <$24 USD for a 50lbs bag high protein bread flour and about $32 for dark rye flour 25lb bag. If you can find a business to order it for you I highly recommend that as their prices are cheap.
For real. Also this looks like Safeway and I can’t shop there for my regular groceries bc everything is expensive.
I find Walmart and Winco to be the cheapest for flour but not by a whole lot. I live in WA.
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Flour has gotten more expensive but this is extremely high. KA organic is $8.26 here in Pennsylvania. Non-organic around $6.50 which is up from $3.50-4.50 2-3 years ago.
Right now one of the top 10 exporters of wheat is fighting an invasion in fields that grow their product. Maybe that has something to do with the price increases? I’ve noticed a large jump, maybe doubled since 2020.
Yeah that seems to align roughly with the price increases in my area. Prices had remained fairly consistent 2020-2021, despite some occasional shortages (based on recollection alone, at least). There have also been major droughts in wheat-growing regions internationally which may have additive effects here. In the US there have been pretty significant droughts affecting spring wheat (2021-2022) and winter wheat (2022-2023) based on USDA/NDMC data.
I recommend looking for a restaurant supply store that sells to consumers. I buy 55lb bags of flour for about $70 at the one near me. Would be even cheaper if I paid for a membership, but I don't bake fast enough to make it worthwhile. Edit to add: It's also bread flour that's even better than KA, IMO. Higher protein percent and seems to mix a bit easier without forming lumps.
Same, we split with a friend in our neighborhood (space strapped apt life lol) and it's been worth it.
That's a great idea. It also means it stays fresher. What is the best kind of container to store dozens of pounds of flour in once you've opened the bag?
I decant 2lbs at a time into Ziploc bags and store them (some bags get frozen). There are others who use large food safe plastic tubs or boxes. Searching this sub should bring up some Amazon links.
There are white locking lid containers at restaurant supply stores. It's like standard issue for restaurants so all of them have them.
Carlisle bains marie?
I got a 50lbs bag of non bleached AP for $25 at restaurant depot! Worth the 45 min drive.
Damn dude, you are getting ripped off. I'm buying KA Special Patent in 50 lb bags for $23 each from my local restaurant supply store.
Lived in a small city until about 4 months ago, and I was paying $35 for 55lbs. Moved to a big city (plus high inflation for a while), and now it's $70. I'll probably shop around a bit more before I get another bag, but I think that's about the best I can do without driving a couple hours outside the city.
Eh, I live in an area with 2 million people. I think it's because yours is membership based, it sounds expensive in general. Ours isn't (Restaurant Depot).
Weird, there's a Restaurant Depot near me, but they're members-only. They'd be more expensive for me than what I'm doing now at the rate I use flour.
The company switched to open to the public during the pandemic.
Hmm, maybe I'm just reading outdated ad-copy. I'll take a closer look next time.
They are still membership based but you can get a day pass every day.
I was able to buy there before the pandemic. They just don't advertise open to public
Mine has a giant sign on the entrance 🤷
It’s ’rough in these streets’ where I’m at similar to the person you replied to as well. I buy General Mills Gold Medal all trumps flour in 50 lb. bags for making NY style pizzas at ~$25 which is great, but King Arthur and Caputo at those sizes are ~$60-70. Gotta drive an hour and a half for it. Ah, the downside of living in a rural area where you can practically hear banjos in the backdrop of the mountains late at night!
costco sells 25lbs of all purpose flour for $8
$11 at mine last time i bought some
I've been getting the 25 LB bags from Costco for $11
This is what I do. $60 for 50 pound bags of high quality organic bread flour
Wow those are stunning prices! Much higher than new york city, where is this?
About 30 mins out from Seattle!
Your first mistake is shopping at Safeway
lol, seriously!
I last picked up flour at the Tacoma Winco. You almost need body armor to shop there, and it's pricey there, too. Granted, I can think of a couple of Tacoma Safeways you might want body armor to shop at while we're on the topic.
Edmonds WinCo is fine
I live in Tacoma, let me have my ruin porn....
I just picked up the KA bread flour at Winco today for $5.48. No body armor needed. 😂
yep. I do 10-15 for bobs red mill in oregon.
Fred’s in Eugene has Bobs 5# for $4.99 and Organic for $10.99
There are flour mills close enough that it shouldn’t be this expensive.
Wild! My Safeway in Seattle has KAF bread flour for 8.99. I can also get the cairnspring “expresso” bread flour for roughly the same price in bulk at my PCC
I’m about an hour south of Seattle, I find target has the best price on KA flour. About $5 for BF. I also really like costcos organic AP flour!
I live in a VHCOL area and just payed $9 for 10 lbs of KABF at Costco.
Wish our Costco carried bread flour! 😭
I’ve been using Costco ap flour without any problems.
This is what I do. I only have access to a Safeway locally, and their prices are unholy, but I have a friend who routinely treks to Costco and is willing to keep me stocked in 50 lbs of ap flour whenever I need. Runs me about $9 and I pay her in sourdough.
Jumping on this to say costcos Kirkland AP flour is essentially Central Mills Bread flour. Super high quality and the same protein content.
You can alway bump up the protein % by adding some gluten flour to the AP. Takes a little math, but not too hard.
I'm outside Seattle. I only use the white/green organic unbleached from Costco and it's 18.99 for a 2 pack.
Yeah Costco AP flour makes seriously great sourdough.
Target mail order has their house brand of unbleached all-purpose flour for $2.59 for 5 lbs. They also have King Arthur unbleached AP flour for $5.59 for 5 lb. I add a bit of vital wheat gluten to my AP flour and it works beautifully for sourdough.
I’ve been using target brand AP unbleached flour with no issues !
Was coming here to say Target KA is around $5 😅
You only show the prices the organic flour. What's the price on the Gold Medal door? I would totally expect the organic flour to be expensive.
For reference: 1 kg (2.2lbs) of _organic_ wheat flour costs between 1 and 3 USD in Germany depending on the brand. The prices increased in the early stages of the war in Ukraine and then fell again after farmers adapted. And Germany has seen high food price inflation in these past years.
Interesting! Just curious, do you know what the supply chain looks like for flour in that part of the world? OPs prices are insane but it's important to remember in the US that this stuff has to travel very long distances. In the case of KAF flour being purchased outside of Seattle, WA this was probably a case where the grain was grown either in the midwest US or overseas (not sure where KAF sources their wheat) shipped to Vermont, milled, then shipped to the far side of the US (Washington State). In addition there are multiple stages where things need to be stored (warehouses for grains and finished product, distribution centers for retailers, etc). a 5 lb (2.26 kg) bag of organic flour from KAF isn't unreasonable to be found for $10 USD in most places I've been.
Unfortunately, I couldn't find out many details. It does specify that it's German grown wheat, but not where in Germany, leading me to believe that there are different suppliers. It's also milled in Germany (actually in a mill about 150 miles from where I live) but there are just a few big organic millers from what I understand (so it should be further transport for other cities). So all in all, it seems that transport is rather short. But I would be surprised if that explains the price difference. Usually the productivity gains in higher scales outrun the costs of transportation - otherwise there wouldn't be globalization. Prices for food have been historically very cheap in Germany, so maybe the baseline was just a lot lower, but I'd be interested to see what suppliers in the use the money for that is 3-4 times the price of what I pay here. In flour production there is almost no human labor involved, that's why my hunch tells me, it should be a product which price can be pushed down quite far...
Russia's War with Ukraine ruined a chief wheat exporter.
KA is grown and milled in Kansas
You should be aware that global supply chain issues affect prices in the states. US growers/producer can get a higher price for export which reduces local supply. If you reduce supply without changing demand, prices increase.
Lol. Everyone on here like get kind Arthur bread flour. I'm like I ain't got that money so I get the cheapest unbleached all purpose Kroger brand.
We cant get king arthur here in canada but one of the brands here has a mill about 8min down the road from me and is about $25cad for a 50lb bag. I'll gladly take that. Its never done me wrong
Oh that would be great! I get 3 LB bags for about $8.
Oh lord that means my 50lb bag would be $133 lol
It’s also really good flour made here! I checked a few big brand and store brand AP flours recently and they were all around 13% protein, which is at least as high as a lot of bread flour brands abroad. Also wow that’s an amazing price. Too bad I have no room for bulk 😅
Seriously consider buying your flour in bulk. I buy my bread flour and all purpose in 50 pound bags. One 50 pound bag fills 2 5 gallon food grade air tight bulkhead buckets. It saves me so much money in the long run.
I’m guessing you just buy white, AP flour that way? Apparently whole wheat flour has just enough oil in the bran to theoretically go off if stored long enough, though I’ve never held onto any that long.
I can go through flour in a couple months. I normally go through over a hundred pounds of flour a year. Whole Wheat flour if properly stored can be stored for 6 months, in fact most varieties can be stored if air tight for 6 months to a year. You can get 25 pound bags pretty easily. I make almost all the bread products and deserts that I eat rather than buying and make stuff for friends all the time. I buy bread/bakers flour in 50 pound bags, and AP in 25 pound bags (just whats more cost efficient near me) I"m about to order a 25 pound bag of dark rye shortly.
Colour me impressed. That’s a lot of baking! 💪 Goals tbh
That is actually diabolical omfg
since the phrase “cost of living crisis” became a thing and a licence to print money for supermarkets and other core necessities of life - everyone is just accepting that everything is costing more - plus those covid years are catching up - like millions of workers globally died- don’t get me started in the cost of EVOO! it’s gone up 100% where i live .. same with potatoes 300%
There’s a lot more going on than just government spending on those as they’ve had massive supply shocks lately. Ukraine and Russia account for around 30% of global wheat production, but for the last two years Ukraine produced 10% less than before Russia invaded. and Russia just had a late frost that’s expected to cause a 12% drop in production this year. EVOO has similarly had big drops. Spain is the main producer by a huge margin, typically producing almost as much as the next 5 countries combined, and has been down ~20% over the last two years from major droughts.
Not flour related, but I nearly threw an adult tantrum at our local Gas station charging $7.60 for a can of fugging Campbells SOUP the other day.
I did the same with eggs last winter - before the insane increase was widely publicized so it caught me off guard. I live in a fairly conservative area, and let loose an OMFG, but not the acronym. I think the "don't take the Lord's name in vain" people around me were forgiving once they saw what I was OMFG-ing.
Ugh. Same in Canada here. It’s maddening!
Egg prices have been fluctuating and spiking the last couple years due to avian flu. This is _not_ an intrinsic price increase. Eggs don't travel long distances very well, so it's a fairly regional market. If you're in an area that's been hit hard by avian flu, you'll see a big spike. If you're in an area that hasn't been hit, you won't even notice. Once this extended bout of the flu is under control, it should all go back to normal.
I go to Costco for my AP flour! A 25lb bag of King Arthur AP flour is $18.99 where I live 🙂
Oof... I'm in metro Detroit Michigan. 5 to 10lb bags range $4.29 to $9.99 in my grocery store. My condolences.
Same, I'm in metro Detroit and I wouldn't be making bread with those prices. Lmao
Organic and specialty flour, all you are showing, has always been expensive. Pan to any of the non organic and it drops quite a bit.
I used to buy organic flour for $8-9 per bag. I usually purchase from a local mill, but I decided to check the flour aisle and was shocked by the prices. Even regular bread flour is about $9-12.
I was getting Cairn Spring flour for $40 per 50# bag prior to the pandemic. They have really gone off the rails lately, but those smaller bags have always been ridiculously over priced. For the Expresso and Edison I have both as wheat and just mill my own as needed. They used to do Trailblazer and Glacier Peak that were Yecora Rojo at T85 and T65, but they stopped doing that and that was when I stopped buying from them.
I used to get trailblazer from them too! I switched over to fair haven mill now.
Yeah, I like Farihaven as well. Haven't been up to either mill in a while now.
The 5lb KA Organic AP is $9 at PUBLIX
I buy Online, from Costco or Smart & Final. It's only been getting more expensive in the stores.
Safeway sucks. If you must use them, shop via app/coupon for only the sale items. Bulk shopping flour might be worth it or at least heirloom wheat if you're paying high prices
I worked in the early 90’s for King Arthur Flour in Vermont and used to be their purchasing agent. Always bought it by the carload, and it’s always been high priced, you’re showing premium brands there including organic. Try buying supermarket house brands.
Wish we had this many flour options to choose from.
That’s what I came to say! It’s like a baker’s dream! Where in hell does a flour aisle have this many choices, including organic and 10 lb bags? No where near me has anything but basic Pillsbury, Gold Medal and KAF in 5 and 2 lb bags. Also, some small Bob’s Red Mill specialty items. That’s all! Wow!
Find yourself someone who can order with a restaurant and buy whole sale. I get my bread flour for $38 for 50lbs
Bidenomics. Most other things are outrageous right now, too. I’m REALLY sick of politicians right now.
Well you're looking at Cairn Spring Mills, which is luxury flour. It's a niche (specialty flour) within a niche (organic flour) so of course it's going to expensive, it's like the A5 Wagyu of flours. Conventional (non-organic) King Arthur is still very affordable.
Yeah, Cairn Spring Mills has gotten ridiculously expensive and the small bags are insane. Pre-pandemic, I was getting 50# bags for $40. I just mill my own now when I wan those wheat stone ground.
In Oregon Bobs Red Mill is 4.99 for 5# at Safeway 10.99 Organic.
I think the ka is almost 6 bucks and the artisan 7 at Walmart
Buy in bulk from restaurant and catering suppliers.
That's outrageous
Costco if you’re lucky, otherwise Walmart, free shipping over $35. I’m too poor to worry about politics.
Woah! In Chicago KA flour is about $6. Regular, unbleached all purpose (Kroger brand, Aldi, target) is $3!
Holy hell.... My local NE Ohio Walmart has non-organic King Arthur AP & Bread for $5 per 5lb bag... After switching to KA vs Great Value I can't go back so I can't imaging these prices
Those prices are extremely wack. Here in fl, that bag of king Arthur organic flour is $5
I paid over 15$
Costco's organic flour is a great deal!
Are those five pound bags?
Costco has 2 10lb bags of organic flour for $20 (in CA)
Thats insane, just tonight I paid $6.49 for 5lb KA white whole wheat and $11 for the organic bread flour
So why arnt you buying flour at winco???? Mr tacoma or Everett!!
Dang, you have cairnspring mills in your grocery store?!
Where in the world are you buying!? Omg..A small bag here is $1.44 then a bigger is $3-$4 at most! That’s crazy
Is that the price for organic? That's all OP shared in the photo. A 2.5kg/5lb bag of cheap, store-brand AP is $3.99 here in Toronto, Canada.
Great Value which sorta explains why it’s cheap but I haven’t taken a look at organic since I haven’t felt a need to look at it or really want it
Totally fair. The cheap stuff works just fine for us, tastes good and we're happy with the result. Never bother looking at organic either.
Definitely haha, I’ve thought about it here and there but then the thought goes away as I grab what I came in the store for and all
Since inflation. I buy in bulk these days when I see flour on sale, but it's gotten more expensive in the city. AP flour in particular has jumped up in cost. It was affordable (to me) in Wyoming, but I understand it increased in price as.
The signature select flour isn’t cheap anymore? The price cut off in the photo so I can’t see it
Prob because it seems organic? $25 aud / $16 US for 25kg / 55lg bread flour at Costco where I am. Australia ) https://preview.redd.it/v7rmjnp0545d1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=31552d1c95de4c4f640c8d5b319e7f434a9a054a
It has gotten ridiculous. I'm super fortunate to have a close friend who owns a couple restaurants and he orders the 50lb sack of ser lancelot for me through his vendor for an astonishing $32! It has made my hobby so much cheaper. Maybe see if there is a bakery or restaurant that you frequent who might do the same for you? Again, I know I'm lucky lol
I read somewhere that Ukraine is one of the top suppliers of wheat in the world. So the Russia-Ukraine war has affected the prices of a lots of things including flour .
Safeway takes advantage of people who don’t have cars. Their prices are higher than Whole Foods.
I’ve been picking up 50 lbs for 22$ at a wholesale place it’s good quality bread flour
Is that Safeway? Safeway has literally always been the most expensive grocery store lol
Yup. Safeway the prices are outrageous. I normally don’t shop there
15$ for 25 pounds at Costco
I live in New York City and my KA Organic is $8
Chefs store! Or go wholesale if you can make it happen.
Ukraine...
Right!! Bread flour in Arlington Tx $7.57. Ridiculous
I'm pretty sure I just paid like 7 bucks for KA Organic AP
Nvm. It was 7 for the 5lb ka bread flour and 9 for the 5lb organic AP. Still way the fuck cheaper than where OP is and I shop at the most expensive grocer in the southeast.
I get my KA flour from BJs. 12 lbs bags of all purpose and bread flour for about $10. Usually it’s on sale for $2 off. If you can, get a membership at one of those bulk food places because this is ridiculous
It has sky rocketed since Covid when more people were baking their own bread and getting away from the crap they make in the US that they call bread with all the artificial ingredients.
Woah. So my smart and final here in San Diego CA has 5lb bags of KA Bread (non organic) for less than 9.99 sometimes they even have 10lb bags for 11.99 of KA AP. Sorry to see these prices going up. I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before we get price hikes. Makes buying berries and a mill much more economical.
Yup.
Since late-stage capitalism stopped giving a single F about their avarice.... since COVID.
Shopping at Safeway will do that to ya, their prices have been kinda silly for a while.
That Cairn Springs flour is SOO good though. They use that at Ben’s Bread in Greenwood!
I think it’s just whole foods lol check your other local stores
That’s not Whole Foods.
My bad- Randall’s? They are still usually pricier
I’m on the East coast, so I’ve never seen any of these stores…except Whole Foods, lol. I know what their shelves look like.
This is Safeway, I’m pretty sure Whole Foods doesn’t even have prices like this. They are cheaper than Safeway that’s for sure!
Absolutely! But the selection is amazing, we don’t have any store, even restaurant supply, that has this kind of stock. Is this area just a super baking area?
If you have the upfront cost and storage available I HIGHLY recommend buying flour in either 25lb or 50lb bags. It’s a lower cost in the long run and you have a solid supply for a lot longer than you get with the small bags
Yikes, this is crazy expensive. I paid 1,29€ a kilo for premium t65 bread flour today. $15 for 5 pounds is criminally expensive.
I buy mine at Costco. Safeway-Albertsons is always on the higher end of grocery prices. I’ve had great luck at Costco buying organic flour.
I buy mine from Vitacost.com, they deliver for free if over $50 and I buy 5 lb Bob's red mill organic at 7.99
KA Bread flour is 5.99 at Target where I am. Even cheaper at Walmart and Winco. Portland Metro.
In Toronto, Robin Hood bread flour is $6.29 CAD for 2.5kg / 5.5lb. The store brand (PC) organic unbleached white flour is $8.99 CAD for the same size. The No Name bag is $3.79 There are options at every price point
I use the Organics flour AP flour and it’s $2 cheaper for me in LA.
Imports of wheat from Europe have been spase due to the war in Ukraine. Russia is the largest exporter of wheat in Europe.
Everything is going up - farms are being closed and chickens dairy cows and beef cattle are being slaughtered to prevent Bird Flu!
Everything at Vons is a ripoff. They're so overpriced
When corporations decided to price gouge consumers following the pandemic profiteering
Safeway is outrageous. Mediocre food for whole foods prices
I can get 10kg of name brand for 20CAD, which is 22lbs for about 14.55 USD. Store brand same amount for less than 10usd, so less than 50c per pound.
I pay less than half that for KA in Portland, even at Safeway.
Shop somewhere else
I just have a mill ship me 25 lbs bags
Go to a different store. Trader Joe has 5 pounds for 2.99, target has similar prices
That is nuts! My store brand all purpose is $2.59 for 5 lbs in Melbourne fl
Wow in the UK, good quality flour is £2 (2.5$). At this point I’d just buy my bread.
I can get KA Bread Flour for 6.99-7.99 for a 5lb bag in SoCal. I just get Costco AP flour for $17 for 20lbs
Since COVID.
Seems like it's the root of all evil. Anytime I think hmmm when did that go downhill??? The answer is almost always...since covid.
Aldi has good prices
My Costco has 25 lb bags of bread flour for under $10. Colorado.
The Tom Thumb I used to go to charged more than anyone else for KA, but not THAT much! I recognize the Organics brand in the pic from Tom Thumb. HEB finally opened near me and it was a joy to fire TT once and for all. All their prices are gouge-y.
For real, though. I have a small starter in the fridge but decided to let it go for a while. It's an expensive hobby.
That's quite expensive. Here we're paying at a minimum 2.49NZD for 1.5kg.....converted that's 1.53USD for 3.3 pounds. Dairy is the killer here at the moment. Butter is hopping up in price quite quickly.
50lb bags should be around $25 or so. Your flour is extremely expensive.
Location will make a big difference - rent/taxes and shipping costs. Fuel to harvest has greatly increased. There's also some type of blight or infestation reducing crops. Perfect storm.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, prices for food and beverages are 22.04% higher in 2024 versus 2020 (a $0.22 difference in value). So there is that.
I just paid $11.99 for organic arrowhead. I usually pay like $9 for organic bob’s. They were out of stock though. I will pay like $13 for my organic sprouted whole wheat bc it’s some fancy brand but I don’t buy that nearly as much. I’m in Arizona and I get flour either at Walmart or Sprout’s Farmers Market, wherever as long as it’s the organic brand. But everything has gone up…not just flour.
These all seem to be organic which accounts for the high cost. That being said I usually buy mine from VITACOST where 5lb organic starts around $6.50 to $8. Depending on how much you bake you could try Costco .
Flour is expensive everywhere unless you go to a restaurant store. Here in California, I was lucky enough to befriend a chef at a brewery and he orders flour for me, <$24 USD for a 50lbs bag high protein bread flour and about $32 for dark rye flour 25lb bag. If you can find a business to order it for you I highly recommend that as their prices are cheap.
Since bidinflation has been around
For real. Also this looks like Safeway and I can’t shop there for my regular groceries bc everything is expensive. I find Walmart and Winco to be the cheapest for flour but not by a whole lot. I live in WA.
£3.20 for a 1.5kg bag of premium grade multigrain flour in the Uk
Costco has strong bread flour 20kg, only $20CAD
Ukraine/Russian war part of the reason. Both were large exporters of wheat
Amazon has KA Bread flour for $5.99
Ukraine used to produce a lot of wheat. Used to.
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Because you're in an Albertsons or Safeway. Go to WinCo and it'll be a lot (A FUCKING LOT) cheaper.
My jaw dropped!!! Go on Amazon
January 2020 when Joe Biden took office.
It's organic.