Baking supplies: Public Service Announcement

[MrsPete]

I bought flour, chocolate chips and other baking supplies today at the grocery store, and -- with Christmas only days away -- they're on GREAT SALES right now.  Today I was able to buy name-brand cheaper than store brand (and when it comes to certain baking items, I am picky -- having been a professional baker at one point, I can tell a difference).  So I filled my cart.  I have the storage space, they will be used in my house, and they won't be this cheap in the next few months.   

Exception:  Pecans.  They're never cheap, so I'll just buy them when I actually need them. 

[lifejoy]

Sweet! Thanks for the heads up!

[FuckRx]

very helpful...
i haven't done much grocery shopping but will definitely try to stock up no whatever i can ...

[Another Reader]

Safeway had Nestle morsels and 2 pound bags of C&H brown sugar at 3/$5.00 on their $5.00 Friday promotion.  I had a Safeway coupon for $2.25 off five bags of the chocolate chips.  That's less that $1.30 a bag for 6 bags.  I have some C&H brown sugar I had picked up at $1.49 about a month ago but picked up another 3 bags.  Gold Medal unbleached flour in the 5 pound bag has been on sale for $1.89 several places.  The Target brand is priced at $1.69 normally anyway right now and it's fine for cookies.  Butter has been reasonable, but not as much of a bargain this year.  The Costco price makes their Kirkland butter the choice for baking.  The pantry and freezer are loaded up, and chocolate chip cookies (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/Detail.aspx?soid=recs_recipe_seed) will be appearing at potlucks for the foreseeable future.

Pecans suffered from a bad harvest and the price is sky-high.  Walnuts are better priced right now.

Food seems very inexpensive right now.  Sprouts has some excellent prices on meats and vegetables.  Picked up a bunch of things at their 72 hour sale yesterday.  Other than a few produce items and milk, we are finished with grocery shopping for the year.  That helps make up for the PG&E bill that covers the last two weeks of cold weather here.

[grantmeaname]

Pecans are cheap at costco.

[Another Reader]

Around here, only the most hardened shoppers go to Costco between Thanksgiving and New Years.  You can circle the lot for 15 minutes to find a space on a Tuesday morning.  I'll keep this in mind for the January Costco run, because pecans are good in chocolate chip cookies.

[grantmeaname]

And pancakes. And brownies. And oatmeal. I'm not big on other nuts, as a rule, but I go crazy for pecans.

[MrsPete]

Safeway had Nestle morsels and 2 pound bags of C&H brown sugar at 3/$5.00 on their $5.00 Friday promotion.  I had a Safeway coupon for $2.25 off five bags of the chocolate chips.  That's less that $1.30 a bag for 6 bags.  I have some C&H brown sugar I had picked up at $1.49 about a month ago but picked up another 3 bags.  Gold Medal unbleached flour in the 5 pound bag has been on sale for $1.89 several places.  The Target brand is priced at $1.69 normally anyway right now and it's fine for cookies.  Butter has been reasonable, but not as much of a bargain this year.  The Costco price makes their Kirkland butter the choice for baking.  The pantry and freezer are loaded up, and chocolate chip cookies (http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Best-Chocolate-Chip-Cookies/Detail.aspx?soid=recs_recipe_seed) will be appearing at potlucks for the foreseeable future.

Pecans suffered from a bad harvest and the price is sky-high.  Walnuts are better priced right now.

Food seems very inexpensive right now.  Sprouts has some excellent prices on meats and vegetables.  Picked up a bunch of things at their 72 hour sale yesterday.  Other than a few produce items and milk, we are finished with grocery shopping for the year.  That helps make up for the PG&E bill that covers the last two weeks of cold weather here.

Gold Metal flour -- no thanks at any price.  Like I said, I used to be a professional baker, and I can tell a difference.  It's gotta be White Lily, which is grown exclusively below the Mason Dixon line, thus producing a "softer" product" or nothing.  Do a comparison -- you can SEE the difference. 

Sugar, on the other hand is sugar.  Unless it's been compromised with moisture, store brand is fine.

Pecans are cheap at costco.

Everyone talks about Costco, but we don't have it.

because pecans are good in chocolate chip cookies.

Yes, yes, yes, they are.  Oatmeal cookies too. 

[Gerard]

grown exclusively below the Mason Dixon line, thus producing a "softer" product"

Cool, I never realized temperature and softness (protein content?) of flour were related. Is that why so much "strong" pasta flour comes from Canada?

[Another Reader]

Never seen White Lily here.  Maybe it's not sold west of the Mississippi.  I'll look for it.

Gold Medal unbleached is sort of the standard store flour.  I never saw any improvement in flavor or texture using King Arthur or the other pricey brands sold here.

To me there is a difference between cane and beet sugar.  I now buy C&H organic cane sugar in the 10 pound bags from Costco.  To my taste, the sweetness is more intense and the taste and texture improve the cookies.

[grantmeaname]

Never seen White Lily here.  Maybe it's not sold west of the Mississippi.  I'll look for it.

I've never seen it here either and I'm not too far from the Mason-Dixon line.

[KimPossible]

Never seen White Lily here.  Maybe it's not sold west of the Mississippi.  I'll look for it.

I've never seen it here either and I'm not too far from the Mason-Dixon line.

Yes, White Lily is only available in a few states, much to my disappointment.  I've been known to put bags in my suitcase when I return from trips to visit family.  It's good stuff.

http://www.whitelily.com/WhereToBuy.aspx

[Gggirl]

Mrs.Pete- I had no idea flour could make a difference in baking.  I always buy unbleached AP flour.  White Lily is not sold in my state.

[plainjane]

grown exclusively below the Mason Dixon line, thus producing a "softer" product"

Cool, I never realized temperature and softness (protein content?) of flour were related. Is that why so much "strong" pasta flour comes from Canada?

That is my understanding.  If you're in Canada, look for cake & pastry flour when you're using recipes from the southern US & you'll likely have better success.

[geekette]

I think it's more historical preference for variety than climate (although maybe high protein wheat grows better up north?)

Cake flour - low protein.  Bread flour - high protein.  AP flour - middle of the road.

If you're baking bread, which relies on gluten, you don't want to use low protein flour, but for cakes and biscuits, it's ideal.

White Lily used to be produced solely in Knoxville, TN, but Smuckers bought the name in '06 and closed that plant in '08, moving production to Ohio.  Some purists say it just isn't the same…  You know how people get.

[MrsPete]

I didn't know White Lily wasn't available everywhere, but I suppose that does stand to reason.  The south-of-the-Mason-Dixon-line thing has to do with the length of the growing season; a longer growing season produces a softer finished product.  It makes sense that a product that can only be grown in one geographical region would not be available everywhere. 

Cake flour and pastry flour are wonderful products, and I do use them for various applications, but they are not the same thing as White Lily all-purpose flour.   

Someone mentioned King Arthur flour.  This is also a quality product. 

In my younger years, when I was a professional baker, I investigated this topic heavily -- and my husband and family were always happy to help me with my experiments.  It's small details like this that allowed me to charge top dollar for my products, but I burned out on it.