Flour problems coming again….

Having grown up in a household where running out of anything was a minor disaster, it should come as no surprise that I have a well-stocked pantry. So when, in March, we began making videos I had plenty of my most useful ingredients. On the occasions that I needed flour it was available until, apparently “we all started baking”. (I’d never stopped) There were some weeks when the flour didn’t seem as plentiful in the supermarket and then it disappeared from the shelves altogether. There was no shortage – mills were working flat out – but it couldn’t be packaged quickly enough to keep up with demand. Oddly enough I’ve spotted massive sacks for sale in both Sainsbury’s and Waitrose in recent weeks – who can store one of those at home? Luckily for me, there is a lovely bespoke cake shop nearby and although closed, their deliveries were still being received so I was able to buy flour and other ingredients “loose” from there. (You may have noticed that sometimes my flour is in a glass storage jar). Normally I prefer to use Homepride which comes in a distinctive box and snappy lid, good for preventing flour mites getting in and they sit neatly on my shelf. Well – this week we heard that last Winter was too wet to plant the wheat, this Spring was too wet for it to grow and guess what? The Summer was too hot for it to ripen too. Result…poor harvest=higher prices+potential shortages (again). What am I going to do? Put it on the shopping list and get a good stock ready, just in case. Oh, and bread prices will probably go up too. I’ll be back to my alternative source no doubt – as she had bread flour and yeast as well!