Just realized I wasted $60 on fancy flour that was past its prime

I went to a specialty shop downtown last month and grabbed a bag of that heirloom wheat flour everyone raves about. Paid $60 for a 10 pound bag, which is insane when my regular stuff is like $8. Got home, opened it up, and the smell was off, kind of musty. I checked the harvest date and it was 13 months old. Baked a loaf anyway and it came out flat and dense, no rise at all. Turns out the oils in whole wheat go rancid way faster than I thought, and that expensive flour was just sitting on their shelf too long. Now I'm wondering if any of you check harvest dates on specialty flours before buying, or am I the only one who trusts the pretty packaging? I feel like a sucker for not asking the shop owner how long they've had it.

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rayy831mo ago

Toss that bag and buy from a mill that stamps fresh dates, lesson learned.

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