Looking for source of 25# bags of UNBLEACHED bread flour

Hi,
I've been having a lot of fun with bread baking lately and am hoping someone can direct me to an economical source for good unbleached bread flour in 25-lb bags. The Sam's and CostCo offerings all seem to be bleached flour and everybody else just seems to offer the usual 5# bags that I've been going through awful fast.

I'm out in the far NW suburbs, so anything out that way would be deluxe. I do have a weekday commute to the Loop, so would also be open to the notion of schlepping a big ol' bag on Metra if there is a primo source right downtown (West Loop vicinity).

Many thanks!

Hi,

A likely source, though I cannot guarantee it, is to contact or visit Woodman's Grocery. There is one in Algonquin, but I cannot locate the address this moment.

The Picknsave or at least the location I was at has an area for industrualized/commercialized foods.The one in Waukegan.

Cathy2 wrote:A likely source, though I cannot guarantee it, is to contact or visit Woodman's Grocery. There is one in Algonquin, but I cannot locate the address this moment.

It seems a likely source to me, too, though I haven't checked. The nearest Woodman's is at 2100 Randall Road, Carpentersville, (847) 426-6750.

You might also want to try a bakers' supply house, e.g.:

Sterling Flour Company
1639 North Newland Avenue, Chicago, IL 60707
(773) 889-8544

I went to Woodman's in Carpentersville tonight to stock up my depleted refrigerator with some fresh vegetables after being gone last week.

They do NOT carry 25# bags of flour unbleached. They do have it in 10# bags but that is about it. They carry 2 SKUs of 25# bleached flour.

I could kick myself for not remembering a store where you can buy large sacks of flour.

Gordon Food Service Marketplace Store
1930 N Rand Rd
Palatine, IL 60074
Palatine
847-934-0403
847-934-2162 (FAX)
http://www.gfs.com/gfs_marketplace.html

I used to order all my products from them. I would call first to ensure that they carry the product that you want. They will special order it for you if it is not a stock item.

The Home Economist carries a wide range of bulk flours, including unbleached, and will sell you a full 25 pound bag (which is how it comes to them) unless they think their bins will run out before their next weekly order comes in. You can always get it by calling ahead. In addition to stores in Skokie, Barrington, Westmont, and LaGrange, the saleman told me they also have an outlet store at their distribution center in Arlington Heights. I don't have an address for that location, but would hope you could get it by calling one of the other stores.

Home Economist Speciality Foods
419 N. LaGrange Rd
LaGrange Park, IL
708 352 1514

906 S. Northwest Highway
Barrington, IL
847 382 4204

Cass Harbor Center
6382 Cass Ave
Westmont, IL
630 852 0214

Church Point Plaza
9163 Gross Point Road
Skokie, IL
847 674 7252

On a trip to Costco a couple of weeks ago, I saw several kinds of flour being sold in large bags. Some were 25lbs and some were 50lbs. I don't remember what size the unbleached was but it's worth checking out if you're still looking.

(Belated) Thanks to all. I finally managed to get to Woodman's per several suggestions and was very happy with what they had. At least this week, they've got terrific pricing on the previously unfamiliar "Dakota Maid" brand @ 89 cents for 5# bags (which works out cheaper than the bigger bag I intended to get...) of all-purpose unbleached, unbleached bread and whole-wheat flours, so I've stocked up now probably through year-end. Only tried the all-purpose in a pizza dough so far and I'm quite pleased.

The Dakota Maid is the product of the only state-owned mill in the U.S. and the product has great word-of-mouth according to my Google search. It's supposed to compare well to the 2-3x more expensive King Arthur flour.

BTW, I had looked at Home Economist and was unimpressed given their pricing (tho' my son liked the candy selection just fine). Haven't gone to the Gordon Food Service store yet, but that sounds like it's worth a future visit. Thanks again to all!