Where do you find whole wheat flour that doesn't cost an arm and a leg?

Don't waste money at organic shops where they mark everything up three times over, it's just pointless. What works well for me is buying directly from farmers when I find someone selling fresh ground grain - if you know any farmers in your area it's really worth asking them, they often have honest prices and the product is definitely better than what you get at supermarkets.

Bulk whole wheat flour costs roughly half as much as packaged versions - that's just a fact. What few people think about is buying straight from organic grocery stores on their discount days (usually Wednesday or Thursday): you'll find the same stuff you'd pay double for on weekends, because they need to make room for fresh stock. It's not an official discount, it's just that inventory moves slower on those days and a lot of shopkeepers knock the price down slightly to avoid waste.

Another practical trick: if you have a friend or two who share your love for baking bread or pastries at home, buy together from a food wholesaler. Not everyone knows that many of these places actually sell to the public if you show up with two or three people, and the per-kilo prices become really tiny. Just a quick call ahead to find out if they offer this and what documents they need (usually nothing complicated).

Then yeah, discount stores work great like I said, but if you really want maximum savings the combo is: bulk from the organic store on slower days + maybe share an order with other people if you find a wholesaler willing to do it. Quality stays excellent and you'll actually save a lot.

Listen, after 23 years in retail I'm telling you discount stores really do work, but if you wanna save even more check out the weekly deals at regular supermarkets - sometimes whole wheat flour goes on sale and you pay less than at discount stores! Then yeah, if you've got a mill nearby that's gold, both for the price and the freshness, but I get that not everyone has that available.