Make Baking Supplies Last Longer

Sugar
Add a bay leaf to your flour or sugar tin to keep insects out.

Salt:
Add raw rice to your saltshakers to keep the salt from forming lumps.

Brown Sugar
To prevent brown sugar from absorbing moisture and caking into one solid mass, store it in a plastic bag inside an airtight container. If it still cakes up despite your best efforts, it’s easier to loosen it up by manipulating the bag than by breaking off pieces of the solid sugar. If your brown sugar has already hardened, the simplest way to soften it is to add a few marshmallows or a slice of fresh bread to the bag, seal it and wait a couple of days. The moisture from the bread will soften the sugar.

When you’re in a hurry to soften brown sugar, a slice of apple will do the trick. Place the opened plastic bag of sugar in a microwave with the apple and heat for 15 seconds on High. The steam from the apple will soften the sugar.

Baker’s Yeast
If you have baker’s yeast on hand at the beginning of the summer and don’t plan to use it till the weather cools, pop it in the freezer. Baker’s yeast will keep well for several months if frozen.