Flour production increases ten-fold due to home baking surge

Flour production in mills has increased ten-fold, since the UK went into lockdown.

The rise in the demand for flour comes as more people have started to bake at home.

Due to the surge in home baking, flour mills across the country are working at full capacity to try and keep up with demand.

Most flour produced goes into big sacks for commercial bakeries.

However, one mill in Oxfordshire has been working to produce small bags for customers to buy from supermarkets instead.

Flour Miller, Emily Munsey said the structure of how flour is supplied in the UK means that a small bag packing line can't change the size of the bags.

She said: "A lot of us like to eat a sandwich on our lunch break and the bread will have been produced in a mass bakery. We're not doing that anymore."

• Emily Munsey, Flour miller

Children have also shown a growing interest in baking, as it has become part of their home education.

At South Farnham Junior School in Surrey, teachers set the students a baking challenge.

There is a lot on support online from vloggers and bloggers who are there to guide novice bakers.

Baking blogger, Kenzie Benali said: "It might not be spot-on the first time you try something but if you do pull-off a show stopper, it can make you feel very proud."

Supermarkets across the South have reported that bags of flour are available, as the panic-buying seen during the lockdown, appears to have lessened.

• Watch the full report by Penny Silvester: