Fair Value Of Financial Instruments (Narrative) (Details)	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2011
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Number of independent distributors	4,250
Maximum [Member]
Fair Value, Balance Sheet Grouping, Financial Statement Captions [Line Items]
Financing period of territories, years	10

Represents the approximate number of independent distributors for the company.

No definition available.

Name:	flo_NumberOfIndependentDistributors
Namespace Prefix:	flo_
Data Type:	xbrli:integerItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration