Gluten-free baking can go wrong fast: dry bread, gritty muffins, crumbly cakes, and flour blends that taste a little too obvious. Sorghum flour helps solve several of those problems without taking over the flavor of your recipe.
This mild, naturally gluten-free flour adds softness, structure, and a wheat-like feel to breads, muffins, cakes, rolls, and more. It is not always a perfect one-for-one swap with other types of flour, but when you use it in the right blend, it can make gluten-free baked goods taste less like a compromise.
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What Is Sorghum?
Sorghum is one of several ancient grains that haven’t changed much since people began cultivating them thousands of years ago. The evidence suggests that sorghum was first cultivated in Northeastern Africa as early as 8,000 B.C.
Today, sorghum is valued as a crop that can grow in harsh conditions, such as the semi-arid regions of Ethiopia and the savannah climate and sandy soil of Sudan. In Africa, it is a common subsistence crop.
Sorghum is a cereal grain in the Poaceae family, the same grass family as wheat and rye. Unlike wheat and rye, though, sorghum is naturally gluten-free. This makes it a valuable grain for individuals with celiac disease or gluten sensitivity who still want to enjoy their favorite baked goods.
(Look for the “certified gluten-free” label on the packaging to make sure it hasn’t gotten cross-contaminated at the processing facility. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has strict standards about which products can be labeled “certified gluten-free.”)
Fun fact: Did you know that sorghum can be popped like popcorn? The video below demonstrates how!
What Is Sorghum Flour?
Sorghum flour is a fine powder made from sorghum. It has a very mild flavor, so it’s super versatile and can be used to make a variety of baked goods. If you’d like to scroll through our sorghum flour recipes, you might find something that catches your eye.
It can also be substituted for several other gluten-free flours, though it may sometimes require adjustments to the amounts of other ingredients, such as binders. What makes it tricky is that gluten-free flours can vary in their protein and dietary fiber content. This can affect their ability to absorb moisture and provide structure for baked goods.
USDA FoodData Central reports that sorghum flour contains 8.27 grams of protein and 8.16 grams of dietary fiber per 100 grams of flour. That makes it pretty close to average in protein and fiber content for a gluten-free flour.
Uses and Benefits
Although the sorghum flour most often found in grocery stores these days is usually light cream-colored, sorghum can actually come in a variety of colors. It can be white, yellow, bronze, brown, deep red, or even purple. Besides the interesting colors, sorghum has many benefits. It is fairly easy to grow, even in very dry and hot areas. It can be used as food for humans and livestock, and even as fuel. Not to mention that it’s actually very nutritious, too!
It’s used to make various foods around the world, so wherever you go, you’re probably not far from a local dish that’s made with sorghum flour! It’s used in couscous in the Middle East, in a flatbread called jowar roti in India, in a rice-like dish in Bangladesh, and in tortillas in Honduras. The best part is that sorghum flour makes these dishes more likely to be gluten-free, which can ease concerns for individuals with celiac disease who frequently travel internationally.
I like to use sorghum flour in some flour mixes like the one I use for this artisan bread.
Also, did you know that the whole sorghum grain can be used like rice? When I have extra sorghum grain, I’ll often cook it like rice in my pressure cooker and use it for my favorite rice-based recipes. The video below demonstrates how to cook sorghum in the pressure cooker.
Pro Tip
I recommend measuring ingredients (particularly flour) by grams rather than cups. It can mean the difference between a light and airy bread and a dense loaf. I’ve become heavily reliant on my digital food scale to measure gluten-free flours because they often have different densities (grams per cup), which can throw the texture of baked goods off if I don’t get the measurement exact. I want to get perfect baked goods every time. Approximately one cup of sorghum flour weighs 125 grams.
Why you’ll love baking with sorghum flour
1. Wide variety of recipes
You can use this flour in so many recipes! You are not limited to just quick breads or sweets. It has a mild flavor that won’t overpower the dish you are making.
2. Easy to use
Because sorghum flour has such a light flavor and pale appearance, it won’t discolor or weigh down recipes. For those reasons, it’s really easy to use in all types of recipes.
If you would like to substitute sorghum for another gluten-free flour, it can be done easily, depending on the recipe. The secret is to refer to this guide to the gluten-free flours to make sure the flours are a good match. If you are using it as a coating before frying, you can use the same amount as you would with regular flour.
3. Healthy & nutritious
Sorghum flour has a great balance of fiber and protein, making it an excellent option for a flour with a bit more bulk than, say, white rice flour, which has less than half the amount of both fiber and protein. Relative to other grains and fruits, sorghum is high in antioxidants. It is also high in calcium, iron, magnesium, potassium, zinc, niacin, and fiber. Certain kinds of sorghum have been found to protect against diabetes. And sorghum may also have components that can help treat melanoma.
So you could say sorghum is a healthy, super-flour!
4. Improves texture
Sorghum will help to improve the texture of your baked goods. Because it contains 8.27 grams of protein and 8.16 grams of dietary fiber per 100 grams of flour, it will give your breads, rolls, and muffins stability and structure. And, many people say sorghum flour tastes a lot like wheat flour. When you use it as a frying coating, it produces a tasty, crispy finish.
5. Easy to find and store
Sorghum flour is fairly easy to find in the baking aisle of most health food stores and some grocery stores. I’ll sometimes buy it online if I have trouble finding it in the local grocery store, and the health food store is sold out. Bob’s Red Mill is my default go-to brand for gluten-free flour.
Store your flour in a cool, dry place, and it will keep for months. You don’t have to refrigerate the flour, but if you would like to store it for a longer period of time, you can keep it in the refrigerator or freezer. Keep it in an air-tight, moisture-proof metal or glass container, or in plastic freezer bags. And, as always, bring it to room temperature before using it.
If you are experimenting with different gluten-free flours, sorghum may just be the one to incorporate into your mix. It’s easy to use and store, gives your baked goods a nice texture, offers many health benefits, and has a mild flavor that won’t overpower your food. These are just a few reasons why you’ll love baking with sorghum flour.
FAQ About Sorghum Flour
Have any questions about sorghum flour? I did my best to answer some of the more common questions here. If you have one I haven’t answered yet, feel free to ask in the comments section, and we’ll try to answer as soon as possible.
Is sorghum flour gluten-free?
Sorghum is naturally gluten-free. Look for the “Certified Gluten-Free” label on the packaging to make sure it hasn’t gotten cross-contaminated at the processing facility.
Can I make sorghum flour at home?
It’s easy to make your own sorghum flour if you want. If you get your hands on some sorghum grain, put as much as you need in a food processor and grind it into a fine, consistent powder.
Is sorghum flour a cup-for-cup substitute for other flours?
Unfortunately, no, not every time. While it can successfully replace some flours, differences in the protein and fiber content might require adjustments to other ingredient amounts to compensate. Replacing millet flour with sorghum flour may require adding more binder, for instance. (Eggs, xanthan gum, and a mix of flaxseed meal and water are common binders.)
Are there different types of sorghum flour?
There are! According to the Kansas Food Farm Connection, grain sorghum is most commonly used for flour, especially the lighter-colored varieties such as tan, cream, and white. Other varieties include forage sorghum, used to feed livestock, and biomass sorghum, used to produce ethanol.
Recipes Using Sorghum Flour
- Artisan Bread
- Gluten-Free Easter Bread
- Sorghum Sandwich Bread
- Gluten-Free Pumpkin Waffles
- Gluten-Free Banana Cake
Have any questions or comments about sorghum flour and its uses? Feel free to let us know in the comments section!
