🌾 Sorghum Flour

What it is

Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor) is a cereal grain that has been grown across Africa, India, and parts of Asia for thousands of years. It is a member of the grass family but contains no gluten proteins: it is naturally gluten-free.

The flour is milled from the whole grain (white or red varieties are most common in GF baking). White sorghum flour is the one you’ll encounter most: pale, smooth, and mild enough to use as a base flour in a wide range of baking.

Despite being less well-known than rice flour in Western markets, sorghum is one of the top five cereal crops grown globally.

Coeliac safety

Sorghum is naturally gluten-free, but like all GF grains milled in general facilities, cross-contamination is a real risk. Sorghum is often grown in proximity to wheat crops and processed in mills that handle multiple grains. Always buy sorghum flour with a gluten-free claim on the pack (a certification mark is a bonus, not a requirement).

Do not rely on “naturally gluten-free” marketing language alone: look for a gluten-free claim on the pack.

Texture & flavour

Sorghum flour has a mild, slightly sweet, faintly earthy flavour: closer to wheat flour in neutrality than most GF alternatives. It has a moderate protein content (around 10 to 11%), which gives baked goods more structure than starch-heavy blends.

It produces a denser crumb than wheat flour but avoids the grittiness of rice flour and the strong flavour of buckwheat. The texture is smooth and cohesive: one of the reasons it performs so well in bread, where structure matters most.

Best uses

• GF sandwich bread and rolls: sorghum is one of the best base flours for yeasted bread: it provides structure without dominating flavour
• Pancakes and waffles: adds a satisfying substance
• Cookies, shortbread, and biscuits: the neutral flavour works well across sweet applications
• Savoury baking: crackers, flatbreads, savoury tarts
• Blended flour mixes: an excellent partner for rice flour, providing structure and a more wheat-like character

It’s less suited to very light or airy bakes (chiffon cakes, delicate sponges) where a higher starch content is needed for lift and tenderness.

HTGF tips

• A reliable all-purpose GF blend starting point: 40% sorghum + 30% white rice flour + 30% tapioca or potato starch. This blend works across most cookies, quick breads, and pancakes.
• Sorghum is heavier than rice flour: if substituting into an existing recipe, consider adding an extra 1 to 2 teaspoons of baking powder per cup of flour for better lift.
• Xanthan gum or psyllium husk is still needed in bread applications: sorghum’s protein helps, but it doesn’t replicate gluten’s elasticity alone.
• Stores well in a cool, dry cupboard. Brown (whole-grain) sorghum flour has a shorter shelf life due to the bran: store in the fridge if you’re not using it weekly.

If you don’t have it

White rice flour substitutes at 1:1 but will produce a grainier, slightly drier result: compensate with a touch more liquid or fat. Brown rice flour is a closer match in structure and earthiness. For bread specifically, a mix of rice flour and a small amount of chickpea flour (for protein) approximates sorghum’s structural contribution reasonably well.