Is it that time of the month that you should bake some cookies or crispy muffins for your household? Or are you looking forward to proving your baking skills and you need millet flour for your recipe?
Millet is a unique and essential ingredient if you must make a gluten-free meal. Not only is millet nutritious, but it also has this mild flavor, which makes it adaptable.
Millet is a perfect substitute for many grains and experts consider it healthier than most. Millet grain is ground into flour for baking.
So what if your recipe calls for a gluten-free recipe and you don’t want to use millet or you do not have it?
Well, good news! Here are some gluten-free substitutes for millet flour; rice flour, sorghum flour, cassava flour, quinoa flour, and buckwheat flour.
Read on to know more about these substitutes and what you can bake with them.
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What you must know about these substitutes
Before we dive right into these substitutes, here is what you need to know. These flours, heedless of their negligible differences in taste, are excellent backups for millet flour.
So your choice would heavily depend on your recipe and the flour you want to add to your recipe. And for the sake of clarity, we would list and throw in details of a non-gluten-free substitute for millet flour.
So let’s begin!
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Gluten-free substitutes for millet flour
1. Rice flour
If you must have some baked food in-household for the night or some morning breakfast and it calls for some gluten-free recipe, go for rice flour.
Rice flour is made from rice. All rice in its natural form is gluten-free. So whether you want to settle for white or brown rice would depend on the flavor and what works for you.
White rice has this mild flavor, while brown rice has a homey nutty flavor.
You can bake outstanding bread, crispy cookies, and some muffins with rice flour in place of millet flour.
2. Sorghum flour
Also known as great millet, sorghum flour is another great substitute for millet flour in case the recipe requires gluten-free flour.
Sorghum and millet share many similarities, and some people use millet and sorghum interchangeably. The only difference is that millet is a cereal crop from panicum miliaceum, while sorghum is from sorghum bicolor.
Sorghum has this nutty flavor that is like wheat berries.
You can bake sweet cookies, bread, and cakes with sorghum flour and get almost the same result as the millet would give.
3. Quinoa flour
Quinoa is another grain that would reward your efforts anytime millet flour seems to be away for some time.
Quinoa is a flowering plant from the family of amaranth. It is a nutrient-packed grain that you can substitute for rice and other grain.
If you decide to have quinoa flour in place of millet flour, then you have no cause to worry because quinoa flour has a mild and nutty flavor and would not subdue other ingredients in your recipe.
The flour blends in so easily and would give you a satisfying result.
4. Cassava flour
This is yet another great gluten-free substitute for millet flour. Cassava is naturally gluten-free and can fit many recipes. The cassava is made from cassava or yucca. It is known for its subtle flavor.
So if you need to get moist cakes and tender cookies as soon as possible, then cassava flour is the way to go.
5. Buckwheat flour
Buckwheat is also called beech wheat. it is a type of grain that is related to the rhubarb plant. Buckwheat is gluten-free and can replace rice as a whole seed. The grain is versatile. Little wonder the grain is ground to get flour for other recipes.
It is a substantial source of protein and sits fine as a substitute for millet flour. It has a combination of nutty and some bitter taste as well. And this is almost the same as wheat flour.
You can bake some sweet banana bread, some crispy muffins, crackers, and even cakes with buckwheat.
Non-gluten-free substitutes for millet flour
1. Bulgur
Bulgur is a wonderful grain that does well in roasted chicken, salads, and pilaf soups. A lot of cooking geeks simmer it into pudding and porridge. It is an excellent substitute for rice when the need calls for it.
So, whatever you choose to make with bulgur, you would surely get an excellent reward. Find out about the plethora of benefits bulgur offers.
And although bulgur is healthy, it is not good for people with celiac disease. This is because it is not gluten-free. However, if you are not on a gluten-free diet, then this is a great substitute for millet flour.
Bulgur’s flavor: the flavor of bulgur is not very different from millet flour and, as a result, is an excellent substitute for it. The flavor of bulgur is light and nutty. It can easily adjust to let other ingredients fit in the recipe.
For a rewarding result, bake some cracked wheat bread with bulgur flour. You can bake some cakes with bulgur flour too!
2. Barley flour
Although the gluten content in barley is low, it is not safe for people that are allergic to gluten. But if your recipe calls for gluten and your household are fine with the choice, then barley would serve you well. Barley is nutritious as it is high in fiber.
Barley flour is made from dried ground barley. You can add barley flour to your recipe.
Here is some food you can bake with barley flour; biscuits, cookies, chocolate cakes, biscuits, rye bread, and some quick barley bread.
Barley’s flavor: if you are worried that the flavors of the barley might get in the way of your recipe, here’s what barley tastes like. Barley has this mild nutty flavor and would not alter the taste of your recipe. You’ll have to follow the recipe intently.
3. Wheat flour
Wheat flour is regular flour for most cooking geeks. But it is none gluten-free. This does not mean it is not a great substitute for millet. So you can use wheat flour if you are not gluten-free conscious.
Wheat flour is popularly used for baking and would not disappoint even if it is your first time of use. Wheat flour adds some brown color and nutty flavor to the baked foods.
So you can bake bread and pancakes and would do well in pastries too.
4. All-purpose flour
All-purpose flour is not just an excellent thickening agent. It is exceptional for cooking, coating meats, and a go-to if you need flour to bake with. And as the name implies, it is truly all-purpose flour.
Many people use all-purpose flour and what flour interchangeably. But we advise you are sure of your recipe.
Although it is not gluten-free, the gluten content would vary and depend on the type of wheat the all-purpose flour is made from. On average, all-purpose flour contains 8 to 11% of gluten.
So if you are good with baking some foods that the recipe permits for none gluten-free flour, then all-purpose flour is a way to go.
All-purpose flour is a terrific substitute for millet flour if you want to bake some bread, muffins, cookies, cakes, and pancakes. And we assure you if gluten is not a barrier, you can never go wrong with this flour.
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Conclusion
Whether you are on a gluten-free diet or not, these Gluten-free Substitutes for millet flour offer almost the same result.
To ensure you get the best out of your effort, be conversant with the flavor that you want in your recipe. If you are allergic to any of the listed, you can always replace it with another.
You don’t have to search all nooks and crannies for these substitutes, you can always get them online stores. Or you can get down to the nearest grocery store and make a pick.
We hope you make the right choice!