Key Ingredient: Sorghum Flour

Local gourmet Lorna Yee discovers the secret to creating a delectable gluten-free brownie

What it is: Sorghum flour is a specialty flour milled from the sorghum plant, a hardy grain that originated in Africa, and is now also cultivated in southern Asia and the United States. Though relatively unknown here, sorghum is one of the five top cereal grains produced in the world. In recent years, due to the increasing number of people diagnosed with celiac disease (an autoimmune disease where the small intestine becomes damaged from eating gluten), sorghum has enjoyed new popularity in the gluten-free baking world. Sorghum flour is a little coarser than regular flour, and is pale yellow with brown specks. It has a relatively mild, malty flavor.

How I discovered it: One of my dear friends—author Shauna James Ahern (of the blog Gluten-free Girl)—has celiac disease and taught me about gluten-free baking before I set out to make a lemon-raspberry cake for her birthday. Shauna uses a blend of gluten-free flours to achieve the closest approximation to traditional baked goods typically made with wheat flour. (She blends sorghum flour, tapioca starch, sweet rice flour and potato starch.) The cake was a success, with the platter it rested on scraped clean to the last crumb. Numerous guests—as they went back for seconds—remarked that they couldn’t tell that the cake was gluten-free. Encouraged, I experimented to create an ultrafudgy gluten-free brownie recipe, containing more than a pound of chocolate. Again, the goal was to make it indistinguishable from a traditional brownie. I tested the recipe on some unsuspecting people: a foodie crowd of 12 women, a professional chef, my husband, and—perhaps my harshest critic—myself. (Judging by how quickly I finished that pan of brownies, it’s safe to say I approve!) This moist, dark chocolate brownie recipe changed my previously myopic view of gluten-free baking. I hope you’ll add this recipe to your holiday baking roster, especially if you have a friend or family member with celiac disease!

How to use it in the kitchen: Sorghum is frequently used to replace flour in pancakes, Indian roti, breads and baked goods. For gluten-free quickbreads, brownies, cakes and cookies, try combining sorghum flour with tapioca starch, rice flour and potato flour to make your own gluten-free flour blend.

Where to find it: All the flours mentioned here are available at Whole Foods.

Lorna Yee's recipe for Dark and Fudgy Gluten-free Brownies