Anyone ever used millet flour???

[NoviceKnitter]

I bought some on impulse but not sure if you can use it as wheat flour substitute or if it's completely different...

Anyone know?

TIA

Millet does not contain any gluten so cannot be substituted completely for wheat flour, and is usually used in combination with other flours (other than for flat bread). You can replace a proportion of the wheat flour with millet (you could try 10% or 20%) and it will give a really nice flavour. Alternatively you could try millet muffins (never tried them so I don't know what they turn out like!) - chetday.com/millet.html

Thanks FT - so it's the gluten that makes stuff rise is it???

It's the gluten that holds the air that makes the bread light. The top bit of this explains it: www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/bread/activity-gluten.html

It is possible to make lots of different kinds of glutenfree bread, cakes etc. (I do it all the time) but they don't have the fluffy lightness of gluten containing baked stuff.

Have used it with rice flour as a combination in cakes and pancakes etc, needed baking powder or bicarbonate of soda to make cakes rise etc as no gluten in the flours as flamingtoaster mentioned. Would say that its best mixed with something else especially if giving to dcs as a bit gritty, healthy tasting (if you knwo what I mean) as a pure replacement. But then we have to experiement with odd flours and diets, so my poor dc used to odd food!

2childrenand it - what proportions did you use for pancakes? I know the feeling about experimenting - DS is allergic to gluten and milk and intolerant to egg so we've had lots of experiments here!

Ummm - t'was a while ago, think it was about 2/3 rice as that was what we were mainly using at the time and about 1/3 millet - havent used it for a while as have got into some mixes that we were introuced to at a roadshow - breadmix in boxes etc, that makes bread and cakes with a bit more bounce in them than some of the flat, biscuit like offerings I have presented my poor family ith over the years!

Thanks 2childrenandit - I haven't experimented with millet flour, but there's always a first time!