
Millet Flour
Millet flour is packed with nutrition for flavorful, healthier baked goods. Naturally gluten-free, it adds mild flavor to both sweet and savory recipes. You might recognize whole millet: some cuisines use the small yellow seed in cooking, and it's typical in many bird seed mixtures, as well.
- Flavor: Sweet and corn-like.
- Texture effect: Cornbread-like in small amounts; sandy in larger quantities.
- Works best in: Muffins and quick breads.
- Gluten free: Yes.
Try millet flour in your kitchen.
How to incorporate millet flour into your baking
As with many ancient grains, millet flour is versatile enough to use in many standard recipes. To find the best combinations, our test kitchen bakers took five of our most popular recipes and replaced a portion of the all-purpose flour with millet flour. The results were delicious. Some recipes came alive with a half-and-half substitution: 50% millet, 50% all-purpose flour. Others worked best with 25% millet flour. Here are our full findings for pancakes, scones, cinnamon bread, banana bread, and muffins. Learn more about the testing process on our blog
Millet in Pancakes
Pancakes made with 50% millet flour are light and fluffy, with sweet, corn-like flavor. A 100% millet batter is rather difficult to work with, so while we like the flavor of the finished pancakes, their texture is quite dense.
We also liked: Spelt
Get the recipeMillet in Scones
With perfectly tender texture and sweet flavor, our favorite millet scones are those made with 25% millet flour. We find a 25% dough is easier to work with than the wetter doughs made using 100% or even 50% millet flour. These higher-substitution scones are also dry and dense.
We also liked: Kamut
Get the recipeMillet in Cinnamon Bread
Cinnamon bread made with 25% millet flour is light and fluffy, just like our favorite all-purpose yeast loaf, with added sweetness from the millet. A loaf made with 50% millet flour doesn't rise quite as high, but is almost as soft and moist. Tip: Mix in water gradually; millet tends to absorb less.
Get the recipeMillet in Banana Bread
If you're not concerned with appearance, banana bread made with 50% millet flour is perfectly moist and tender, with bright banana flavor. Looks-wise, a 25% millet flour loaf is more attractive. At 100% and 50% millet flour, loaves collapse and are quite dense in the center.
We also liked: Barley
Get the recipeMillet in Muffins
Substituting 50% millet flour creates muffins with light, tender texture and mild, sweet, corn-like flavor. Millet muffins are very much like cornbread, in fact, even replicating its slight crumbliness. Using 100% millet flour yields extra-crumbly, extra-flat-topped muffins.
We also liked: Spelt
Get the recipeMore great millet recipes
Choose your grain —
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Amaranth
Native to ancient Mesoamerica; a self-contained complete protein. Gluten-free.
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Barley
Provides three times the soluble fiber of oats; delicious nutty flavor. Contains gluten.
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Buckwheat
A classic, tasty base for pancakes, and plenty of dietary fiber. Gluten-free.
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Kamut
High amounts of protein, and engaging wheat-y flavor without any bitterness. Contains gluten.
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Millet
Known for its ancient Chinese roots; offers corn-like taste. Gluten-free.
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Quinoa
Features all the essential amino acids; great cooked as a side dish, or cold in salads. Gluten-free.
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Spelt
An ancient form of wheat that's high in protein; mild whole-grain flavor. Contains gluten.
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Teff
A staple in East Africa's signature flatbreads; good source of fiber. Gluten-free.
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