Microwave Sorghum Flour Bread

2017 Update: Due to a problem with Photobucket, see here, there will be a lot of recipes without photos. I will be slowly redoing the recipe pages, as best I can, but many other posts will be impossible to replace. I’m doing this in my own time, while continuing to update the blog with new recipes and posts. If you’d like to donate, any amount appreciated, you can do so here. The site will always be free, the recipes will never be locked behind a paywall, but this is a lot of additional work. I’m not demanding or begging, just putting it there so if you feel like repaying my hard work you have that option. I don’t make any money from the site, all that I do here is to help others, I couldn’t charge for that.

A fresh, steaming bun from the microwave. It really shouldn’t be great, but it is.

May 17th Update: They cancelled my surgery. Now I have to wait, again. I have no idea when it’ll happen now. I don’t know when the blog will resume, bear with me, dear reader.

This post was typed on the 13th of May.

Ah, dear reader. I’m probably going to have a few deferred posts. My head just isn’t in a place to respond to comments and deal with the blog right now. I’m getting ready for my surgery and hospital stay and you can imagine how stressful that is. Still, I’ve often said that here’s catharsis in writing and since I have a new flour to divert my focus I might as well make use of both these things. So, these posts will be written now, posted later and this whole paragraph might be pointless. I won’t mention the hospital or surgery much, it’s very stressful. I need to prepare meals to be brought up that can eaten cold, I have already done that, that might be a guide in the future, let’s see how I’ll be after all this. I also want some  dinners, breads etc left in for the after. I’m all I have when it comes to food preparation, dear reader, and right now I’m close to burning out. I’ll be okay, Jack is tough.

This one really resembles a burger-bun.

So, sorghum. It’s apparently a grain, for real this time. No pseudo about it. I bought a small bag of flour to test it out. Sadly the first trial was for a simple loaf and it stuck like crazy. I might revisit that, but I’d rather make use of it’s strengths as a single use flour than spend time trying to cover for its weaknesses. Now the second, almost foolproof, recipe is a success as you can see. I love these microwave breads, each flour imparts a different texture and taste, but the main result is almost universal. A soft, bouncy bread that only a takes a few minutes to prepare. Thank the egg for that. How does the sorghum fare? Really well actually, it had a firm texture while still being soft and springy. It’s the closest to a burger-bun I’ve reached. As for taste there isn’t much of note, it’s earthy in the way a lot of these alternative grains and seeds are, but it’s pretty mild compared to quinoa or amaranth. I should also say I always use a microwave-safe jug for these recipes and I never bother greasing it, but you can if you’d rather.

Fresh lettuce from the garden.

Sorghum seems similar to amaranth in that it doesn’t soak up much liquid, but like quinoa it can go into the oven runny and come out firm and springy. I’d say texture-wise it resembles buckwheat, there’s a slight dryness to it, but not as pronounced as buckwheat. It’s somewhere between buckwheat and quinoa. Which isn’t very help, is it? Not if you lack experience with these flours. So, okay, it doesn’t absorb liquid, but it can still bake well even when runny, but less liquid seems best. This is all as a single use, by the way. I haven’t tested it much yet as far as stability and strength goes, keep an eye out in the future for that. As for texture, it’s bouncy, but not rubbery, there’s a slight dryness there, pleasant though. I see this working well to balance drier flours or where a more spongy texture is needed. I didn’t find much taste, that might change in other recipes, but I have to learn this from scratch myself first before I can teach anyone else.

So, that’s that. I have five hundred grams to play with and a lot of recipes that will push the flour to it’s limit. The blog will eventually return to normal, but for now this is the way it’ll go. I hope when I finally publish this I’ll be recovering and happy with the results. It’s been a long journey, the last few steps I need help with, all the rest I’ve handled alone. See you again soon, dear reader.

Ingredients

45g Sorghum Flour
7g Ground Flaxseed (1 Tbsp)
1 Tsp GF Baking Powder
1 Large Egg
50ml Water
Pinch Salt

Method

1. Grease microwave safe bowl with Butter or Oil.

2. Whisk together the Egg, Water and Salt. Then Whisk in the Flour, Flax and Baking Powder. Batter will be smooth. Pour into greased bowl.

3. Cook on full heat for 3 minutes. Cake should be springy to the touch and will just about double in size. Place plate on top of the bowl and turn out. Let cool slightly and serve.

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