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Here are the results of the testing of the flours and starches to  
make roux, as several of you requested.....I had fun doing it.

First I checked the smoke detectors, but I can't have one right in  
the kitchen anyway, so I didn't have to worry about being blasted  
with noise. Then I turned on the exhaust fan, which of course I  
needed.   Still the house got very smokey!  I  did this over a two  
day period as time allowed.

Here was the procedure, ...I used a medium sized cast iron skillet  
with a wood spatula to stir.
3 Tb. of flour or starch
2 Tb of canola oil

I brought each to at least milk chocolate color.  On 2 of them that I  
thought might thicken a little I let cool somewhat and added a cup of  
water.  I brought those to a boil to see if they would thicken.  None  
of those thickened enough to make a gumbo or jambalaya without  
thickening before serving.  I prefer a dark roux and some of them  
might thicken a little if they were not burned so dark.
  - - - - -  - - - - - - - - - - -
Sweet Rice Flour, made a good blond roux, but became very lumpy and  
the lumps won't stir out. I discarded that.

Potato starch....Became a soggy lump at the milk chocolate color.   
Discarded that.

Tapioca starch....became very black quickly.  It made a solid mass.   
I added another 1 T oil but it wouldn't absorb any more oil.  I added  
water to this and brought it to a boil.  It dissolved readily,...  It  
did not thicken when boiled.   This made a very dark color quickly.

Cornstarch...It browned but was very lumpy.  I mashed it out and  
added 1 cup water , boiled it to get rid of the lumps and it doesn't  
not thicken.  But I could use it then thicken with something else  
before serving.

Sorghum flour....this browns best, and does not lump.  It gets dark,  
but more slowly than the others.  I added water to this and boiled it  
hard, but it doesn't thicken, or only very slightly.  As it cooled it  
began to thicken.  (I kept this for later use.)
  - - - - - - -- - - - -- - - - -
This is certainly not a very scientific experiment, since I didn't  
treat them all exactly alike.
After I've finished, I've decided that in the future I'll use either  
the tapioca starch or the sorghum flour for the roux, add a little  
water to make a liquid, then add that to the vegetables to cook.  We  
should I suppose be using the sorghum flour since all the others are  
just the starches. ( I didn't try corn flour or potato flour.)   At  
least the sorghum is a whole grain, which we should be using.

And so I'll sign off so I can go out-of-doors and get a big breath of  
Fresh Air.

Thanks so much for your interest.  I hope this helps.     Beth

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