Platter with Three Traditional Injera Breads
(click to enlarge)

Injera Bread - Traditional


North America   -   Injera
Makes:
Effort:
Sched:
DoAhead:  		 11 ea
***
7 days
Yes		 Injera is the bread of Ethiopia & Eritrea. This recipe is the traditional method - much more demanding than our Injera - Fast. See also Comments.

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1
1
1/2

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1/2
1
4-1/2
2
1-3/4

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1/2
1
1/2
ar
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ar
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c
c
c

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c
c
c
c
c

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c
c
c

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-- Yeast Starter  
Teff Flour (1)
Water (2)
Water

-- Basic Batter
Starter
Water
Flour, Teff
Water
Water

-- Absit
Water
Base Batter
Water
Water to thin
-- Injera
Oil (3)

See Gallery for tools used and more details. These breads weigh about 4 ounces each at 9 inches diameter.

Make Yeast Starter - Day 1   -   (Days 4 - 20 min work)
  1. In a non-reactive bowl large enough for some expansion, pour 1 cup Water and slowly mix in 2 cups Teff Flour working it to remove all lumps. Smooth out the batter and carefully pour another 1/2 cup water over it. This water should cover the batter completely. Cover the bowl loosely enough to allow some air circulation (I use a plastic bag) and place in a slightly warm location. Leave sit until the 4th day.
Make Base Batter - Day 4   -   (Days 3 - 30 min work)
  1. The fermenting bowl should have separated into two layers, with liquid on top. Carefully pour off the liquid. What's left is your starter. It's more than you will need for one recipe, but excess can be kept, (see Starter).
  2. Select a non-reactive bowl large enough for the whole recipe and some expansion. Measure out 1/2 cup of the Starter into this bowl and work in 1 cup of Water. Use your hands so you can feel for lumps.
  3. Work in 4-1/2 cups (1 # 2 oz) Teff Flour until all even and as lump free as you can get it. Work with your hands so you can feel lumps and crush them. Measure out 2 cups of water and set aside. As you work you may need to add a little from the reserved 2 cups, until it is all included. The batter should end up smooth, lump free, and very thickly creamy.
  4. Level out the Batter and carefully pour 1-3/4 cups Water over it. This Water should completely cover the Batter.
  5. Cover the bowl and set aside as before, for 3 days. It should be be bubbly and smell yeasty and sour.
Make Absit & Final Batter - Day 7   -   - (4-1/2 hrs - 1/2 hr work)
  1. Carefully pour the liquid off the top of the Batter.
  2. In a sauce pan, bring 1 cup of Water to a boil. Whisk in 1/2 cup of the Base Batter and another 1/2 cup of Water. When this mixture starts to thicken and bubble, take it off the heat and let cool until it is just warm. This Absit should have the consistency of a thin porridge.
  3. Stir the Absit into the Base Batter until well distributed. This mix should be just a little thicker than a crepe batter. It will need to pour fairly well. If you dip your fingers into it, it should run off leaving only a coating (see Gallery). Stir in some more Water if it is too thick. If it's thin enough, but you just can't get rid of lumps, you might use an immersion blender ont it, but then you'll need a couple extra hours of final fermentation.
  4. Cover the bowl and set aside until it's fairly bubbly. This can be 2 to 6 hours depending on yeast activity, temperature, etc. After there are a fair number of bubbles forming on the surface, it's ready to cook.
Make Injera - Day 7   -   (1 hr)
  1. Start your griddle warming to about 440°F/220°C so it will be ready and stabilized by time you start to cook. I recommend an Infrared Thermometer to confirm temperature.
  2. With your griddle up to temperature, moisten a lump of paper towel with Oil and wipe it around so it coats very thin.
  3. Ladle batter to fill a small pitcher or some other device that can pour a thin stream. Pour batter onto the griddle in a thin stream from 6 to 8 inches above the griddle. Pour in a spiral close enough so the batter closes any gaps. It should be about 9 inches diameter, unless you want some other size (6 to 15 inches - see Spreading Batter).
    • Do Not Cover the Pan until you are no longer seeing any more eyes opening on the top surface. Watch the light colored areas.
    • Cover the Pan and let the Injera cook for awhile. Lift the cover and dump out the steam now and then. Traditional Injera lids have a steam escape hole.
    • Don't touch the top surface of the Injera, you'll close the eyes and make a dent with even a light touch.
    • It is Done when it has pretty much stopped steaming, but will still be fairly soft.
    • Remove it from the griddle using two turners or a very wide device, as it is tender and fragile until well cooled.
    • Cool the injera, preferably on a straw mat so it can steam off from both sides. When cold, you can stack them on a plate.
  4. Re-oil the pan and repeat until you have used all the batter.
  5. Serve at room temperature - see Serving. Leftover Injera can be sealed in plastic and refrigerated for a couple of days. It will eventually get crumbly.
NOTES:

  1. Teff Flour:

      Teff flour is easily available on-line in North America. Most of it is Brown Teff, rather than the Ivory Teff preferred in Ethiopia. This may be the reason Mulunesh Belay uses half Teff flour and half Rice Flour, to make a much lighter Injera while maintaining its gluten free nature.

  2. Water:

      The water must be chlorine free, as chlorine slows yeast proliferation. If your local water is chlorinated, use bottled water.

  3. Oil:

      Use a high temperature oil like Olive Pomace or Rice Bran, as griddle temperature may hit as high as 450°F/230°C. in spots.

  4. Spreading Batter:

      You need your batter liquid enough to spread to the desired thickness as poured. You don't want to spread the batter with a spatula, as that will destroy the surface bubbles. In Ethiopia, they pour a spiral from the outside in, but they're making it about 2 feet in diameter and are highly skilled. This is probably to compensate for the big clay Mitad being lower temperature at the outer edges, so gives the outer edges a little more cooking time. It's easier for us to pour from the center out.

  5. Serving:

      In Ethiopia and Eritrea, Injera bread is served with practically every meal. Traditionally, a very wide disk of Injera is the tablecloth with food dabbed on top and half rolls of Injera on the side. Pieces of Injera are torn off and used to pick up foods and sauces. When the food is gone, the tablecloth is eaten and dinner is over. Today, it is common to place a disk of Injera on an individual plate, with foods on top of it, and a couple half rolls of Injera on the side.

  6. Starter:

      The starter can be stored in a sealed jar in the fridge for up to 2 weeks. If left longer, it must be fed every 2 weeks or it will weaken. To do this, pour off any liquid on top. If you haven't been using it, you may need to discard some of the old solids too. Stir in 1/2 cup of Teff Flour and 1/4 cup of water. I see no reason this starter could not be used for other types of sour dough breads as well.

  7. Comments:

      This recipe is largely derived from practices given in Yohanis Gebreyesus' book Ethiopia and Mulunesh Belay's Ethiopian Feast, with a large dose of my personal experience. Ms. Belay now makes Injera in her restaurant in Belingham, Washington, using a mix of 1/2 Rice Flour and 1/2 Teff Flour, which produces a much lighter color Injera than shown here. She uses 1/2 cup of starter per 2 pounds of Flour in the Base Batter. She also uses 1 Tablespoon of active dry yeast when making her initial Starter. This may be necessary in climates much cooler than Ethiopia, or in sterile environments lacking sufficient wild yeasts.

  8. Recipe Uses:

      Injera is used in recipes, such as our Beef Firfir Stew and Injera with Flaxseed Dressing.
  9. U.S. measure: t=teaspoon, T=Tablespoon, c=cup, qt=quart, oz=ounce, #=pound, cl=clove in=inch, ar=as required tt=to taste
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