Best 5 Injera African Ethiopian Flat Bread Recipes

INJERA RECIPE - ETHIOPIAN FLAT BREAD

Steps:

• Place the teff flour, rice flour, yeast, sugar and water in a large ceramic bowl and mix thoroughly.
• Cover with a kitchen paper and leave somewhere warm to sit for 2 hours, to rise.If you don't have anywhere that's not cold (if it's winter), turn your oven light on, and place the starter in there. BUT DO NOT TURN THE OVEN ON.I place mine in the airing cupboard, in winter time.
• Place the teff and rice flours in a large bowl.
• Add 70g (½ cup) of the starter.
• Gradually add 250ml (1 cup) of the water, mixing with a wooden spoon. Add more water, a little at a time, until you have a very thick batter that resists the spoon.
• Let the batter now sit for 2-3 days, covered with a kitchen paper or loosely covered with a lid, on your kitchen counter. This is the point where the batter will ferment, and at the end of it, you'll get a sour smell, much like sourdough.If you live in a warm climate, 2 days will do, otherwise, you might want to go for the whole 3 days. Some of my readers have had to go 4 days. So many factors affect this.What you are looking for is when you can see a clear fluid layer and the batter is beginning to release bubbles.In the summer, I start checking after 1 day. And the same goes if I'm keeping the batter somewhere warm like the airing cupboard.
• When you've reached the right stage, as described above, pour off the liquid at the top.
• In a small saucepan over high heat, boil 250ml water (1 cup). Add 80 ml (⅓ cup - use a proper measuring cup) of the injera batter to the boiling water, stirring continuously. Keep stirring until you get a thick porridge like batter. This is called absit.
• Take the saucepan off the heat and transfer the absit to a bowl and leave to cool to almost room temperature. This will take about an hour.
• When the absit has cooled, we are going to use a blender to mix everything up to give us a smooth batter. This is the Ethiopian way.In 2-3 batches, place some of the earlier Injera batter and some of the absit in your blender and blend to create a smooth batter.Place back into the original fermentation container that you used and leave to sit, covered loosely for another 1-2 hours, until there are plenty of bubbles in the batter. If you want this process to be fast, find a warm place. Otherwise, it may take a good 6 hours before you see those bubbles, which are crucial.
• When the batter is bubbly, using a wooden spoon, stir in 250ml (1 cup) of lukewarm water and 1 tsp salt. Mix well.You are going for a pancake batter consistency. If you dip your fingers in the batter, it should all just run off, leaving a thin coat on your fingers, much like warm custard.
• Ethiopians cook their Injera on a non stick electric griddle. If you have that, use it, if not, a large non stick flat griddle or frying pan will do. An Indian tawa will be perfect for this, if you have it.We're going to go ahead with a non stick pan on the stove. Heat the pan over medium-high heat.
• Transfer your injera batter to a jug. When your pan has heated up, starting from the outside of the pan, pour your batter from a height of about 6 inches, in a circular motion, completely covering the pan.If you need to tilt the pan to cover all of it, do it quickly, as the batter will crisp up fast. But it's preferable not to tilt the pan. It may take you a couple of attempts to get the hang of it.
• At about 30 seconds, you'll start to see air pockets or holes on the surface.. Now, cover the pan with a lid and cook for 1-2 minutes until the edge of the injera is curling up. The sizzling sound will also have subsided quite a bit at this stage.If your batter was on the thinner side, your injera ought to be done at 1 minute. So 1 or 2 minutes (or even 3) will depend on how thick your injera is.
• Using a large, wide spatula, lift the side of the injera and slide onto a plate.Turn the heat off and time to check on our first injera, and adjust the batter, if necessary.If your injera is too soft, sticky or even worse, became a lump on the pan:pour a little of your batter into a blender and add 40 g (¼ cup) rice flour. Blend to a smooth paste, and stir this into the rest of the batter to mix thoroughly.If your injera is too thick or dry:stir in a little water, maybe about 2-4 Tbsp, to get a slightly thinner batter.
• Continue cooking the rest of the injera and stack them on top of each other on the plate.You could reserve ½ cup batter to use as your starter, and store in the fridge for up to 1 week, for your next injera.
• Leave the cooked injera to cool to room temperature, then cover with clingfilm and leave to sit for an hour before serving.The longer you leave the injera, the softer and tastier it will be. A day is perfect, making it a great recipe for when you have guests, as it can be done the day before.The injera can be frozen for up to 3 months (see article above).
• In a large bowl, mix the yeast with a little bit of the warm water and stir to combine.
• Add whichever 2 flours you're using, along with the salt.
• Gradually, add more warm water, stirring with a wooden spoon until you have a smooth batter, this time the consistency of thick pancake batter. Again, you may not need all the water.
• Cover with cling film and let stand for 1 hour.
• After an hour, the batter would have increased slightly, give it a stir and pour the hot water, stirring constantly, until you get the thick crêpe batter we mentioned in the traditional method.
• Let stand for 20 minutes, then proceed to cook as above.

INJERA (ETHIOPIAN SOUR FLATBREAD)

Steps:

• Repeat until all of the batter is used, spraying the pan with cooking spray as necessary.

INJERA (ETHIOPIAN TEFF BREAD)

Steps:

• Mix 1/2 cup white teff flour and brown teff flour together in a bowl. Add 1 cup water and whisk well. Pour mixture into a glass container large enough to hold 3 times the original volume. Cover with cheesecloth or other breathable fabric to keep out dust; do not seal with plastic wrap as air circulation is vital. Leave covered container in a draft-free environment; the mixture needs air to be circulated in order to ferment. Stir batter 2 times over 24 hours.
• Check for bubbles and possibly an increase in volume after 24 hours; there may also be a slightly tangy and sour smell. When you notice these things, add 1 tablespoon white teff flour and 1 tablespoon water to the batter and whisk well. Check in a few hours to see if bubbles have again formed, mixture has increased in volume, and the pungent smell is still evident; if so, the batter is ready and you can skip to the cooking process (step 5).
• Leave batter to rest another 12 hours if the mixture has not begun to form or smell sour after the first 24 hours; stir once during this time. Check to see if bubbles have formed, mixture has increased in volume, and a pungent smell is evident; if so, proceed with step 4.
• Mix together 2 tablespoons white teff flour and 2 tablespoons water in a bowl, making sure there are no lumps. Add mixture to the batter, whisking well. Wait a few hours; batter should be bubbly with a noticeable increase in volume and a pungent but fragrant smell, indicating it is ready to be cooked.
• Heat an 8-inch crepe pan or nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add oil. Pour a scant 1/2 cup batter slowly and steadily into the hot pan in a circular motion from outside to inside. Cover the pan completely in a spiral without swirling. Cover, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook, allowing steam to cook the top of the bread, 1 to 3 minutes. Remove from pan with spatula and transfer to a plate; cover to keep warm. Repeat with remaining batter.

AUTHENTIC INJERA (AKA ETHIOPIAN FLAT BREAD)

Steps:

• Mix ground teff with the water and let stand in a bowl covered with a dish towel at room temperature until it bubbles and has turned sour; This may take as long as 3 days, although I had success with an overnight fermentation; The fermenting mixture should be the consistency of a very thin pancake batter.
• Stir in the salt, a little at a time, until you can barely detect its taste.
• Lightly oil an 8 or 9 inch skillet (or a larger one if you like); Heat over medium heat.
• Pour in enough batter to cover the bottom of the skillet; About 1/4 cup will make a thin pancake covering the surface of an 8 inch skillet if you spread the batter around immediately by turning and rotating the skillet in the air; This is the classic French method for very thin crepes; Injera is not supposed to be paper thin so you should use a bit more batter than you would for crepes, but less than you would for a flapjack pancakes.
• Cook briefly, until holes form in the injera and the edges lift from the pan; Do not let it brown, and don't flip it over as it is only supposed to be cooked on one side.
• Remove and let cool. Place plastic wrap or foil between successive pieces so they don't stick together.
• To serve, lay one injera on a plate and ladle your chosen dishes on top (e.g., a lovely doro wat or alicha). Serve additional injera on the side. Guests can be instructed to eat their meal without utensils, instead using the injera to scoop up their food.

INJERA (ETHIOPIAN FLAT BREAD)

Steps:

• 1. Combine the flours and yeast in a ceramic or glass bowl. Add the warm water and mix into a fairly thin, smooth batter.
• 2. Let the mixture sit for three full days at room temperature. Stir the mixture once a day. It will bubble and rise.
• 3. When you are ready to make the injera, add the baking soda and salt and let the batter sit for 10 to 15 minutes.
• 4. Heat a small, nonstick 9-inch skillet. When a drop of water bounces on the pan's surface, take about 1/3 cup of the batter and pour it in the skillet quickly, all at once. Swirl the pan so that the entire bottom is evenly coated, then return to the heat.
• 5. The injera is cooked on only one side and the bottom should not brown. When the moisture has evaporated and lots of "eyes" appear on the surface, remove the injera. Let each injera cool and then stack them as you go along.
• 6. If the first injera is undercooked, try using less of the mixture, perhaps 1/4 cup, and maybe cook it just a bit longer. Be sure not to overcook it. Injera should be soft and pliable so that it can be rolled or folded, like a crepe.