Authentic Eritrean INJERA sourdough flatbread

My neighbor and good friend grew up in Eritrea, Africa.  She taught me how to make her native food staple, injera.  Injera is a sourdough flatbread and is made from teff, a gluten-free super grain native to Ethiopia. Injera is thicker than a crepe and thinner than a pancake and has a delightfully sour taste. Natives use injera as a plate and a spoon. The delicious salty flavors of the native veggies and stew dishes complement the sourness of the injera. 

Original Recipe From daringgourmet.com

Authentic Injera (Ethiopian Sourdough Flatbread)

Experience the unique flavor and texture of this famous fermented Ethiopian bread!

Prep Time 10 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Fermentation Time: 3-4 days

Total Time: 4 d 20 mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: ethiopian

 

Servings: 12 servings

Calories: 146kcal

Author: Kimberly Killebrew

Ingredients

• 5 cups teff flour, brown or ivory , or substitute a portion of it with some barley or wheat flour
• 1 cups all-purpose white flour
• Note: If you're new to making injera I recommend using a combination of teff and wheat as 100% teff is more challenging to work with
• 6 cups cold tap water
• 1+ cup cold tap water at the end

Instructions

• *See Daring Gourmet blog post for detailed instructions*
• In a large mixing bowl or small bucket, stir the 2 flours together. Then add 6 cups water. Add starter if you have it. Starter is 8oz of refrigerated batter from a previous batch of injera.
• Stir with your hands. It should be a very thin liquid. 
• Use an extra 1 cup of water to clean the sides of the bowl as you are mixing the last little bit, to make a total of 7+ cups of water in the batter. The inside sides of the bowl should be very clean
• Loosely place a lid or some plastic wrap on the bowl (it needs some air circulation, you just want to keep any critters out). Let the mixture sit undisturbed at room temperature for 3-4 days (the longer it ferments, the deeper the flavor). Check it periodically. The dough should sink. The liquid should rise to the top. Depending on what kind of flour you're using, you may need to add a little more water if the mixture is becoming dry.  
• 
  
• At the end of fermentation, the mixture should be fizzy and double in size. The color will be very dark. Depending on the humidity, a layer of aerobic yeast will have formed on the top. Aerobic yeast is a normal result of fermentation.  If however your batter forms mold on it, it will need to be discarded. Pour off the yeast/mold and as much of the liquid as possible. A clay-like batter will remain. Give it a good stir.
• Pour into a jar the extra water and the surface yeast , reserve for
• Mix separate 1/2 cup self rising flour with 2/3 cup water. Mix with batter
• In a small saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Stir in 1/2 cup of the injera batter, whisking constantly until it is thickened. This will happen pretty quickly. Then stir the cooked/thickened batter back into the original fermented batter. Add some water to the batter to thin it out to the consistency of crepe batter. Then add more water to make it thinner than crepe batter. I added about 3/4 cup water after the 1 cup boiling water but this amt will vary from batch to batch. The batter will have a sweet-soured nutty smell...
• Let rest for 4 -12 hours, then remove the yeast layer. And add or remove water to make the batter a little thinner than crepe batter.
• Heat a non-stick skillet or crepe pan over medium heat. Depending on how good your non-stick pan is, you may need to very lightly spray it with some oil. Spread the bottom of the skillet with the injera batter - not as THIN as crepes but not as THICK as traditional pancakes.
• Allow the injera to bubble and let the bubbles pop. Once the bubbles have popped, place a lid on top of the pan and turn off the heat. Let the injera steam cook for a couple or so more minutes until cooked through. Be careful not to overcook the injera or they will become gummy and soggy. 
• Remove the injera with a spatula and place on breathable uncoated paper plate. Let cool, then fold into quarters.  
• Repeat.
• Eat fresh,  Store covered at room temp for 4-5 days, refrigerate, or Freeze




IMPORTANT NOTE:  Both the texture and color of the injera will vary greatly depending on what kind of teff you use (dark or ivory) and whether or not you're combining it with other flours.  Gluten-based flours (e.g. wheat and barley) will yield a much different texture than 100% teff.  In the pictures and recipe below I'm using 100% dark teff, something you will not find in restaurants and will look different than what most are accustomed to, but is traditional to Ethiopian home cooking.  Make your injera according to what you prefer.




Serving: 1flatbread | Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 28g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 1g | Sodium: 12mg | Fiber: 5g | Calcium: 68mg | Iron: 3mg