Injera (Ethiopian sourdough flatbread)

Eragrostis tef · Teff flour

Injera is the plate, the bread and the spoon of the Ethiopian table, all in one sour, spongy round. A wide circle of it covers the mesob, the basket table; the stews sit on top in small mounds; and you tear strips from a second roll of injera to scoop them up. The underside goes smooth against the hot clay, the top stays covered and steams into a landscape of tiny eyes — bubbles frozen open — which is how you judge it: a good injera is full of eyes, sour enough to make your mouth water, and strong enough to carry a wet stew without tearing.

The sourness is a three-day fermentation, not an ingredient. Teff flour and water sit until wild yeasts and lactic bacteria do the work; a spoon of yesterday's batter (ersho) starts today's. In Addis Ababa most households buy their injera from neighbourhood bakers who ferment in barrel-sized batches, but holiday injera — white teff, home-fermented — is still made at home, and the smell of it steaming under the lid is the smell of a feast coming.

This recipe makes about eight large injera on a home stove. A proper clay mitad over firewood gives the even, fierce heat this bread wants; a large non-stick pan with a tight lid is the honest home substitute, and it works.

Servings: 6
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 45 min
Difficulty: involved

Before you start

Teff flour · 500 g

Adapt

ServingsLess chilliGrams and millilitres

500 g Teff flour

Plan

2 days planned · 2 days if done one after another

1 h 9 min at the stove

Route

Stop 1
Whisk the teff flour with 1 litre of lukewarm water in a large glass or clay bowl until no dry pockets remain, then cover with a cloth and leave at warm room temperature.
Stop 2
Leave the batter to ferment for two to three days, stirring once a day, until it bubbles actively and smells pleasantly sour like yoghurt and yeast.
Timer · 2 days
Stop 3
Pour off the dark liquid from the top, stir the thick batter smooth, and mix half a cup of it with a cup of water in a small pan.
Stop 4
Bring the pan to the boil, stirring, until the mixture thickens into a smooth translucent porridge (absit), then whisk it back into the main batter with a teaspoon of salt.
Stop 5
Cover and rest the batter for one hour until it is lively with fine bubbles.
Timer · 1 h
Stop 6
Heat a large non-stick pan or mitad over medium-high heat until a drop of water dances, then wipe it lightly with an oiled cloth.
Timer · 3 min
Stop 7
Pour a large ladle (about 180 ml) of batter into the centre and spiral it outward to the edges in one smooth pour, then cover immediately with a tight lid.
Stop 8
Steam covered for two to three minutes until the surface is dry, full of eyes, and the edges lift away from the pan, then slide onto a cloth to cool.
Timer · 3 min