Ethiopian Flat Bread (Injera)

PinkCherryBlossom's Note:

Not an authentic recipe as it misses out the Teff flour. I made this version as I cannot find Teff anywhere!

• Total Time: 1 hrs 40 mins
• Prep Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Cook Time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 15

• 3 cups self-rising flour
• ½ cup whole wheat flour
• ½ cup cornmeal
• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
• 3 ½ cups warm water

Directions:

1. Mix everything together to form a batter.
2. Let set in large bowl, covered, an hour or longer, until batter rises and becomes stretchy.
3. It can sit as long as 3-6 hours.
4. When ready, stir batter if liquid has settled on bottom.
5. Then whip in blender, 2 cups of batter at a time, thinning it with 1/2 - 3/4 cup water.
6. Batter will be quite thin.
7. Cook in non-stick frypan WITHOUT OIL (is that a great instruction or what?) over medium or medium-high heat.
8. Use 1/2 cup batter per injera for a 12-inch pan or 1/3 cup batter for a 10-inch pan.
9. Pour batter in heated pan and quickly swirl pan to spread batter as thin as possible.
10. Batter should be no thicker than 1/8-inch.
11. Do not turn over.
12. Injera does not easily stick or burn.
13. It is cooked through when bubbles appear all over the top.
14. Lay each injera on a clean towel for a minute or two, then stack in covered dish to keep warm.
15. Finished injera will be thicker than a crepe, but thinner than a pancake.

Reviews

[okinok]

Very good substitute for injera. I didn't have self rising flour so I used 1.5 Tbsp baking soda and 1.5 tsp salt plus enough all purpose flour to make 3 cups. My blender is shot but I added water to the bowl at the end (I just guessed the consistency) and mixed well with my fork. I also added a splash of vinegar to make it taste sour.

[Chef Kaydia Ji]

YOWZA! This was perrrrrrfect! I had an art show of Ethiopian theme and made this w/ the chickpea wat. I cooked half in an iron skillet and half in a non-stick, both worked, but nonstick cooked faster. At the reception, I piled the injera next to the wat and left a stack of store bought pitas as well(nervous people wouldn't try my cooking). The injera lasted 2 seconds! People who never heard of Ethiopian food were flipping over the stuff, and were shocked I made it myself! THANK YOU for posting this!

[Lerxst]

This was a very good substitute recipe for injera, though it didn't have that characteristic "teff tang". A huge advantage is it's possible to do on much shorter notice even if you have teff, as an authentic injera realistically takes at least a day for proper fermenting. Have you thought of trying this with a sourdough starter to get some of that sour flavor? Regardless, it's still very tasty and the texture is virtually identical to the real thing.