Injera is a sour fermented flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, traditionally made from teff. In Ethiopia and Eritrea, injera is their staple food and central to the dinning process and rituals much like bread or rice elsewhere.

Traditionally, injera is made with just two ingredients; teff, an ancient grain from the highlands of Ethiopia, which is ground into flour, and water. The Teff and water is left to ferment for 3 days before using to make Injera. Modern versions can be made in a few hours by replacing teff with rice and/or wheat flour and active yeast. Teff is, however, the preferred grain for making injera, primarily because of its sensory attributes (color, smell, taste).Teff flour is gluten-free and can be combined with rice flour to keep the “quick” recipe gluten free.

Injera is central to meals in Ethiopia and Eritrea in Eastern Africa. Large pieces sit on a special wicker table and covered with piles of various meat, fish, and vegetable stews. Each diner also gets their own rolled injera to tear apart to grab bites of stew with.

Injera – Ethiopian Flatbread

This recipe retains a taste close to the traditional Injera that is traditionally typically from teff flour that's been fermented for 2-3 days. In 35 minutes or so, you can have injera to pile stews onto and to let dinners tear off pieces to scoop up the stews with their hands. It be made gluten-free by exchanging the all-purpose flour for teff to combine with the rice flour.

4.50 from 2 votes

Print Pin

Course: Bread, Lunch, Main Course

Cuisine: African, East Africa, Ethiopia

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Total Time: 45

Servings:

Author: My Hungry Traveler

Equipment

Large bowl
Wooden spoon
Teapot or saucepan
12-inch flat-bottomed skillet, preferably nonstick, with lid
¼ cup ladle

Ingredients

220 gr Rice flour
220 gr All-purpose flour (Sub: Teff flour to make gluten free)
2¼ tsp Dry active yeast
1 tsp Salt
800 ml Warm water
½ cup Boiling water

US Customary – Metric

Instructions

Make Batter

In a large bowl, mix yeast and a little warm water. Stir to combine. Add both flours and salt. Stir in most of the warm water with a wooden spoon. Add water as needed to end up with a smooth batter similar to a thick pancake batter. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit on the counter for 1 hour.
After 1 hour, stir the batter and then slowly stir in the boiling water and stir constantly until it becomes a thinner crepe batter, another minute. Let stand uncovered for another 20 minutes before using.

Cook Injera

Lightly grease skillet on medium heat. Pour enough batter in the pan so that batter will look like a thin crepe when swirled to cover the whole bottom of the pan. Cook until air bubbles begin to appear, about 30 seconds. Cover and cook another 1 minute. Remove cover and slide injera onto a plate. Cover with a moist towel and then repeat the process until all the batter is gone.