How to Make Injera Flatbread and What to Serve with It

What is Injera Bread?

Injera flatbread is an ubiquitous side dish in several African countries, where it's used as a side dish and utensil all at once. Think of it as the Ethiopian and Eritrean answer to Indian naan or Greek pita.

Made in a large, round, flat shape, this teff-based bread is naturally fermented, gluten-free (hello, all the 21st century baking buzzwords!), and typically calls for 20 minutes or less of hands-on time to prepare. If you aren't sold on injera bread already, you sure will be when you taste this tangy delight—and use it to scoop and sop up every last drop of the dishes you serve it with.

Injera is often used as the base of a meal, over the plate yet under the stews, vegetables, salads, and meats that are complemented by the flatbread. The porous and spongy texture makes it stellar at soaking up the maximum amount of sauces and juices.

Injera Bread Ingredients

Injera bread is traditionally made with brown, red, and/or white teff flour, which is a very small grain that can only be grown in areas with a specific amount of rainfall. In regions where teff isn't commonplace, barley flour, millet flour, or wheat flour may be substituted.

Buy it: Bob's Red Mill Teff Flour ($7.69 for 20 ounces, Amazon)

The hue and consistency of your homemade injera bread will vary based on the origin and color of your teff flour and if you're supplementing it with other starches.

Other than flour, most injera recipes call for only water, vegetable oil, and possibly baking soda and salt. This mixture is combined and fermented overnight or up to three days to yield that signature tangy flavor, then is cooked in a skillet or on a griddle (similar to a crepe).

How to Make Injera Bread

Our five-star Injera (Ethiopian Teff Bread) recipe will walk you through all the specifics, but the key is patience. Recipe creator Buckwheat Queen explains, "The objective of the fermentation process is to achieve a liquid mixture (like a crepe batter) with a slightly pungent smell and a moderate increase in volume. This can take up to 3 days but could occur in 12 hours, depending on the humidity and temperature of the environment."

Start with a mix of white and brown teff flour, then add water and whisk. Pour this mixture in a large bowl and cover with a thin kitchen towel or cheesecloth to allow for ventilation. Place this in a draft-free place and stir twice over the next 24 hours.

Watch for bubbles, expansion and a tangy or sour aroma after 24 hours of rest time. As soon as you notice these signs, add an additional tablespoon of white teff flour and water and whisk to combine. Cover and allow to rest for a few more hours. If bubbles have formed and the batter has expanded, go ahead and cook now. Otherwise, let the injera batter rest for an additional 12 hours, stirring once.

Once the mixture has doubled in size, heat an 8-inch crepe pan or skillet over medium heat. Coat with a teaspoon of vegetable oil, and pour about ½ cup of batter on the pan, making a large round flatbread shape from the outside of the pan to the inside. Cover the pan, reduce heat to medium-low, and cook by steam for 1 to 3 minutes. Remove the spongy injera from the pan with a spatula, transfer to a plate, and repeat until batter is gone.

Get the full Injera (Ethiopian Teff Bread) recipe here.

What to Serve With Injera

Injera bread pairing options abound, but we recommend mixing and matching from these Ethiopian-inspired recipes:

• Flavorful Ethiopian Stew Recipes
• Meatless Ethiopian Recipes
• Berbere Spiced Chicken Breasts

Related:

• Enjoy Global Flavors With Homemade Spice Blends from Around the World
• Essential Ingredients in the Ethiopian Pantry
• Our Best East African Recipe Ideas