An authentic Injera recipe, the famous Ethiopian flatbread that makes the perfect accompaniment to a whole host of Ethiopian dishes, including Doro Wat, Sega Wat, Misir Wat, and Gomen!
If you’ve ever been to an Ethiopian restaurant – certainly if you’ve ever set foot in Ethiopia – you will have heard of injera. It’s a sourdough flatbread unlike any other sourdough. It starts out looking like a crepe but then develops a unique porous and slightly spongy texture. The thin batter is poured onto the cooking surface, traditionally a clay plate over a fire though now more commonly a specialized electric injera stove, and the bottom remains smooth while the top develops lots of pores which makes it ideal for scooping up stews and sauces.
And that’s exactly how injera is used, as an eating utensil. And as a plate. And often in place of the tablecloth. A variety of stews, vegetables and/or salads are placed on a large piece of injera and guests use their right hands to tear portions of the injera which are used for gripping the food. The porous texture of the injera makes it ideal for soaking up the juices.
Injera is traditionally made out of teff flour, the world’s tiniest grain and also one of the earliest domesticated plants having originated in Ethiopia and Eritrea (where injera is also widely consumed) between 4000 and 1000 BC. Its production is limited to only areas with adequate rainfall though so it’s relatively expensive for most African households. As such, many will replace some of the teff content with other flours like barley or wheat. For those who can afford it, injera made entirely of teff flour has the higher demand.
Injera is the traditional accompaniment to Doro Wat, Ethiopia’s famous spicy chicken stew, and together these constitute the national dish of Ethiopia.
Injera is likewise served with Sega Wat, the delicious beef version of Doro Wat.
There are different varieties of teff ranging from white/ivory to red to dark brown. In Ethiopia white is generally preferred and will also produce a 100% teff injera that is a lighter in color than what is shown in the first photo and preparation photos. I’m using 100% dark teff flour which produces a very dark injera with a deeper flavor.
The challenge is that if you’re looking for a specific type of teff and like to grind your own grains, most manufacturers don’t differentiate the teff type on their package labeling. It’s mostly an aesthetic preference though and for most baking I do with teff it really doesn’t matter either way. With the injera it will make a difference in the color though if that’s an important factor to you.
I have found only one brand that differentiates the types: Ivory Teff and Brown Teff. Maskal also makes an ivory teff flour.
Traditionally a clay plate, a mitad, placed over a fire is used for making injera.
A special woven basket, called a mesab, in which the freshly made injera are placed.
More commonly now specialized electric injera stoves are used. The most popular one in the U.S. is called the Heritage Grill. But unless you’re making injera constantly, a simple non-stick pan on the stovetop will do the job.
Read to make some injera?
And I don’t mean short-cut, one-day, cutting corners injera. I mean the real deal, authentic injera.
Authentic Injera Recipe
Let’s get started!
***IMPORTANT NOTE before we begin: 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.
You can buy pre-ground teff flour or grind your own. I like to grind my own grains because 1) the flour has far more nutrition because it’s fresher and the oils haven’t oxidized and 2) I have more control over the texture of the flour.
I use and LOVE the German-made KoMo Classic Grain Mill. It comes with a 15-year warranty. It’s a stone-grinding mill and you can grind grains as finely or as coarsely as you like. It’s an awesome piece of machinery and it’s just downright gorgeous!
You’ll need 2 cups of flour. I’m using all teff flour, and mine happens to be dark teff flour which will produce a very dark injera with a deeper flavor.
As mentioned above, using 100% teff flour is traditionally considered the most desirable (it also happens to be naturally gluten-free), but you can substitute part of it with other flours such as wheat or barley.
However, if you’re new to making injera I recommend substituting a portion of teff with barley or wheat flour as 100% is more challenging to work with.
Stir in 3 cups of distilled water (and the yeast if you’re using it).
I made two versions to show you the difference – both are identical but in one of them I added some commercial yeast (left) and the other one I didn’t (right). What that does is prevent the formation of wild yeast because the commercial, store-bought yeast dominates.
Loosely cover the bowls with plastic wrap so that air can still get in (but no critters can) – cheesecloth is also a great option. Let it sit undisturbed at room temperature for 5 days. You don’t have to let it ferment that long but at least 4 days is ideal and longer it ferments the deeper the flavor will be.
Note: Depending on what kind of flour you’re using, you may need to add a little more water if the mixture is becoming dry.
After 4-5 days both versions will be fizzy when you jiggle the bowl.
Notice the difference between the mixture prepared with commercial yeast (left) and the wild yeast mixture (right). The version made the traditional way allowing wild yeast to form is not only much darker in color, it has a film of aerobic yeast on top that you may initially think is mold but it isn’t. If your batter forms actual mold on it it will need to be discarded.
It looks disgusting, I know – like why would I eat this? But rest assured it’s perfectly normal. That isn’t mold, it’s aerobic yeast caused by the fermentation process. Going the traditional route of relying on wild yeast – a naturally fermented product – over commercial yeast results in an injera with a richer and more complex flavor. It’s the way injera has been made and enjoyed for centuries. Again though, if your batter forms actual mold on it, it will need to be discarded.
We’re simply going to discard this top layer and use what’s underneath.
Pour off the top layer and as much of the liquid as you can.
You’ll be left with a clay-like batter. Give it a good stir.
Bring 1 cup of water to a boil in a small saucepan. Scoop 1/2 cup of the fermented teff batter and stir it into the boiling water until the mixture is thickened. This will happen pretty quickly.
Stir the cooked/thickened batter back into the original mixture.
Add some water to the batter to create roughly the consistency of crepe batter. I added about 2/3 cup of water though this will vary from batch to batch. The batter will have a sweet-soured nutty smell.
Heat a non-stick pan on medium. Depending on how good your non-stick surface is, you may need to very lightly spray it with some oil.
Coat the surface of the pan with a thin layer of injera batter. It should be thicker than making a crepe but not as thick as a pancake.
Continue to cook – bubbles will form, allow them to pop. Then cover the pan with a lid and turn off the heat to let it steam cook for a couple more minutes or so until cooked through. Be careful though, if you the injera cooks too long it will become gummy and soggy.
Remove the injera and repeat.
Enjoy!
Serve your homemade injera with our authentic Ethiopian:
Authentic Injera (Ethiopian Flatbread)
Ingredients
- 2 cups teff flour, brown or ivory , or substitute a portion of it with some barley or wheat flour
- Note: If you're new to making injera I recommend using a combination of teff and barley or wheat as 100% teff is more challenging to work with.
- 3 cups distilled water (fluoride and chlorine will both interfere with the fermentation process)
- Note: This method involves wild yeast fermentation. See blog post for details about using commercial yeast as a starter (you'll use about 1/4 teaspoon dry active yeast)
Instructions
- *See blog post for detailed instructions*NOTE: Using mostly or all teff (which is the traditional Ethiopian way) will NOT produce the spongy, fluffy injera served in most restaurants which are adapted to the western palate and use mostly wheat, sometimes a little barley, and occasionally a little teff added in.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour and water (and yeast if you're using it). Loosely place some plastic wrap on the bowl (it needs some air circulation, you just want to keep any critters out) and let the mixture sit undisturbed at room temperature for 4-5 days (the longer it ferments, the deeper the flavor). (Depending on what kind of flour you're using, you may need to add a little more water if the mixture is becoming dry.) The mixture will be fizzy, the color will be very dark and, 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 aerobic yeast and as much of the liquid as possible. A clay-like batter will remain. Give it a good stir.
- 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. I added about 2/3 cup water but this will vary from batch to batch. The batter will have a sweet-soured nutty smell.
- Heat a non-stick skillet 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 repeat.
- 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.
Nutrition
Images of serving platter and woman cooking courtesy Maurice Chédel and Rob Waddington via CC licensing
Brittany says
This was a really fun recipe! I used 100% ivory teff a friend brought back as a gift from Ethiopia, and began the process last Monday. I cooked these up and they were surprisingly tart. We’re definitely more accustomed to mild injera served at US-Ethiopian restaurants, so I think I’ll let it ferment 4 days rather than 5 next time, but it really added to the doro wat! It just doesn’t taste the same without the tangy injera. I live in Florida, and it’s hot and very humid, so it’s possible my batch fermented quicker. I also bake sourdough bread once a week and right now my starter doubles in <12 hours. Just something to consider in the future. I had the most success using number 6 on my electric range (ranges from low-9, then high). Any lower and bubbles would not form and I got the gummy mess others mentioned. Thanks for sharing, I’ll definitely make this again!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
I’m so glad you enjoyed the injera, Brittany, and I appreciate the detailed feedback, thank you!
Kathryn says
Helpful, Brittany! Thanks. Trying it for the first time; I love Ethiopian food in the US where I’ve lived (L.A. and D.C.) but haven’t ever tried to make it.
Amanda says
Hey there,
I’m so excited to try this. I have teff flour and I’ll have to use 100% since whole wheat is hard to come by right now. I live with humidity and it’s usually 80degrees F. Will that affect the overall length of fermentation or is it always 4-5 days?
Thank you
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Amanda, yes, the warmer the environment the faster the fermentation. You can check and assess the batter after 2-3 days.
Chris says
I really thought I followed the directions exactly but my injera turned out raw/gooey. I tried different heat settings, covered, uncovered….every combination I could think of but the bottom would get toasty while the center is a shiny wet mess.
Brian says
Agreed. I’m having the same problem!
Anonymous says
Yes, I am having the same problem, but I followed the recipe to a T. We are colder here too, not sure if this may be the problem
Edyta says
Not sure what this part means “ 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.”
Does this mean you take off the top layer off …. regardless if it has yeast or mold or only take top layer off if mold ? Or if it has mold the whole batch is to be thrown out ?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Edyta, if it’s moldy throw the whole thing out. Otherwise you pour off the liquid layer (along with the yeast that has built up on top) and use the batter below.
Jacob says
Hi thank you for the recipe. I am using 3 parts teff and 1 part all-purpose flour. After a few hours the teff settled to the bottom and the picture looked like the recipe with a layer of water on top. One day later and the top is now solid foam an inch thick over the water layer. It is about the consistency of a light mousse and brown in color and smells. Now 2.5 days in it is basically just foam on the teff with a very thin water layer in between, so I added a 1/2 cup more water. It has a very strong smell.
Is this level of foam normal? Was I right to add more water and is even more required? Do I need to toss the batch?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Jacob, I haven’t experienced a thick layer of solid foam before but I doubt it’s a problem, just scoop it off and throw it. Yes, adding a little water was fine, keep making sure the flour underneath is always covered by at least 1/4 inch to 1/2 inch of water.
Doc says
Even though my first try was not completely successful, given your pictures, it is clearly a good recipe, so 5 stars.
I am very experienced at brewing and making cultured and fermented foods, so I though I would go with 100% teff flour (Anthony’s brown). It is a little cool here right now, so I put the batter into my digitally controlled fermentation chamber at 75F for several days. I gave it a peak and stirred it daily (my thought being that it would help disperse the microbes evenly throughout). Last stir was yesterday. Today I drained off the top liquid and followed the rest of the steps. It is quite tart. You are right, when adding some to boiling water it gets thick REALLY fast! Then I added first about 1/2 cup water, and then a little more. I used a semi-nonstick pan with a light coating of oil on a setting about like for pancakes or a bit cooler. Some bubbles would form right away, and then it would stall, and try to form large (like 1/2″) bubbles, most of which would not pop. I tried covering it, but although that traps the heat to cook the top, it also traps the moisture that you are trying to get out of the batter . . . Anyway, out of the first four, two are OK. Clearly, the consistency of the batter and heat of the pan are critical for good results.
So questions:
Was stirring a bad idea? By doing that did I lose some of the CO2 that would help make bubbles?
I let it go for almost 6 days. No mold or other badness, and very tart. Are there reasons to limit the time?
Thanks
any way to upload pictures?
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Doc, thanks for sharing these details. Unfortunately there is no way to upload pics here. I’m honestly not sure what impact, if any, stirring would have on the final outcome. But one thing I’ve learned when it comes to fermenting is that bacteria have a mind and will of their own and it can be downright challenging trying to get them to do what you want them to! Limiting the fermenting time: I largely comes down to your tolerance for the tartness level but the goal is also getting the “fizziness” level right. If it’s not fermented long enough it won’t be fizzy enough to achieve the bubbles, but if it’s fermented too long it may be possible to miss the peak stage of fizziness and it goes a little flat. So I usually gauge it by its fizziness and I try to make sure it’s good and vigorous – that’s my indication that it’s ready.
CB says
Help! I only saw a “wild yeast” picture, not a mold picture. (Although, honestly, that wild yeast does look like mold to me!) I only started mine Saturday evening with ivory teff. I covered it with a clean cotton dish towel. It’s Monday late morning and, while there doesn’t seem to be any mold, it smells so horrible, that I actually retched! There is some cracking on the surface, but no bubbles. When lifting it up to more closely examine it, though, I did hear foaming noises.
What do you think? Is there a way to send you a picture?
Thank you!
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi CB, make sure the surface is never dry, the flour should be submerged under water at all times otherwise instead of fermenting it will mold.
Danielle says
A lot of people asking how to improve the cooking phase but I don’t see any answers.
My batter looks perfect but it is cracking when I try to cook it and steaming phase ends up leaving it gummy and undercooked. Can you give timing hints for how long to cook before steaming it?
Emma says
Hi,
Thank you for this great recipe! I made a failed batch of injera some years ago, but now I’m ready to try again.
I have a question about the equipment. I have a crepe pan that I can use, but it doesn’t have a cover. Can I use a cover from another pot just to cover the injera while it cooks or does it have to have a tight seal to cook properly?
Thanks
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Emma, a tight seal shouldn’t be necessary as long as it’s trapping in the heat. Good luck!
Angélique says
Hello! Thank you for sharing your recipe! This is my first attempt, it’s day 3 of fermentation and the top layer is covered in little green sprouts! What do I do? 😂
Annette says
I tried this for the first time and left it ferment for 7 days since I couldn”t get to it sooner. My batter was actually too thick after adding the heated mixture so added more water to make a pancake batter thickness. They taste amazing! I had one for breakfast with potatoes and vegetables inside. Thank you so much.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Fantastic, Annette, I’m so glad they were a success, thanks for the feedback!
Guerric says
I followed the recipe pretty much exactly, except for scaling down the ingredients (proportionally!) for a smaller batch. It bubbled quite a lot over the course of days 2 and 3! Unfortunately, I didn’t get a clay-like batter at all, even after decanting the excess water on top – it was a slurry at best – but I did the boiling water step away, and ended up with a batter that was about as thick as milk.
Does the recipe want me to cook the batter/boiling water mixture until it thickens? That would take long enough that I feel like it would have been mentioned, but perhaps that’s the secret, because I can’t see how adding water would thicken anything otherwise.
Once I was working with the extremely thin batter, it immediately bubbled and cooked in the hot pan before I could even pour all the batter in, so I started turning the heat down for subsequent goes, and ended up with one that split and one that tore when I tried to remove it, neither of which really bubbled.
I’ve got 2kg of teff, though so I’m going to keep trying. I’m going to skip the adding-water instructions this time because I can’t imagine that such a watery batter (far thinner than any crepe batter I’ve made) is a good thing. Since the only bubbles I got were on a hot pan, I suppose maybe I just need to crank the heat up and fearlessly pour the batter in regardless of whether it immediately starts bubbling and browning. We’ll see how the next batch does.
Anu says
I started fermenting 100% teff, overnight there was no sign of activity, so i put it in the oven with the light on and by evening it had grown like crazy. But my question is this—it smells ghastly…is this normal? not spoilt but really unpleasant. I was trying to find the base smell, its the smell of olives magnified a million times. The batter is all frothy with foam pockets. I was brave enough to taste a tiny bit it was not very sour, i took it out of the oven and its been out overnight again. I’ve been looking all over but no one has mentioned the smell.
You also warn readers about mold, how can you tell apart mold from wild yeasts? I don’t have any black color on it as of now.
Kimberly @ The Daring Gourmet says
Hi Anu, yes, it won’t smell pleasant, that’s normal ;) The difference between mold and yeast – that’s really difficult to describe in words which is why I included a picture of it in my blog post. Take a look at that picture, zoom in on it, and compare it to what develops on yours. I’d also recommend looking up those terms online in relation to fermenting to see what mold looks like. Mold isn’t always black, it comes in a whole spectrum of colors and you don’t want any kind of mold on your teff batter.
Mari says
I am on my first attempt with 100% teff. I was not able to use other flours as suggested because I am GF free. I keep getting wet injera. It never seems to dry up in the pan. I have tried lid on, lid off, flipping, medium hear, high heat. How do I get a dry bread? Could it be that I added too much water to the mix? Also, my “clay” wasn’t as firm as yours. I left it for 5 days as recommended. Any tips appreciated
Anna says
Hi Kimberly!
Thank you so much for such detailed post. It is so important to add these own thoughts & tricks to recipes. Cooking is an art of intuition and flavors, not just blends of measured ingredients. Well done :) I am just on the “curiously – unpatient” stage for my injera to ferment :) Regards to all injera lovers! May the good bacteria cooperate with us!