Cathy Katin-Grazzini
Cathy's Kitchen Prescription LLC
www.cathyskitchenprescription.com
 
Injera 
 
The beloved fermented staple griddle bread in Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine, typically injera is made using brown or white teff flour, mixed with barley, buckwheat, sorghum, wheat, or millet flours. Like any wild-yeast mother dough, if you attend to your fermented batter, feeding it regularly, injera mother dough will reward you with a constant source of wonderfully nutritious, tangy injera bread. Injera is rich in fiber, protein, resistant starches, minerals, and vitamins. Serve with various Ethiopian wats, or with soups and stews from other culinary traditions.
 
Prep Up to 5 days to ferment
Cook 15 minutes
Serves 3 to 4
 
1 ¼ cups teff flour, white or brown, ½ cup for the starter, plus ¼ cup for Step 2, plus 1/2 cup for Step 3
2 ¾ cups other whole grain flour or mix of flours, ½ cup for the starter, plus ¾ cup for Step 2, plus 1 ½ cups for Step 3
1 teaspoon instant dry baker’s yeast
About 3 cups spring water, warmed to 90°F, 1 cup for the starter, plus as much water as needed to feed the starter in Step 2, and as much water as needed for the batter in Step 3
1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds
 
Hints
Making injera batter is little more art than science. There are no exact measurements for the spring water required to feed the starter and then to make the batter. You will need to go by how the batter looks and feels, and after a batch or two, you will get the hang of it. Injera bread can be thinner or slightly thicker and spongier, depending on the density of the final batter.
Use a large glass or ceramic bowl to mix the starter and batter, since the amount of batter will grow with feeding and rise during fermentation.
Temperature, humidity, feeding, treated water all affect fermentation. If your batter fails to thrive, feed it flour, baker’s yeast, fenugreek, and warm spring water to reactivate.  Ferments are forgiving and yours may recover quickly.  However, if your batter is inert and gray, the batter may have over-fermented and too many of its bacteria died. The odor will be unpleasant, not tangy. In that case, discard it and start over with a fresh starter.  
 
Step 1: Create the Starter 
In a large bowl mix ½ cup teff and ½ cup other whole grain flour(s), the baker’s yeast, and fenugreek seeds.
Stir in 1 cup spring water and cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap.
Set the bowl in a constantly warm space, ideally at 85 to 90°F degrees, and not exceeding 105° F.
Allow the starter to ferment over two to three days.  
Stir the starter twice daily. 
When the batter becomes bubbly and tastes slightly tangy, proceed to Step 2.
 
Step 2: Feed the Starter
Pour off any liquid that has accumulated on top of the starter.
Stir in ¼ cup teff blended with ¾ cups of the other whole grain flour(s).  
Use a very clean hand to knead the dough in the bowl for about 10 minutes or until very smooth.
Add sufficient warm non-chlorinated water, mixing with your hands, until you reach the consistency of a diluted pancake batter. The batter should slip off your hand, leaving a light film.  
Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, maintain it in a warm environment to facilitate fermentation for about 8 hours or overnight.
 
Step 3: Make Injera Batter
Gently stir the starter.  
Remove 1 cup of starter, if you like, to reserve for your next batch of injera bread.
In a separate bowl mix ½ cup of teff with 1 ½ cups of the other whole grain flour(s).
Use a very clean hand to mix warm spring water into the flour, eliminating any lumps of flour with your fingers, until the mix has a smooth, thin consistency.
Feed this new blend of water and flour to your starter to create the injera batter, adding slightly more for thinner injera, or less for spongier thicker injera. In both instances, injera batter should be thinner than pancake batter.
Cover the bowl loosely with plastic wrap and keep in a warm environment to continue fermenting. Over the next few hours, the injera batter will rise significantly with this new feeding.
Once the batter volume peaks, it is ready for cooking.  If you are not ready to make injera yet, tightly cover and refrigerate the batter now, but allow it to warm again before making the bread.
 
Step 4: Cook Injera Bread
Preheat the oven to 150°F and insert serving plates to warm.
Heat a large good-quality non-stick skillet or flat griddle on medium-low heat, about 450°F) for 4 minutes. 
Fill a small bowl or very large ladle with batter and using a circular motion, pour the batter into the skillet. 
Cook for 1 minute uncovered, or until bubbles proliferate on the surface of the bread. 
Cover the skillet and cook for another minute or more. Using a large nylon or silicone spatula, loosen the injera along its perimeter to free it from the pan, and slide it onto a woven placemat or clean kitchen linen.  Cover with another clean cloth.
Repeat this process until the batter is used up.
To serve, place one injera on each pre-warmed dinner plate and top with mounds of Ethiopian stews (wats).  Serve with additional rolled injera to break off and mop up the stews.