I don't know if I should call this Injera as that bread is made from Teff or at least has some Teff in it. I have some Teff on order but I thought I would practice with some Whole Wheat. This ended up being one of the best tasting breads that I have ever made and will be making it again. Injera is an Etheopian Flatbread that is made like a creape but thicker. There isn't a whole lot of work to making the bread either. The dough is at 175% hydration so there isn't any kneading just mixing and fermenting.
The Dough
| Ingredient | Metric | Imperial | Baker's Percentage |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole Wheat Flour | 332 grams | 11.72 oz | 100.00% |
| Water | 581 grams | 20.51 oz | 175.00% |
| Salt | 3 grams | 0.11 oz | 0.90% |
| 175% Hydration Preferment | 83 grams | 2.93 oz | 25.00% |
- Total Flour Weight:
- 332 grams
Percentages are relative to flour weight (flour equals 100%) and every other ingredient is a percentage of this. Flour from the starter is not counted. This recipe was originally in grams and has been automatically converted to other measures.
I took 2 grams of my storage starter and added 29 grams of whole wheat flour and 52 grams of water. I mixed this all up and let it sit fermenting for 24 hours. It really didn't look very good as there was hotch floating on top of the preferment. When I went to add it to the mix I just stirred it all together and mix it in. The dough was made up of 332 grams of home mill wheat flour with the large pieces sifted out. This was added to 581 grams of water and let sit over night . The next morning it was easy to tell there was some fermenting activity going on in a big way. I took the 3 grams of salt and sprinkled a little bit on top and stirred it in. I kept doing this until all the salt was stirred in. The batter really bubbled as I was stirring in the salt.
To cook it I heated a 10 inch frying pan up on the stove to medium heat. When I felt it was ready I rudded a little bit of oil into the pan. I took a half cup of batter and poured in into the pan then roatated the pan until the bottom of the frying pan was coated. The Injera is only cooked on one side and mine were done in about 4 to 5 minutes. When they are done cooking take them out and let them cool on a wire rack. You can eat them hot I think but after they cooled off they were sampled and I think they have an addictively wonderful taste just by themselves. Injera is meant to be used as a plate that is eaten along with the food that is placed on it.
Replies
Hi LeadDog,
I wonder why the flavour is so good - do you think it's the long ferment? I'm guessing the fact you're using your own home-milled whole wheat flour must be a strong factor too.
There's a group of Ethiopian restaurants/bakeries at Footscray, an inner suburb of Melbourne - but not even they use teff (presumably because it's virtually impossible to source). Their version of injera is almost white, has a lot of holes (pretty much like what we call crumpets here), and has a pronounced sour flavour. It goes beautifully with Ethiopian foods.
Hi,
Good news, teff flour is finally in Australia and imported from America in the brand Bob's Red Mill. I use it mixed with whole wheat and it is delicious. My local health food store sells it in Sydney, 'Taste Organic' in Crows Nest.
- Stoneground
I think it has to do with the high Hydration. I ferment my bread over night and the flavor is very different than the Injera. I also found out that Injera is made in the neighboring countries. Yeman happens to make it with Whole Wheat so looks like I'm doing alright to call it Injera. The flash hides the holes in the picture and I had one that had a lot better holes than these. I think I need some practice in this area. There is Teff grown here in the States in Idaho and that is where I'm getting mine from. I think I'm going to make it from Barley Flour next time.
Yes, that would make sense about the hydration, as it seems to speed up the fermentation, and also bring differences in which lactobacillii are developing. I'm thinking there about the differences in starters at different hydrations - it's not just the timing which is affected.
Barley should be interesting - full of flavour I would expect.
You are right Injera/Enjera can be made from various types of fermented flour (the South Indian Dosa is even made from lentil flour - I think). Barley Enjera works also but it brakes very easily (and not many uniform "eyes") when you try to roll with it a nice bite (gursha) with the stewed meats or vegetables (wat).
If it can be done, nothing beats pure Teff Enjera: nutrition, gluten free, pliability, etc. But the production of pure Teff Enjera has its challenges (baking process and equipment). I have attached a picture of pure Teff Enjera (with near-perfect "eyes") that's currently sold in San Jose and Oakland by a business collaborator (supply him with Teff).
I'm a supplier of regular Teff flour and also in the process of cleaning about 400 lbs of certified organic teff that we grew on a trial farm in San Juan Bautista. We believe Teff can be both local and sustainable.
Seems my last post got lost in the spam check. Menkir I live in Paso Robles which is South of San Juan Bautista a few hours. How hard is it to plant, harvest and clean Teff. I have 130 acres and would be intrested in growing a small amout of Teff to see how it does.
Since the first batch I have made "Injera" with barley and spelt. This week I'm going to try Kamut. The batches with barley and wheat had a really nice flavor to them with the spelt being good but down a level in flavor from them. I'm getting more eyes but noting like what is in your picture.