Has anyone had experience with making Injera?

Question

I know the ingredients and the basic idea, but I'd like to know if anyone is experienced at this and has advice, as my first attempt bombed completely. I'm learning to cook a variety of African dishes and absolutely love Ethiopian cuisine with Injera.. I'm so disappointed I couldn't make the bread properly the first time.

Tirami: It wasn't as spongy as it should have been.. and it didn't have the bubbles. It just tasted way heavier than it should have. :(

http://kinkyadelaide.com

Answer 1

Re-Edit- I just found these two links to a gebs (barley) injera made with gebs sourdough starter...the pics look like the injera that I get at the Ethiopian restaurant that I eat at..

http://watchlady.blogspot.com/2007/04/teff-injera.html (100% teff injera with fenugreek)
http://watchlady.blogspot.com/2007/08/abish-ground-fenugreek-seed.html (ground fenugreek for above recipe)
http://watchlady.blogspot.com/2007/09/gebs-barley-injera.html (gebs barley injera)
http://watchlady.blogspot.com/2007/04/watchladywatchman.html (teff or gebs (barley) sourdough starter for injeras above)
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm (sourdough basics for above links)
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/faq.htm#Section%20D1:%20Sourdough (sourdough Q and A’s for above links)


Edit- links edited and recipe added below...

There are a lot of different Injera recipes online with different mixes of flours (some with part all-purpose flour and part teff flour, some with all teff flour, and other variations. )Some call for no fermenting, some call for 3 days of fermenting. I think the fermenting makes the bubbles, unless you use baking powder or yeast. 3 days of fermenting is worrisome to me, because the batter could develop other bad germs. I have not tried to make it , because it is maybe not so easy to find teff flour, but there is an Ethiopian restaurant in my city.

Here is a link list to Ethiopian recipes, including Injera recipes and sources of teff flour..some suggest using baking powder or baking soda or self-rising flour, some suggest using club soda, some suggest using kefir (kefir grain cultured in milk) , some suggest using yeast for rising power..

Ethiopian Foods
http://watchlady.blogspot.com/2007/04/teff-injera.html (100% teff injera)
http://watchlady.blogspot.com/2007/09/gebs-barley-injera.html (gebs barley injera)
http://watchlady.blogspot.com/2007/04/watchladywatchman.html (teff or gebs (barley) sourdough starter for injera above)
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/sour.htm (sourdough basics for above links)
http://www.io.com/~sjohn/faq.htm#Section%20D1:%20Sourdough (sourdough Q and A’s for above links)
http://www.johnrussell.name/recipes/ethiopia.htm (incl. 2 injera recipes)
http://www.africa.upenn.edu/Cookbook/Ethiopia.html#Recipes
http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/africa/ethiopian/
http://www.fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=ethiopian (several recipes, incl. several injera recipes)
http://dmoz.org/Home/Cooking/World_Cuisines/African/Ethiopian/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/africa/php/recipes.php?dish=ethiopia/ethiopia_recipes_lo.html (injera from teff flour)
http://www.cbel.com/African_Recipes/
http://www.fatfreevegan.com/breads/1147.shtml (Bryanna’s injera)
http://www.exploratorium.edu/cooking/bread/recipe-injera.html (how to make injera with teff, pics)
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Injera (recipe for injera and teff info..suggests using kefir)
http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Kefir (kefir info)
http://www.torontoadvisors.com/Kefir/kefir-list.php (links to free kefir grain)
http://breadnet.net/gluten-free-flours.html#l (teff nutritional info)
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~mjw/recipes/ethnic/injera.html (injera)
http://www.fooddownunder.com/cgi-bin/recipe.cgi?r=136809 (injera yet’ef..from teff)
http://www.recipezaar.com/10311 (injera with buckwheat flour)
http://www.recipeatlas.com/ethiopianrecipes/
Teff info…
http://www.teffco.com/ (place to buy teff flour online)
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000EDM6BO?tag=glutfreegirl-20&camp=14573&creative=327641&linkCode=as1&creativeASIN=B000EDM6BO&adid=1CQDKF2E3WCNPHK9Z8MQ& (teff for sale online)
http://www.teffco.com/recipes.html (teff recipes..see links on right side)
http://teffco.com/products.html

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Here is a recipe using yeast and barley flour and reg. flour ..I don't have a link to it..think I got it off YA..

Injera (barley and reg. flour)

This is a modified recipe.

12 Injera

1/4 pkg yeast
2 cups flour
1 cup barley meal (flour)
1 teaspoon salt
2 ½ cups lukewarm water

1. Put the barley meal in the bottom of a mixing bowl, and sift in the flour.
2. Add yeast dissolved in water and slowly add the remaining water, stirring to avoid lumps
3. Stir in salt
4. Rise covered for 1-2 days
5. Add more water because the dough should look like pancake batter.
6.Heat a nonstick pan, coat the pan with a thin layer of batter and quickly fry only one side. The Injera shall not become brown only become dry on the surface.

Answer 2

I agree with both of the first 2 repondant, I am a former chef and make it quite often, the trick is to get the dough to ferment, I put mine on top of the fridge were the air is warmed by the coils on the back of the fridge, if it does not rise, you can cheat but adding a small amount of water and baking soda or powder, this will give you some POOF!!

Even try using buttermilk as your liquid, the teff flour has to be fresh, it doe go stale if not kept in an air tight container.

Answer 3

As you've learned, it's not easy. Did it ferment properly? You didn't say what went wrong, so I'll just throw out a couple of ideas.
Did you know that Wiki has an open cookbook? http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Cookbook:Injera
Another suggestion would be to ask Ethiopeans on YA; I've noticed some around African travel : http://au.answers.yahoo.com/dir/;_ylt=AsxSJ8MvPFma4fve4LkzybgjEBV.;_ylv=3?link=list&sid=396545600
I wish you batter luck with your next batch of injera!
Edit: Based on your added info., it definitely sounds like the injera did not ferment properly. With all the new info. here -- thumbs up to the chef below me! -- go for it again with confidence and patience! Good luck.

Answer 4

Injera is not only a kind of bread—it’s also an eating utensil.


In Ethiopia and Eritrea, this spongy, sour flatbread is used to scoop up meat and vegetable stews. Injera also lines the tray on which the stews are served, soaking up their juices as the meal progresses. When this edible tablecloth is eaten, the meal is officially over.

Injera is made with teff, a tiny, round grain that flourishes in the highlands of Ethiopia. While teff is very nutritious, it contains practically no gluten. This makes teff ill-suited for making raised bread, however injera still takes advantage of the special properties of yeast. A short period of fermentation gives it an airy, bubbly texture, and also a slightly sour taste.


Injera
Ethiopian and Eritrean immigrants have modified their recipes after moving to the United States or Europe, depending on what grains are available to them. The injera you find in many East African restaurants in the United States includes both teff and wheat flours. Most injera made in Ethiopia and Eritrea, on the other hand, is made solely with teff.


Tip
Depending on where you live, teff flour can be difficult to come by. Try a well-stocked health food store, or look online.



Teff grain
• 1/4 cup teff flour
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup water
• a pinch of salt
• peanut or vegetable oil



• a mixing bowl
• a nonstick pan or cast-iron skillet

Tip
If you have teff grain instead of flour, first grind it in a clean coffee grinder, or with a mortar and pestle.




1. Put the teff flour in the bottom of a mixing bowl, and sift in the all-purpose flour.
Did You Know?
Teff is extremely high in fiber, iron, and calcium.

Tip
Many Ethiopians in America use square-shaped, electric, nonstick pans. These heat evenly and make it easy to remove the injera once it is cooked.


2. Slowly add the water, stirring to avoid lumps.


3. Stir in the salt.


4. Heat a nonstick pan or lightly oiled cast-iron skillet until a water
drop dances on the surface. Make sure the surface of the pan is smooth: Otherwise, your injera might fall apart when you try to remove it.


5. Coat the pan with a thin layer of batter. Injera should be thicker than a crêpe, but not as thick as a traditional pancake. It will rise slightly when it heats.



Did You Know?
Teff is the smallest grain in the world. It takes about 150 teff seeds to equal the weight of a kernel of wheat!

6. Cook until holes appear on the surface of the bread. Once the surface is dry, remove the bread from the pan and let it cool.

What’s Going On? .
If you’ve ever cooked pancakes, making injera might seem familiar. In both cases, tiny bubbles form on top as the batter cooks. Keeping an eye on these bubbles is a great way to see how close the pancake or injera is to being ready without peeking underneath.


These bubbles come from the carbon-dioxide produced by the leavener—usually baking powder or soda in the case of pancakes, “wild” yeast in the case of injera. Neither batter contains much gluten. Most pancake recipes tell you not to mix the batter too much: If you do, gluten will develop, making them too chewy. Teff, the grain used to make injera, contains very little gluten to begin with. In both cases, the result is the same: With no gummy substance to “blow up,” most of the carbon-dioxide from the leaveners rapidly escapes into the air, leaving the little popped bubbles that contribute to the distinctive textures of these breads.



What Else Can I Try? .

• You can experiment by adjusting the ratios of wheat and teff flours in your recipe, or by adding another type of flour altogether. You can also let your batter ferment for more or less time, depending on how sour you like your injera to be.

• To see for yourself how little gluten there is in teff, try kneading some teff flour into a ball of dough. (You might also include teff flour in the gluten ball activity). You’ll get very different results than when you use wheat flour.