I am always goofily excited whenever it is time to learn what our bread will be for the Bread Baking Babes. This month was no exception and when Mary announced the bread would be Injera, there may have been some whoo-hooing. I came across a recipe for Injera a couple of years ago, but was afraid I'd mess it up so I didn't ever try it. But I knew with Mary as my guide I'd be ok. And I was!
Making the injera is a 5 to 7 day process. It's not complicated or hard, just takes a little bit of time. To start you mix Teff flour, water and a little yeast. The goo sits on your counter and in a couple of days you feed it some more Teff and water. This is my goo separated in layers before I stirred it up and fed it.
After the feeding.
The smell that this gives off is wierd. I thought it smelled like apples starting to go bad. Scott thought it smelled a little grassy. Once the goo had fermented for 5 days, more water and some self raising flour were added, there was some more resting time and then it was time to make the injera. You cook them like a crepe, pouring the batter into the pan, then swirling it around to cover the bottom. The injera are only cooked on one side, and as they cool, they soften and get a little spongy. In a good way.
Mary went above and beyond her host duties, and also gave us some recipes to make Ethiopian dishes to go with the Injera. I made Mary's Wot (stew), Ayib Be Gomen (greens with cottage cheese), Niter-Kebbeh (spiced butter) and Berbere (spice mixture). The last 2 are the seasonings for the dishes.
We invited my parents over for the dinner. You are supposed to eat Ethiopian food with your hand, using the Injera bread to scoop up the food. I put out cutlery because I didn't think my dad would eat with his hands. In fact my mom was the only one to use a fork. Don't worry, we picked on her.
The bread was so great - soft and chewy, and the flavor was quite mild - the stinkyness had all gone away. It was a fun, delicious dinner.
Please go and visit Mary for all the recipes.
You want to make this, trust me.
Making the injera is a 5 to 7 day process. It's not complicated or hard, just takes a little bit of time. To start you mix Teff flour, water and a little yeast. The goo sits on your counter and in a couple of days you feed it some more Teff and water. This is my goo separated in layers before I stirred it up and fed it.
After the feeding.
The smell that this gives off is wierd. I thought it smelled like apples starting to go bad. Scott thought it smelled a little grassy. Once the goo had fermented for 5 days, more water and some self raising flour were added, there was some more resting time and then it was time to make the injera. You cook them like a crepe, pouring the batter into the pan, then swirling it around to cover the bottom. The injera are only cooked on one side, and as they cool, they soften and get a little spongy. In a good way.
Mary went above and beyond her host duties, and also gave us some recipes to make Ethiopian dishes to go with the Injera. I made Mary's Wot (stew), Ayib Be Gomen (greens with cottage cheese), Niter-Kebbeh (spiced butter) and Berbere (spice mixture). The last 2 are the seasonings for the dishes.
We invited my parents over for the dinner. You are supposed to eat Ethiopian food with your hand, using the Injera bread to scoop up the food. I put out cutlery because I didn't think my dad would eat with his hands. In fact my mom was the only one to use a fork. Don't worry, we picked on her.
The bread was so great - soft and chewy, and the flavor was quite mild - the stinkyness had all gone away. It was a fun, delicious dinner.
Please go and visit Mary for all the recipes.You want to make this, trust me.
12 comments:
Oh wow, now that is really cool!. When I first started reading I thought all that time to make bread but I can see it was more than worth it.
Looks delicious Sara, what a fun way to celebrate with the family!
Oh yay! Now I just need to source some teff flour... I love that Mary gave some recipes to have with this, and I've been meaning to make injera.
Fun to see who will and who won't eat with their fingers ;)
I was so impressed with how good the injera was, really better than any I've had in a restaurant - just fresh, who knows.
Goofily excited - we do seem to get bread from all over.
Engineer Baker - check out health food or natural food stores, that's where I found my Teff.
Your family feast inspired me to make it for my family. It was a lot of fun to eat with fingers. Your meal looks like it was wonderful!
Family meals are just the best. I thought it was quite exciting too to make this, would not have by meself I think. Mary gave us a real fun and tasty challenge.
I agree, this is fun to share with family, your table looks so inviting. A memorable dinner for sure!
What a lovely looking feast! Great job Sara! Looking forward to starting mine!
Sara, you did a FANTASTIC job on this bread and I'm so glad you and your family had fun with the bread.
I really enjoy your babe posts, you gals seem to really have fun!!!
Okay, I'm weird... I didn't think it smelled bad....
A hoot about your mother....
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