Injera (Ethiopian "Sponge" Bread) (2024)

This homemade Injera recipe is a more affordable take on the traditional Teff Injera. Using Rice and Teff flour means you'll still develop the nutty, sourdough flavor that these spongy pancakes are known for.

After fermenting your batter for 6 days, you can use this versatile bread as serving dishes and smaller pieces to scoop up the spicy stews. Injera is just one of the dishes needed to make delicious Ethiopian food at home!

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The Best Homemade Injera Recipe

Making homemade injera is an art. After making injera for more than 15 years, I share with you the process that involves various steps that go beyond just mixing ingredients.

The fermentation times and techniques to get the desired texture and flavor, the consistency of the batter, and the cooking technique.

What is Injera?

Injera is a large sourdough flatbread with a slightly spongy texture, originating from Eritrea, Ethiopia, and Somalia.

Large pieces of this flatbread are used as a serving dish, placing the different wot or stews on top and tearing smaller pieces to scoop up the food.

The injera soaks up the juices as the meal progresses. When this edible plate is eaten, the meal is officially over.

Injera ingredients

Traditionally, injera is made with two ingredients, teff flour, and water. I have included rice flour to make this recipe a bit more affordable.

• Teff Flour
• Rice Flour
• Dried Yeast

Teff isa tiny, round grain that grows well in the highlands of Ethiopia. It is very nutritious and is naturally gluten-free.

I've been making Ethiopian food for many years using this cookbook, Exotic Ethiopian Cooking, which has a variety of injera recipes with different grains.

Living in South America and not having access to teff for many years, I've tried a few of those recipes.

Ethiopian Sponge bread variation and substitutes

Teff and water are the two standard ingredients in traditional Injera.
You could use any flour to make this recipe - gluten-free or even all-purpose flour will work. The water requirements might be slightly different, but the steps will look exactly the same.

How to Make Gluten-Free Injera Batter from Scratch

To make injera at home you need to plan ahead. If you are starting from zero, meaning you don't have a starter, you'll need about 5 to 14 days.

I haven't been very smart throughout the years and haven't saved some of the sourdough starter, so I usually need to start from "zero" every time.

I start a month before our delicious Ethiopian feast, just to make sure I have a good starter and then I keep it in the fridge.

The steps are simple. But I recommend you print out the recipe and mark the steps you've already done.

You'll notice that this is a small recipe, you can use this as a guide and double it as needed.

Day 1:

In a small plastic container, or bowl mix: 2 tablespoons teff flour, 2 tablespoons rice flour, yeast, and 3 tablespoons water. This should look like a wet dough. Add 3 tablespoons of water to cover the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.

Day 2:

With a spoon, mix starter. Add 2 tablespoons teff flour, 2 tablespoons rice flour, and 2 tablespoons water. This should look like a wet dough. Add 2 tablespoons of water to cover the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.

Day 3 and 4:

With a spoon, mix starter. Add 2 tablespoons teff flour, 2 tablespoons rice flour, and 2 tablespoons water. This should look like a wet dough. Add 2 tablespoons of water to cover the dough. Cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.

Day 5:

With a spoon, mix starter. Take 2 tablespoons of the starter and add it to a small saucepan with ¾ cup water. Cook over low heat until thick (pudding-like texture). Let it cool completely and add it to the rest of the starter. Add ½ cup water, mix well and cover with a kitchen towel until the next day.

Day 6:

At this point, you can keep your injera batter in the fridge until you are ready to cook. If you see any lumps, use an electric blender and blend it for a minute, or until smooth.

Making Injera Batter with the Sour Starter from the Previous Batch

Using a previous batch's starter will save you time since you don't need to go through the fermentation process!

1. Bring the starter to room temperature.
2. Add 2 tablespoons of teff flour, 2 tablespoons of rice flour, and 2 tablespoons of water. Mix well and let it rest overnight.
3. The next day, add 1 cup teff flour, 1 cup rice flour, and enough water to make a runny batter. Let it rest overnight and use the next day.

How to Cook Ethiopian Flatbread

Authentic Injera is cooked in a mitad, a big, round griddle-like pan. But, you can always cook it on a nonstick frying pan.

1. Place your Mitad (Or shallow, nonstick pan) over high heat.
2. Clean the pan with salt and use a paper towel to wipe it before you add batter.
3. Pour enough batter (About ¼ cup) into the pan to cover the entire pan as if you were making a crepe. It should start bubbling.
4. Let it cook for about 20 seconds and cover it with a lid. Cook for another 20 seconds. Traditional Injera is NOT flipped.
5. Lift up the lid and cook until the edges start to curl up (about 1 to 2 minutes).
6. Once cooked, place injera on a kitchen towel until completely cool, and then you can stack them on a plate.

Cooking Authentic Injera Video

If you are making injera often, I really recommend you get this griddle.

The reason I prefer this griddle because the heat is consistent throughout the pan.

I just recently found an Omni Tawa pan at the Indian grocery store. I got it for $13 or $15 and it works ok for making injera.

How to Serve Ethiopian Teff Bread

Use this injera to cover a platter, place your favorite Ethiopian wot on top and serve more on the side to scoop up your food. Enjoy!

What to serve on Injera

Doro Wot (Ethiopian Spicy Chicken Stew)

Siga Wot (Ethiopian Spicy Beef Stew)

Misir Wot (Ethiopian Spicy Lentils)

Niter Kibbeh (Ethiopian Spiced Butter) is aromatic clarified butter that plays a key role in many Ethiopian dishes.

How to store Injera

How to store Injera batter

Before cooking your injera, reserve ¼ cup of the starter. Keep it in a container in the fridge. If you are not using it often, once a week remove it from the fridge. Let it come to room temperature, remove ½ of the starter (throw it away) and add 1 tablespoon teff flour, 1 tablespoon rice flour, and 1 tablespoon water. Mix it, leave it at room temperature overnight and then place it back in the refrigerator. Do this every week.

How long does cooked injera last

Fridge: Injera can be stored for up to 5 days.

Freezer: To freeze Injera, place your spongy pancakes flat in an airtight container. To defrost them, simply let them thaw out during the day.

Ethiopian Sourdough Flatbread FAQs

Other Gluten-Free recipes

Baked Cuñapés (Cassava flour cheesy bread)

Cheese Waffles (Cassava flour cheese waffles)

Cuñapés Frito (Cassava flour fritters)

Pan De Arroz (Cassava, rice, and cheese bread)

Chipa Almidón (Paraguayan cassava flour bread)

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