Legume Free Injera
Injera is one of those breads that feels almost magical — a single ingredient list this short producing something so deeply flavorful, spongy, and alive. The secret is the fermentation: two days of slow, natural activity transforms teff flour and water into a pleasantly sour batter that cooks up into the iconic flatbread with its signature bubbly "eyes" across the surface. Because the entire recipe is built on teff flour, water, a pinch of yeast, and salt, there is nothing here that comes from a legume — no bean flours, no chickpea starch, no lentil-based thickeners that can sneak into commercial flatbreads. The cooking technique is just as satisfying as the result: a quick swirl of thin batter in a hot skillet, a lid to steam the top, and you have a soft, pliable round ready to scoop up whatever you're serving alongside it. It's naturally gluten-free too, since teff is a grain entirely its own. Whether you're new to Ethiopian cooking or just looking for a safe, wholesome bread to add to your rotation, this one rewards a little patience with a lot of payoff.
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Learn more →Ingredients
6 servings
- 2 cups teff flour
- 2 ½ cups water, divided (plus more as needed)
- ¼ tsp active dry yeast
- ½ tsp salt
Instructions
- 1
Whisk together the teff flour, 2 cups of the water, and the yeast in a large mixing bowl until smooth and no dry flour remains. The batter will be thick at this stage, similar to a dense pancake batter.
- 2
Cover the bowl loosely with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap and leave at room temperature for 48 hours, until the batter smells pleasantly sour and small bubbles are visible on the surface. Stir once or twice a day.
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