BBB: Injera

So when Mary and the Bread Baking Babes picked Ethiopian Injera for April's bread, I was intrigued. This was immediately followed by - crap, where am I going to find teff flour? As much as I love the Midwest, especially the rural bits, I have difficulty finding tofu, let alone gluten-free flours. Case in point, the day after injera popped up everywhere, I called every grocery store in a 40 mile radius. Wanna guess what the result was?

Yeah. Not even the health food store stocked it. Gah. Luckily, the boyfriend lives in Madison, which has a Whole Foods. So as much as it bemused him, we made a special trip to WF to get the teff flour. I mixed up the starter that day, then let it sit for the next two. When I went to feed it though? *YECH!* "Grassy" and "strong" don't come near what this thing was putting off. Toxic might be a better descriptor, especially after day 5 and day 7 (didn't have time to make it on day 5).


Let's just say the boyfriend asked me never to bake again if what I made smelled like that. Actually, he asked me never to bake again. And when I started laughing, he amended his answer quite quickly. Boy likes his cake and cookies, doncha know? Given his immediate reaction, as well as the lamb we had picked up at the farmer's market that morning, I didn't end up making any Ethiopian food to go with the injera. I just packed them away, where they will wait in my fridge until I can make appropriate food accompaniment :)

Thanks to all the Bread Baking Babes for letting me bake along this month! It's breads like this one that make me appreciate the group - totally not one I'd have made on my own, but I love new techniques and different flours (as my pantry can attest...).

PS - after a bit of chill time, these are absolutely fantastic. Great with a cold bean / tomato / corn salad, awesome with a smear of peanut butter. I'm officially an injera convert!