The Art of making Enjera

Making enjera is truly an art.  Using a sourdough starter, flour is added 2 days before baking (ideally).  There are many websites that describe the details of preparing the batter.   There are many possible variations when baking enjera outside of Ethiopia but in this country, enjera must look, smell and taste a certain way or it would not be called enjera.  Ideally, enjera is made from teff flour which has a natural yeast in it but it has become a cash crop so is usually sold by most farmers.  It is 2 to 3 times the price of sorghum or millet and so most people in the countryside make enjera this way.

You can see from the pictures that the enjera is actually reddish in color.  Since Sudanese also eat their "enjera" from this grain, we enjoy the flavour.  

The fire must be hot and the clay pan heated perfectly.  Then about 1.5 cups of batter is poured clockwise in a circular motion from outside to the inside.  It takes skill and practice to do this well and it will be noticed if you didn't.  If there is even a slight pause in the pouring, the bread will be thicker in one spot.  If the pouring is not done smoothly, there will be a space between circles and that too will be noticed.

The grass and mud hat is put on top for a minute while the enjera bakes and then the enjera is swiftly transferred from the hot pan to a large plate using a grass mat.  While it cools, the next enjera is baked and then placed on top.

We usually have 5 enjeras made two times a week and this allows us to feed a couple of extra people.  Our family consumes 1.5 to 2 enjera at a meal.  An adult usually eats between 1/2 or 1 whole enjera depending on whether it is a festive day or just a normal day.  (On festive days, food is consumed in much larger quantities as it is all over the world.)

One enjera is about 3 handspans in diameter.  Kalia and Joel also enjoy baking enjera from time to time with our houseworker Mesalech.  Some of the other challenges are handling the smoke as enjera is usually baked in a small hut and keeping the fire stoked so that the heat is just right.

Enjera must have a thousand eyes or more (the bubbles that form and pop on the topside of the bread) that are seen evenly on the whole top of the bread.  Enjera is only baked on one side but otherwise is best described as a giant sourdough pancake.

Thank you Mesalech for all your hard work!  In the city though, we just buy our enjera from a shop that sells each enjera for 3 birr each (about 20 cents).