Massiwa Market — An Eritrean and Horn-of-Africa | massiwa-market.com
Fermentation is where injera gets its sourness: 48-72 hours at 20-25 °C, judged by smell and pH, with a starter that halves the wait.
The mix is simple: 1 kg of teff flour to 1.5-1.8 litres of water, whisked smooth. That kilogram ferments into roughly 2.5-2.7 kg of batter — enough for 12-16 injera of 40 cm at 170-200 g of batter each.
Left covered at 20-25 °C, the batter needs 48-72 hours. It is ready when it smells distinctly sour and the acidity sits at pH 4.0-4.5; both signs matter more than the clock, because room temperature shifts the timing.
Cold stretches everything. Below 15 °C the same batter can take 5 days or more, so in a cool kitchen the bowl belongs in the warmest spot available — near a radiator, or in an oven with only the light on.
On narrow screens, swipe or scroll the plate sideways.
The shortcut is ersho, the starter kept back from the previous batch. Holding back a cup, about 150-250 ml, and stirring it into the new mix shortens fermentation to 24-48 hours.
Once the batter is sour and ready, it bakes straight away: poured in a spiral onto a hot mitad or heavy pan, covered for 1-2 minutes, never flipped. If the bread comes out bland and flat, the usual cause is batter baked before it reached pH 4.0-4.5 — give it more time.
Flour freshness sets the ceiling: stone-ground teff older than 3-6 months can carry a rancid note that no fermentation time will fix, so check the flour before blaming the starter.
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