Teff is the grain, grown in the high lands of Ethiopia, that is turned into the flour that makes Ethiopian injera bread. It's tiny, round and gluten-free, which renders it unsuitable for a raised bread. But add yeast to it and reaction to the fermentation process fills the dough with bubbles that remain after the dough is cooked into a flat pancake and also gives injera its distinctive sour taste.

One of the world's most ancient grains and the fruit of a grass, it's a one-year forage crop of increasing interest to US farmers who use it for grazing, hay or chopped into silage. In warm weather, its seed will germinate and begin to grow within three days.

The flour is readily available at Ethiopian markets.

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2 Comments

1. KMango

   Most Ethiopian restaurants in DC serve injera that is part teff/part wheat. However, several of them will bring an all-teff ("brown bread") version upon request. Just something to keep in mind if avoiding wheat and/or gluten.

2. Julia

   Thanks for the wise reminder. It's a point I made in the Injera feature and should have mentioned here too...