Sourdough Injera (beta version)

Makes 5 or 6 9-inch breads, serving 2 Hands-on time: 30 minutes Total time: 8-10 hours In the morning, combine the sourdough starter, water, and flour, and stir until fully combined. Cover and leave at room temperature 8 to 10 hours, until dinnertime. The mixture should look bubbly. Stir in the salt and heat a crepe pan or similar pan over medium-high heat until very hot. Brush the pan lightly with oil and swirl about 1/3 cup of batter onto the pan, trying to spread it evenly to the edges to form a nice circle. (If you’ve made crepes, this will be a familiar process. If not, keep trying!) Injera are cooked on one side only; do not flip! Cook until bubbles appear and pop on the top side, and it becomes fairly dry, two to five minutes. (A lid helps; if you have one, cover for about half the cooking time.) Remove to a cooling rack or clean kitchen towel. We found these stuck together when hot, so don’t fold or stack them until they have cooled to just warm, five to ten minutes. When the injera are fairly cool, fold or roll most of them and put in a basket or bowl to place on the table. Place one (or more, if small) on a dinner plate and ladle a few kinds of Ethiopian stews on top, enough for two people to share. (Or make plates for each diner… but sharing is more fun.) Tear pieces from the folded injera and use them to scoop up bites of the stews. If you are very friendly with the other diner, it is apparently traditional to feed one another bites, making Ethiopian food potentially a very romantic dinner option!