100% Teff Sourdough Bread Recipe
Teff Basics
The first thing you need to know about teff is that it's a wild card, but only in the best possible way. Unlike other gluten-free grains, teff is the most flexible GF grain for baking, and it's also the most variable grain I've ever worked with for flavor. Nutty, earthy, sour, sweet, spicy, and mild are all flavors that I've gotten from teff bread. I'm still not always sure how to control the flavor, I'm just along for the ride.
Teff is one of the world's tiniest grains and has been used in sourdough bread for as long as 40,000 years. (See this recipe for traditional injera flatbread.) It comes in two main varieities in the USA, brown and ivory, though many other varieties exist. It comes originally from Africa. However, Idaho seems to have a climate conducive to growing it, so that is where much of the teff is grown here in the USA. Bob's Red Mill, Maskal and Judee's are the three brands I buy. (I've included affiliate links to these products on Amazon but you might be able to find better prices direct from the mills.) There are several others, but these are the brands I've found that are certified gluten free and seem to have good manufacturing practices to keep them separate from gluten.
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| 100% Brown teff bread at a medium hydration, 100% Ivory teff bread at a lower hydration. |
Last week I wrote about making single flour bread with yeast and introduced the tortilla test for creating your own recipe. This week, I want to give you a 100% teff sourdough bread recipe.
What's really the most amazing thing about teff is its performance in gluten-free baking. In my last post I talked about the tortilla test and how it's used to determine the correct hydration of a dough. This is really important in GF baking because most gluten-free flours have such a narrow window for a good hydration.
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| Tortilla test: slightly too dry |
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| Torilla test: perfect |
Here's a quick reference for teff facts:
- VARIETIES. Brown and ivory teff flour are interchangeable in any recipe. The color is different, the flavor is slightly different, but the performance is the same.
- MILLING. Teff is one of the smallest grains in the world but it can still be milled at home with a good grain mill.
- WHOLE GRAIN. Teff is a whole grain - ivory teff is just a different color of varietal, it's not de-germed. It's high in fiber and protein.
- HYDRATION RANGE. Teff has a huge hydration range at which it still works, which I've measured at 70-120% hydration.
- FLAVOR. The flavor of teff can vary wildly based on other ingredients in the dough, as well as fermentation time, temperature, and hydration.
- FLAVOR ENHANCEMENTS. Bringing out different flavors: milk or whey products make teff bread taste nuttier, somewhat like hazelnut. Molasses makes it taste a little spicy like cinnamon and cloves.
- FERMENTATION. Teff ferments very well and quickly. It's one of the grains that's considered the best gluten-free substitute for rye flour. This recipe doesn't include any sugar because it doesn't need it to rise, however, it can be added for a quicker rise or more flavor.
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| 100% Ivory Teff |
Gluten free, dairy free, vegan, egg free, sugar free
Making the sourdough culture: 3 days, or
Teff specific sourdough starter method: 5 days
Mixing ingredients: 10 minutes
rest time: 2 hours
Rise time: 4-6 hours
Bake time 30-40 minutes
This recipe yields a small loaf, what I call a half loaf. I have not tried doubling it yet but feel free to experiment. This recipe can easily be mixed by hand but you can also make it in a stand mixer.
Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl or stand mixer:
200g brown or ivory teff flour
10g powdered or ground psyllium husk
4g salt
Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients
50g teff sourdough starter (click here or here to find the method for creating it)
240g spring water (use less for a firmer loaf, or more for a more flexible loaf.)
When the ingredients are fully mixed, let the dough rest for two hours to allow the psyllium to hydrate.
After resting, remix or knead the dough until smooth. Shape the dough into a boule and place in a banneton or towel-lined bowl seam-side up.
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| Shaped boule placed seam-side up |
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| Boule fully proofed (~5 hours) |
Leave the dough to rise for 4-6 hours. You'll know it's ready to bake when it's increased in size about 50% and it's noticeably springier to the touch. Preheat the oven to 450°f/230°c with a baking vessel inside or set it up for steaming the bread for the first part of the bake.
Invert the bread so it's seam-side down on a piece of parchment paper. Place in the baking vessel and score. Bake at 450°f/230°c for 15 minutes covered or with steam. Uncover the bread (or remove the steam) and bake another 15 minutes uncovered/without steam. If needed, bake another 5 minutes directly on the rack or until the bread makes a hollow sound when tapped with your knuckles.
Let the bread cool on a rack.
Enjoy!
Comments
Yes, a 2-quart pot with a lid works well for this size loaf. Or any larger baking vessel would work too. It holds its shape.
“It’s not so crumbly!”
“It’s actually moist!”
“It’s not falling apart!”
"It tastes like real bread!"
"It FEELS like real bread!!"
And best of all, they preferred the teff bread (plain, mind you) over the waffle with strawberry syrup I had made them for breakfast, and the entire loaf was gone in less than 5 minutes.
Their next questions:
"Can we make a bigger loaf?"
"Can you make 17 more of these?"
We've also increased the loaf size by both 25% and 50%. We had success in our 2 qt Dutch oven both times, though I didn't bake it quite long enough when it was 50% larger (my kids ate it anyway...) I was listening for the hollow sound, but I think I just judged it incorrectly. It was in about 50 minutes, so I felt sure it was done, but oh well. We've also had success when I've spilled the water or starter for some reason (did I mention I have four small people in the house? lol) and proportions got thrown off slightly. The bread still came out delicious every single time; this recipe is super forgiving and pretty dang-near mistake-proof. I have recommended it to just about every single person I know with celiac disease.
I’m so glad the kids are into the bread! I hope the rest of the bakes go well. It sounds like your experiments are paying off.
Are starters generally interchangeable, without affecting the recipe outcome too much?
I have a brown rice starter which I've been using successfully for brown rice sourdough for the last month or so. I'm really keen to try other recipes including your teff bread and sorghum bread mix, but I'm not keen to have several starters on the go as I don't think I can keep on top of the maintenance of them (smallholding, young children, etc etc!). I'm sure my starter will work with the other recipes, but will it change the outcome significantly? Is it worth the hassle of making different starters?
Many thanks! Pete
The starter definitely affects the flavor, though not necessarily in a bad way. It’s just that each type of starter has a unique flavor. Teff starter in particular provides a great rise, a complex flavor, and it ferments quickly, so if you use something else it might not rise as quickly. Also rice flour in particular can change the texture of the bread. It can sometimes lead to tackiness but it can also have some beneficial qualities. It can take a little longer to bake. It’s been a really long time since I’ve had a brown rice starter but my other readers use them often and it seems to usually work for various recipes. I think it’s worth a shot to try this recipe with your current starter. Maybe someday you’ll have a reason to try a teff starter. They are wonderful. But until then I’d say try out new recipes with your existing starter and see what you think. Also report back on your results!