For the past few years wherever I have spoken, I have talked about how Teff is going to be a big thing in India because it’s a cousin of Ragi ( Finger Millet ) . The state of Karnataka is a big producer of Ragi & rightly so it’s nice to get Teff grown & produced in Karnataka, courtesy the Mysuru-based Central Food and Technological Research Institute (CFTRI) which obtained seeds & tried cultivating it in 2018 in North Karnataka just like they did with Quinoa & Chia .
The first time I used Teff was when my brother in law got it for me from Ethiopia. I made pancakes then. The other day I made cookies, the recipe is on my Instagram feed @jagglutenfree .
So this time around I just had to make bread. Teff is nutty in taste similar to hazelnut. However, it has high protein content and great for gluten free breads. My recipe is free from rice, gums, dairy , nuts and soy. Though I have used tapioca starch as this is a yeast bread. You will see that I have used honey and jaggery with Apple cider vinegar, this is all in my effort to create a wheaty taste. I have used eggs because both the flours used are dense and without the added fat and moisture it isn’t easy to get a moist yet firm gluten free bread.
Teff & Ragi Bread
Gluten, nut, soy, rice and dairy free
Equipment required- A mini loaf pan, spatula, stand or handheld mixer, bowls
Ingredients
- 100 gm Teff flour
- 85 gm Ragi Flour
- 85 gm Tapioca starch/flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1.5 tsp powdered flax seed
- 2 tsp jaggery
Wet Ingredients
- 185 ml lukewarm water
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 Apple Cider Vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp Olive oil
- 1 tbsp honey
- 1 .5 tsp active dry yeast
Method
- Grease and dust loaf pan
- In a bowl add lukewarm water , honey and yeast. Keep the yeast to activate for 7- 10 minutes .
- Mix together in another bowl the flours, flax seed and salt.
- Once the yeast is activated add in jaggery, the Cider Vinegar and oil.
- Pour in the wet mixture to the dry.
- Mix it well to get a thick cake batter like dough
- Scoop dough into loaf pan. With a wet spatula level the top of the dough.
- Keep it in a warm place to proof till it reaches the rim of the pan ( it took 30 minutes for me)
- Preheat the oven at 180°Celsius .
- Bake for 40 minutes
- Release the bread onto a cooling rack after 10 minutes of taking it out of the oven.
- Slice only after it is completely cool
Thus bread can be eaten as it is. It is absolutely delicious!
Please tag me on any of my social media handles if you are making this.
Substitutes
Eggs – use egg replacer like a flax egg, chia egg or psyllium husk
You can use Amaranth if you do not have Teff.
You can use maple syrup in place of honey. Coconut sugar/ Molasses in place of jaggery .
On an average in a week I am asked the following questions
1. What is gluten?
2. Why are people eating gluten free?
3. Should everyone eat gluten free?
4. But in India we never heard of all these things before?
To know the answers to all the questions and more read my latest post on www.cleanindiamovement.in
I look it at through the lens of economic reforms, the global influence on our plates, food processing and more.
I have tried to write to stay objective and neutral on this piece because I think people should make informed decisions.