Sour dough starter (Dhanaanis) is the heart of the great lahooh batter, that is what gives the sour dough lahooh the characteristic of tangy flavor, and it differs from recipe to recipe, depending on what type of grains used. It could be mix of whole wheat, sourghom, barley, corn, rice flour.
Once you have your starter going you can start making other breads suchs the Ethiopian Injera, Panacakes, french bread and more.
To make the starter you will only need;
- flour
- water
- container for your batter
- and a warm place to keep your batter
- this will take a period of 5 days or less.
Day 1:
Mix ¼ cup water to ½ cup flour in a jar ( you can use mayonnaise or jam jars etc.) I am using plain unbleached all-purpose flour and warm water. You should have a tick paste , let it sit on the counter for 24 hours.
Day 2:
you should have some bubbles but you shouldn’t worry at this stage if yours didn’t develop any bubbles. Add ¼ cup water ½ cup flour to the bather and stir until combined. Let is sit for another 24 hours
Day 3:
Your starter should have some air and bubbles that is a good sign. Take about half of your batter (you can use it or throw it away) and mix in ¼ cup water and ½ cup flour. Leave it on the counter for another 24 hours
Day 4:
The starter should be double or triple in size and lots of bubbles in it, we need to take half of the batter out and add ¼ cup water and ½ cup flour mix and let it sit again for 24 hours.
Day 5:
your starter should be now doubled in volume that means you are ready to make sourdough lahooh.
You can get here recipe for sourdough Lahooh.
Feeding your starter:
If you are using this batter daily remove what you need for your lahooh and leave some for the next day, to this add flour and water to it then mix and let it sit on the counter for the next day.
At times when you dont have the time to make it daily leave it in the fridge that way you can forget about it for a week or so , when ready let it sit on the counter at room temperature, there will be some liquid on top you can mix in or discard.
Then I add flour and water and let it rest again to ferment, then use what I need and leave some for the next starter and keep it in the fridge.
Is there a specific type of flour or mix of flours you would recommend if I’m trying to make Ethiopian Injera bread? Thanks.
Insha Allah I will post a recipe for the Ethiopian injera, you can use combinations of these flours;
teff, corn, sorghum, whole wheat, plain etc.
Salamu alaykum
Thanks for the recipe. Should the jar be closed while it is resting over the day, or should it be left open? Also, in Europe at this time, there is no warm areas in the house – how warm is necessary and do you have any recommendations to keep the jar warm?
Thank you!
Asalamu Alaikum,
Use a container lightly covered so the air can get in, the best place to keep your starter would be in the oven, if you leave the oven light would be a plus, I usually leave it on and it works.
First few times my starter didn’t come out, I started from scratch the third time I got it right, so don’t give up.
I hope this answers your question.
Hi sis thank you for all this work , Is this the base fpr canjeero because I remmember my mom doing this and then using it over and over for canjeero.
Thanks! This gives me some inspiration to try again, hehe!
it looks very yummy……….
Thanks
Thank you so much for this starter recipe! I’m trying to make injera in Australia, and as we don’t have access to great teff, I’veade my starter with a combination of teff and then regular feedings of wheat flour. Would you be able to tell me the right ratio of flour, water, starter to make injera? I’m planning on using sorjhoum flour as its gluten free. Thanks again for this starter! Works a treat!
Many thanks for trying the recipe I am glad it worked for you, to make the injera 1 cup flour to 3 ½ cups lukewarm water, would make a thin batter once you are familiar with this consistency then add your starter and adjust the batter adding more flour or water.
All the best,
Very nice and organized site. Well explained. Thank you
Thanks, Aisha