A Taste of Childhood: Ambasha
Every Ethiopian & Eritrean has a childhood memory associated with ambasha (or himbasha). Ambasha tastes like Sunday mornings after church services or Saturday afternoons at a lunch gathering with family friends. I haven’t met a single Ethiopian who can resist the taste and nostalgia of ambasha.
Ambasha is a traditional, spiced homemade bread with origins in Ethiopia and Eritrea. There is typically at least one loaf of ambasha at birthday parties, wedding celebrations, family gatherings, and after religious services. Everyone has their own ambasha recipe, with a variation of flour or spices or technique, not to mention the endless ways that people decorate their ambasha.
When I sought out to create an ambasha recipe for Just One Gursha, I came across a frustrating obstacle: most Ethiopians do not have recipes because they do not measure when they cook. As someone who prefers to freestyle in the kitchen, I can understand that recipes are ever-evolving, but recipe testing ended up being an adventure of research, interviews, and dough testing. I exploded with joy in my kitchen when I took the first bite of this ambasha recipe, perfectly spiced with vanilla and cardamom. It felt like a quarantine kitchen miracle and I’m so excited to share it with all of you!
Whether you have a mitad or a large pan, you will be able to easily recreate this recipe in any kitchen and customize the spices to your desire. Vanilla and cardamom were my spices of choice, but if you have tikur azmud (Ethiopian black cumin) available, I highly recommend adding a teaspoon or two to this recipe. Ambasha is the perfect snack with tea or coffee, served with either honey or awaze, but consider this your official warning because ambasha is notoriously addictive.
Ambasha Recipe
Ingredients
4 tsp instant dry yeast or active dry yeast (but you will need 5 tsp instead of 4)
¾ cup warm (not hot) water
¼ cup agave nectar or honey (in equal parts) or sugar (reduce by 1/3)
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp cardamom
⅓ cup cooking oil + more for kneading I've used safflower seed oil and coconut oil, which both work well. You can use any oil that won't change the flavor!
2-2½ tsp sea salt
3⅔ cup flour + more for kneading I used a combination of 2¾ cups all-purpose and the rest corn flour, you can use bread flour, as well.
Instructions
In a large mixing bowl, add yeast and pour ½ cup warm water over the yeast. For instant yeast, let it sit and foam for a couple of minutes (for active, you'll want to let this sit for at least 5 minutes).
Add agave nectar, vanilla, cardamom, oil, and salt to the bowl and whisk together to combine.
On a large, clean surface for kneading the bread, scoop the all-purpose flour directly onto the surface and create a pool in the middle with the flour.
This part is messy, so be sure you do this slowly and make sure your hands are clean and ready to knead. Carefully pour the yeast mixture from earlier into the pool in the middle of the flour, I like to do this in small stages and knead the flour slowly as I go along. If you pour the liquid all at once, it will be a mess and compromise the recipe.
You will knead the dough for 7-10 minutes (yes, it's an arm workout), adding a tablespoon at a time of the additional warm water if needed. The dough should form into a smooth, elastic dough.
Once the dough is formed, oil your hands and transfer the dough to a round, flat tray with flat ends (like a pizza pan or large plate). The whole dough should be well-coated in oil. Shape the dough into a large, smooth circle and with a knife, cut the dough into slices and create any design on top. Cut the dough all the way through for the slices, but only slightly through the dough for the designs (really, just the top surface).
Cover the dough and let it rise for at least an hour or until it doubles in size.
Preheat your griddle/mitad to 350 degrees F or your pan to 350 degrees F (4 marks on a gas stove or medium heat).
With your pan or plate, carefully flip the dough onto the griddle and cover with the lid. Allow the dough to cook for 8 to 10 minutes, or until you see a deep brown crisp. With your pan or plate, carefully scoop under the cooked surface and flip the bread to cook on the other side for an additional 8 to 10 minutes, or until you see a deep brown crisp.
Once the ambasha has cooked, transfer to a pan or plate and allow it to cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve with honey or awaze and enjoy!
