AI-generated image
Ambasha
Spiced celebration bread
Tigray's spiced celebration bread, decorated with a pattern before baking
EthiopianAmbasha is the round, slightly sweet festival bread of Tigray and Amhara, baked for holidays such as Easter (Fasika) and Meskel and for welcoming guests. The dough is scented with fenugreek, cardamom and coriander seed, and before baking the top is cut with a knife into a wheel-like pattern, so it comes out of the oven looking like a decorated plate; it is brushed with niter kibbeh and berbere and served torn into pieces with coffee. Chef's tip: cut the pattern deep (about 1 cm), or it disappears as the bread rises in the oven.
- Total time
- 150 min
- Difficulty
- medium
- Serves
- 10
Ingredients
- 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour
- ¼ oz instant yeast1 sachet
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp ground fenugreek
- 1 tsp ground cardamom
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 ¼ cups warm waterapproximately
- 2 tbsp niter kibbehmelted, for brushing
- ½ tsp berbere
Shop this recipe on Amazon
What you'll need
Spices & pantry
Fresh ingredients (1)
Links open Amazon in a new tab. As an Amazon Associate, WhatToEat.Today earns from qualifying purchases.
Method
0/8 doneStep 1: Mix 1 ⅛ lb strong white bread flour, ¼ oz instant yeast, 2 tbsp sugar, 1 ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp ground fenugreek, 1 tsp ground cardamom and 1 tsp ground coriander. Add 3 tbsp vegetable oil and most of 1 ¼ cups warm water and mix to a soft, slightly sticky dough.
5 minStep 2: Knead for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
10 minStep 3: Cover and leave in a warm place for 1 hour, until doubled in size.
60 minStep 4: Knock back and set aside a small piece of dough (about 60 g). Press the rest into a 28 cm round on a lined baking tray.
Step 5: Using a sharp knife, cut lines 1 cm deep from the centre out to the edge, like the spokes of a wheel, then cut across them to make a pattern. Roll the reserved dough into a small ball and press it into the centre.
Step 6: Cover and leave to rise for 30–40 minutes until puffy.
35 minStep 7: Heat the oven to 400°F (350°F fan). Bake for 25–30 minutes until deep golden and hollow-sounding when tapped underneath. A common mistake is pulling it out pale; the crust should be well browned.
28 minStep 8: Mix 2 tbsp niter kibbeh with ½ tsp berbere and brush over the hot bread. Cool for 15 minutes, then tear and serve. For a vegan version, brush with spiced oil instead.
Nutrition per serving
- Calories
- 280 kcal
- Protein
- 7 g
- Carbs
- 47 g
- Fat
- 6 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
Nutrition values are estimates.
KrazyBadal
Good to know
- How long does ambasha take?
- About 150 minutes in total: 120 minutes to prepare and 30 minutes to cook.
- How many people does it serve?
- 10 as written. Change the servings above the ingredients and every amount scales to match.
- Is it vegetarian?
- Yes. It has no meat or fish.
- What can I use instead of strong white bread flour?
- Plain flour, same amount (the dough will be softer and rise a little less).
- What can I use instead of sugar?
- Caster sugar, same amount.
Reviews
No reviews yet. Be the first to cook it.
Rate this recipe
Sign in to rate and review this recipe.
You might also like
SalufPuffy flatbread
Saluf is the everyday bread of Yemenite Israelis, slapped onto a hot pan or taboon in Rosh HaAyin and Sha'arayim in Rehovot and eaten with marak temani, hilbe and zhug. It is soft and blistered, thicker than pita and with no pocket, made to tear and dunk. Home cooks often roll it too thin, which gives a cracker; it should be about 1 cm thick so it stays pillowy. Chef's tip: cook it under a lid on a very hot dry pan for the first minute, which traps steam and puffs it the way a taboon does.
Israeli
ChipaCheese bread rings
In Paraguay you hear 'chipa, chipa!' called by vendors with big baskets on buses and street corners, and every family bakes it for Holy Week, when chipa is the food of Good Friday. Cassava starch, a little cornmeal, butter, eggs and a lot of hard cheese are kneaded into a dough scented with aniseed, shaped into rings or small rolls and baked in a hot oven, traditionally a domed clay tatakua. It's chewy, crisp outside and best warm with cocido (toasted yerba tea). Chef's tip: the dough should feel soft and slightly greasy; add milk a spoon at a time, as too much makes the chipa spread flat.
Paraguayan
Farari uttapamSamo and water-chestnut pancakes
Soft, thick uttapam for fasting days, made from a yogurt batter of samo (moraiyo), singoda (water chestnut) flour and rajagra (amaranth) flour, tempered with cumin and curry leaves and studded with cucumber, tomato, coconut and green chilli. Cooked under a lid, they're crisp at the edges and fluffy in the middle. Serve with yogurt and green chutney. Makes 6.
Indian