Teff flour - very close up!
So as most of you know I am at the market every Saturday here in Burlington selling our breads and other goodies! What I didn’t expect was the overwhelming response to our teff bread. People always want to know what it is because of it’s chocolaty colour and when I explain to them that it’s teff they say “huh?” So I thought I’d share a bit about teff so that you all know what it is and where it comes from.
Originally, teff is from Ethiopia. There, they use it to make their popular bread known as injera. Teff is naturally gluten-free and packs a wallop of nutrition! It is, however, one of the smallest grains you will ever find. When I researched teff, I found several sites that measure it at about 1/32 of an inch in DIAMETER. Now that is tiny! If you need more proof, it takes about 150 grains of teff to weigh as much as one grain of wheat. Convinced now? Just trust me, it’s small!
Teff is a great gluten-free grain. It is very high fibre and is packed with essential minerals like calcium. In fact, teff has much more calcium than other grains like whole wheat and barley. Teff is also high in iron and the iron in teff is easily absorbed by the body. It also
is high in phosphorous, copper, thiamine (Vit B1) and of course protein. Teff has all 8 essential amino acids that we need to survive which makes it kind of a king of grains along with it’s other powerhouse partner, quinoa, which makes it great for vegans and vegetarians.
Just google “teff” and see what you find. First off is that fact it comes from Ethiopia and then you’ll see for yourself the nutritional value of the grain and might want to try it. You can buy teff at local bulk food stores and in packages at some grocery stores. Look for the Jamestown Mills bag at local health shops or Bob’s Red Mill variety. But, if you just want to make life easy on yourself, come down to the market and get some teff bread. But you have to be early because it sells out fast!
Dark Teff Bread - delicious!