If you've spotted teff flour in a recipe and wondered what it is, you're not alone.
Teff may be tiny, but this ancient grain has been an important food in East Africa for generations. Today, teff flour is becoming easier to find in the U.S. as more people discover its earthy, slightly nutty flavor and versatility in baking.
It's probably best known as the flour used to make injera, the soft, fermented flatbread associated with Ethiopian and Eritrean cuisine. But that's far from the only thing you can make with it.
Here's what you should know before adding teff flour to your pantry.
What Is Teff Flour?
Teff flour is made by grinding teff, an exceptionally small cereal grain, into flour.
Teff has longstanding culinary importance in Ethiopia and Eritrea, where it is traditionally used to prepare injera.
Because the entire tiny grain can be ground into flour, teff flour has a distinctive flavor and texture that sets it apart from ordinary all-purpose flour.
Is Teff Flour Gluten-Free?
Yes. Teff is naturally gluten-free.
That makes teff an interesting grain for people exploring alternatives to wheat flour.
However, naturally gluten-free doesn't necessarily mean every teff flour product is appropriate for someone with celiac disease. Cross-contact can occur during growing, processing, transportation, storage, or bulk handling.
If you must strictly avoid gluten for medical reasons, check the specific product and its handling practices.
What Does Teff Flour Taste Like?
Teff flour has a mild, earthy and slightly nutty flavor.
It works particularly well with deeper flavors such as chocolate, cinnamon, nuts, maple, molasses and fruit.
That makes teff useful for much more than traditional recipes.
What Can You Make With Teff Flour?
There are plenty of ways to experiment with teff flour in your kitchen.
Try it in pancakes, waffles, muffins, quick breads, cookies, sourdough blends and other baked goods.
And, of course, there's injera.
What Is Injera?
Injera is a soft, fermented flatbread traditionally eaten in Ethiopia and Eritrea.
It has a distinctive slightly sour flavor and a porous, spongy texture that's perfect for soaking up the flavors of the foods served with it.
Traditional injera-making involves fermentation, so it's quite different from simply mixing flour and water and making a pancake.
If injera is the reason you discovered teff flour in the first place, you're definitely not alone.
Can You Substitute Teff Flour for Regular Flour?
Sometimes—but teff flour isn't a direct 1:1 substitute for wheat flour in every recipe.
Wheat contains gluten, which contributes structure and elasticity to breads and baked goods. Teff doesn't.
For that reason, many recipes combine teff with other flours, while others are developed specifically around teff.
If you're new to baking with it, starting with a recipe specifically written for teff flour is usually easier than replacing all the wheat flour in a favorite recipe.
Can You Use Teff Flour in Sourdough?
Yes. Teff flour can be incorporated into flour blends for sourdough baking.
Its earthy flavor can add another dimension to a loaf, but because teff doesn't contain gluten, changing the amount of teff in a wheat-based sourdough recipe can also change the dough's structure.
Experimenting with smaller amounts in a flour blend is an easy way to get familiar with it.
Teff Flour vs. Wheat Flour
The two flours behave differently.
Wheat flour contains gluten, while teff is naturally gluten-free. Teff also has a more noticeable earthy, nutty flavor than typical white wheat flour.
Rather than thinking of teff simply as a wheat-flour replacement, we like thinking of it as another grain with its own flavor and culinary uses.
Teff Flour vs. Almond Flour
They're also very different.
Teff flour comes from a grain, while almond flour is made from ground almonds.
Both can appear in gluten-free recipes, but their textures, flavors and baking properties aren't interchangeable. If a recipe calls specifically for teff, substituting almond flour can significantly change the result.
Is Teff an Ancient Grain?
Teff is commonly described as an ancient grain because it has been cultivated and consumed for thousands of years and has a long culinary history in East Africa.
It's funny to think that something attracting new attention in American kitchens isn't actually new at all.
Sometimes discovering a “new” ingredient really means rediscovering something people elsewhere have been eating for generations.
Why Buy Bulk Teff Flour?
This is one of those ingredients where buying by the ounce makes a lot of sense.
Maybe you found one recipe requiring teff flour and don't need an entire bag. Or perhaps you've never tasted it and want to experiment before stocking your pantry.
When you buy bulk teff flour by weight, you can choose an amount that fits what you're actually making.
It's one of the things we love most about a refill-style grocery store: try a little, buy a lot, or get exactly what your recipe calls for.
It also helps eliminate some of the unnecessary packaging that comes with buying another prepackaged pantry ingredient.
Where Can I Buy Teff Flour?
If you're wondering where to buy teff flour, look for it at stores specializing in bulk foods, natural foods, international ingredients, or specialty flours.
And if you're in Tampa, we've made that part easy.
Where Can I Buy Teff Flour in Tampa?
You can find organic teff flour sold by the ounce at Life Essentials Refillery in South Tampa.
That means you don't have to buy a giant package just to try one recipe.
Visit us at:
Life Essentials Refillery
4317 W El Prado Blvd
Tampa, FL 33629
Not in Tampa? You can also order our organic teff flour online.
The Bottom Line
Teff flour may not be as familiar as wheat or almond flour, but there's a reason this tiny grain has such a long culinary history.
It's naturally gluten-free, earthy and slightly nutty, and can be used in everything from traditional injera to pancakes, muffins, breads and other baked goods.
And because you can buy our organic teff flour by the ounce, you don't have to know exactly what you're going to do with an entire bag before giving it a try.
Sometimes a few ounces and a new recipe are all you need.