Fatira — Print Recipe — The Culinary Codex

A flaky, multi-layered Ethiopian flatbread enriched with butter and eggs, often served with honey for breakfast or as a sweet snack. The dough is stretched paper-thin and folded into layers for maximum flakiness.

Ingredients

300g all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
200ml warm water
4 tablespoons melted butter or niter kibbeh
2 large eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 tablespoons honey for serving

Instructions

1 Combine the flour, salt, and sugar, then gradually add warm water while kneading until you have a soft, elastic dough that is smooth and not sticky.
2 Divide the dough into four equal balls and let them rest covered with a damp cloth for twenty minutes, which relaxes the gluten and makes the dough easier to stretch.
3 On an oiled surface, stretch each ball of dough as thin as possible using your hands, pulling gently from the center outward until you can almost see through it.
4 Brush the stretched dough with melted butter, fold it into thirds like a letter, then fold again into a square, creating multiple flaky layers within each flatbread.
5 Cook each folded flatbread on a hot buttered skillet for two to three minutes per side until golden and flaky, brush with beaten egg on top, and serve drizzled with honey.

Did You Know?

Fatira is believed to have been introduced to Ethiopia through centuries of trade with Yemen and the Arabian Peninsula, and its name shares roots with the Arabic word for flatbread.