Homemade bread never fails to warm the soul. I can remember so many nights in high school, coming home late from practice and smelling my mom’s homemade bread. It was like all the stress of the day would melt away with that amazing smell.

So why is it, then, that I never made bread until I stumbled upon this recipe during our adoption process? Ethiopian food typically takes a long time to cook and bake. There are a couple short cuts you can take (I still have good intentions of trying out that crock pot Doro Wat I saw on Pinterest someday) but that just tends to be how it goes.

So back before I had a bread machine, and was longing for some amazing Ethiopian cuisine, I put my hands to work at bread. And guess what? It turned out! (That was a miracle in itself.)

Now it has become a much-requested favorite around here. So now I’m here to share it all with you…

Ingredients:

3-4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp black sesame seeds
2 tsp thyme
2 tsp cardamom, ground
2 tsp fenugreek, ground
2 tsp yeast
1/4 canola oil
1/4 cup honey
1 cup warm water

Directions:

Mix together flour (starting with between 2 1/2 – 3 cups) with salt, sesame seeds, thyme, cardamom, and fenugreek. Then add in the yeast (I was instructed by a friend not to put salt and yeast right next to each other, which is why I add it separately). Make a dam in the middle of the dry ingredients. Add in the oil, honey, and warm water in the middle of the dam and stir in circles, slowly adding the surrounding flour. Add more flour as needed for a stiff dough. Once the dough starts to separate from the bowl, place it on a floured surface and knead 5-10 minutes until no longer sticky and smooth like a baby’s bottom (except for the seeds that you will feel within the dough). Round out the dough with your hands and place in a round pan to let rise (I brush a little oil over it and cover with saran wrap and a towel, then place it near my heater since my house is pretty cold). Bake at 350 degrees until it turns a light golden brown and is cooked all the way through, about 30 minutes. As soon as it gets out of the oven, brush with butter.

*NOTE: You can also add more honey for an even sweeter bread, if you want.

I hope you give it a try (and enjoy it). Please let me know how it turns out for you, if you do!