Himbasha (Ethiopian Cardamom Celebration Bread) 🍽

Name: Himbasha (Ethiopian Cardamom Celebration Bread)
Prep time: 60 min
Cook time: 90 min
Total time: 150 min
Yield: 2-4 servings
Cuisine: Cocina etíope
Ingredients: 500 g all-purpose or bread flour; 7 g instant yeast; 1/4 cup sugar; 1 tsp cardamom; freshly pounded (seed-husked); 1/2 tsp salt; optional: 1/4 tsp ground fenugreek or crushed gum arabic; 2 eggs; 1/4 cup melted butter or niter kibbeh (spiced clarified butter); plus more for brushing; 1 cup warm milk or water (half-and-half is richer); 2 tbsp honey; divided; Topping: sesame seeds, nigella (kosseret) seeds, sugar drizzle; To serve: honey, butter, Ethiopian coffee

Ethiopia's festival loaf: a soft, slightly sweet enriched bread perfumed with crushed cardamom (the signature) and often kissed with honey or berbere-scented butter, shaped into a crown of knotted ropes or baps and baked until the crust burnishes deep amber. Himbasha belongs to mornings that matter — Easter tables, funerals' consolation meals, coffee ceremonies where the bitter yirgacheffe rounds out against its sweet crumb. Street bakers stack it on counters in towers; grandmothers argue about whether to add gum arabic (yes, some do, for chew). No injera competition intended: this is the treat-bread, meant to be torn, dipped in honey, and followed by the third round of coffee.

East Africa Cocina etíope ⏱ 150 min Media

Método

1

Mix flour, yeast, sugar, cardamom, salt and any optional spice. Beat in eggs, 3 tbsp honey, and milk/water until a soft, tacky dough forms; knead 8 minutes.
2

Add melted butter/niter kibbeh in three additions, kneading each time until glossy. The dough should stretch thin without tearing — the enriched, pillowy texture IS himbasha.
3

Proof covered in a warm spot 60-75 minutes, until doubled (Ethiopian kitchens are cool; an oven with the light on works).
4

Shape the classic crown: divide into 6, roll each into a 30 cm rope, tie loose knots between pairs, coil knots into a ring on a lined tray — or simply divide into 8 soft baps and press a thumb dimple into each. Cover, second proof 40 minutes.
5

Heat oven to 180 C / 355 F. Brush tops with egg wash thinned with a spoon of honey, scatter sesame and nigella, drizzle a few threads of honey.
6

Bake 22-28 minutes until deep amber and hollow-sounding; brush immediately with melted butter for the shiny, tender crust. Cool 20 minutes; tear, don't slice. Serve with honey and the coffee ceremony's first round.

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Himbasha (Ethiopian Cardamom Celebration Bread) 🍽

Método

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