East Africa · Side
Kitcha (Griddled Whole-Wheat Unleavened Flatbread)
Rustic, charred whole-wheat flatbread griddled dense and crisp on the exterior while remaining soft inside, seasoned with aromatic nigella seeds.
The story
Common throughout the highland villages and agropastoral communities of Eritrea, kitcha is prepared as an everyday flatbread baked fresh at dawn. It is regularly eaten warm alongside spiced tea or broken down while hot into ragged pieces to prepare kitcha fit-fit with spiced clarified butter (tesmi). Because the bread is unleavened, cooks traditionally score the dough lightly before flipping, which allows trapped steam to puff the crumb evenly without requiring commercial leaveners or lengthy fermentation times.
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