Himbasha | H'mbasha | Ambasha is an Ethiopian Flatbread, often made as a celebratory bread. It is a mildly sweet flatbread flavored with cardamom, raisin and black sesame seeds.
The bread apart from being celebratory, can be made for breakfast or afternoon tea. It goes perfectly well with a cup of tea.There are many variations of the flavorings used in the Himbasha. Some use black sesame seeds while some use raisins.
Himbasha | H'mbasha | Ambasha, is an Ethiopian celebration bread, made for special occasions. It is a popular flatbread made for Christmas in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Himbasha is a mildly sweet leavened bread most commonly flavored with ground cardamom.
There is also a version made with fenugreek seeds. I used both black sesame and raisin in my bread. There is a tradition in Ethiopia where the Himbasha is placed on the child's back on their first birthday and then broken into two to give the child the strength and prosperity.
We are in the second week of our A to Z International Flatbread Mega BM. Week 1 just flew past and this is going to be yet another interesting week. It will be interesting with the kinds of flatbread that I have in line and also for the fact that I have to make most of them as and when we move along.
I have hardly baked / cooked for this week except couple of recipes and it will be quite a week of flatbread at our house. When baking an Ethiopian Flatbread, also check out another Ethiopian bread, Yemarina Yewotet Dabo | Ethiopian spiced Honey Bread, that I baked for A to Z Baking Mega Marathon.
My Other recipes in the A-Z International Flatbread Series –
A for Aish Baladi
B for Boulanee Katchalu
C for Chickpea Flatbread / Socca
E for Emirati Khameer
F for Fruit Focaccia
G for Gozleme
Preparation time - 15 minutes plus 2 hours of resting time
Baking time - 25 to 35 Minutes
Difficulty level - Easy
Recipe adapted from - Priya's Versatile Recipes
Ingredients to make Himbasha | H'mbasha | Ambasha | Ethiopian Flatbread - Makes one 9 - inch
- All Purpose flour - 2 cups
- Sugar - 3 TBSP
- Instant Yeast - 1 tsp
- Salt - ½ tsp
- Olive oil - 2 tablespoon plus 2 teaspoon to grease
- Warm water - ½ cup to ¾ cup
- Raisin - ¼ cup
- Black Sesame Seeds - 1 tsp
- Cardamom powder - ½ tsp
- Milk - 3 tablespoon (for brushing on top)
Procedure to make Himbasha | H'mbasha | Ambasha | Ethiopian Flatbread -
- I used my food processor to make the dough for the Himbasha. We could make it by hand or a stand mixer as well.
- In the bowl of the food processor or a large bowl, add the flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, cardamom powder and black sesame seeds. Mix well to combine.
- Add the raisins and the oil and mix once to combine.
- Slowly add warm water to make a soft dough. Knead for about 7 to 10 minutes to get a soft and non-sticky dough.
- Cover the dough and let it rest until doubled in volume. It took me about 1 ½ hours.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down gently. Grease a 9 inch cake pan or any oven safe pan.
- Place the dough and spread it evenly across the pan. The dough will retract back. In that case, rest for 5 minutes and then stretch again.
- Cover the pan and let it rest for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the dough is puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Now using a blunt knife, make patterns on the dough. I made the traditional wheel pattern on mine.
- Brush the top with milk and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the Himbasha is golden brown on top.
- Remove from the oven and let it briefly rest on a cooling rack. Slice and serve.
If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter
Himbasha | H'mbasha | Ambasha | Ethiopian Flatbread
Ingredients
- 2 cups All Purpose flour
- 3 Tablespoon Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Instant Yeast
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 2 Tablesppon Olive oil plus 2 teaspoon
- ½ cup Warm water might need up to ¼ cup more
- ¼ cup Raisin
- 1 teaspoon Black Sesame Seeds
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- 3 Tablespoon Milk for brushing on top
Instructions
- I used my food processor to make the dough for the Himbasha. We could make it by hand or a stand mixer as well.
- In the bowl of the food processor or a large bowl, add the flour, instant yeast, sugar, salt, cardamom powder and black sesame seeds. Mix well to combine.
- Add the raisins and the oil and mix once to combine.
- Slowly add warm water to make a soft dough. Knead for about 7 to 10 minutes to get a soft and non-sticky dough.
- Cover the dough and let it rest until doubled in volume. It took me about 1 ½ hours.
- Once the dough has risen, punch it down gently. Grease a 9 inch cake pan or any oven safe pan.
- Place the dough and spread it evenly across the pan. The dough will retract back. In that case, rest for 5 minutes and then stretch again.
- Cover the pan and let it rest for about 30 to 45 minutes or until the dough is puffy.
- Preheat the oven to 350 F.
- Now using a blunt knife, make patterns on the dough. I made the traditional wheel pattern on mine.
- Brush the top with milk and bake for 25 to 35 minutes or until the Himbasha is golden brown on top.
- Remove from the oven and let it briefly rest on a cooling rack. Slice and serve.
Heidi says
My daughter was born in Rthiopia and I am always looking to bring her culture into our home (she was adopted by us as a toddler in the states). She loves your recipe … we ALL do! She is allergic to sesame so we leave that out although I’m sure it adds great texture. I use the dough setting in my bread machine and then follow your directions after that to get a beautiful result. My daughter has shared your recipe for this bread at her birthday parties, Christmas Eve family gatherings and it is a favorite by everyone who tries it!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Heidi, thank you so much for taking time and writing to me. I am so happy that I was able to bring a little cheer in your family. Love to your daughter and I really appreciate your effort to keep her tied to her culture.
Tito says
Sorry but hambasha IS NOT an Ethiopean bread. It is Eritrean , the one and only main bread that is exclusively ERITREAN "S . Ethiopean's bread is called defo dano. Kindly make the correction please.
Thousand thank you for the recipe 🙏🏾
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Tito, thanks for the information. I have more reading to do. I will look into it and make changes. Thanks for visiting.
Ethiopia says
Ambasha is both Ethiopian and eriterianz. Eritrea used to be part of Ethiopia. Just saying 🙂 I don’t think you should change the title. It’s like Rice in Asia lol
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks 🙂
feven says
many neighbouring countries share cuisines and parts of history. yes, against the will of the natives, eritrea was given to ethiopians by the British, but the people were always Eritreans and made himbasha. im grateful for representation. thank you.
fesseha says
Himbasha, is Ethiopian_ in Tigray, and Ambasha in Amhara regions very popular. Eritrea is known for Cakes because it was 50 years under the colony of Italy. They don't have Teff injera either. in Eritrea Kicha (flat bread) is known, Hibasha is available too because Eritrea was under Ethiopia ...
feven says
nope. historically, neighbouring areas share cuisines. injera and himbasha are foods native to eritrea and ethiopia.
Nancy in Maine says
My first time making Himbasha, and I used your recipe. Delicious!! The ingredients are well-balanced and instructions are clear. Thank you so much for sharing this beautiful bread. No doubt it will become a favorite with my family!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Nancy, thanks a lot for your feed back! I am so glad the recipe worked well for you.
code2cook says
Himbasha flatbread looks beautiful and tempting the way you carved the design. I love to have it with my tea. Bookmarking it to try after socca bread.
preeti garg says
Fantastic bread.. looks so tasty and love the look.
Srivalli says
This is a fantastic bread Sandhya, love the design on top and would surely be a favorite for any day!..
Padmajha PJ says
The bread looks so nice Sandhya! Lovely pattern and beautiful texture. With raisins, sesame and cardamom, it would have tasted so good!
Renu says
Wow a bread with sweet and cardamon looks simply delicious. Love the way you have done the carvings on the bread. Would love to have some now with a cup of tea.
Ritu Tangri says
This bread with raisin and sesame is surely going to be a hit at my home. Love the pattern and beautiful crust of the bread
Mayuri Patel says
Did you mention sweet and cardamom? The this definitely is for me. What a beautiful bread, love the crust. It looks so similar to scones but flatter.
Sowmya says
Love the unique combination of raisins, sesame seeds and cardamom.....and you have made such a pretty looking bread! want to grab a bite right away!!!
Gayathri Raani says
This is a beautiful bread and I love the pattern you have made. I made a different one. Cardamom, raisins and sesame would give this bread an amazing flavour and taste..
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks Gayathri. It was a beautiful bread.
Vaishali Sabnani says
Excellent bread . Cardamom , raisins and sesame all would give a new dimension to this bread . I love these flavors in just about anything . Super pick for this hard alphabet !
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks a lot Vaishali! It was a lovely bake.
Priya Suresh says
Thanks for trying this bread Sandhya. We loved this flatbread very much as they are seriously soft and prefect to eat with any spread and sauces. Still remember how delicious this bread was. You have baked them prefectly.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks a lot Priya! You ar personally my recipe treasure. Love your collections 🙂
harini says
I bet the bread is very flavorful. Raisins and sesame seeds sounds like a new combination for me.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Thanks Harini! We really enjoyed the bread.