A survey of laxoox/canjeero, a traditional Somali flatbread: production styles

Abstract

Flatbreads are traditional food products of ancient origin, still produced and appreciated in their original locations and beyond, having spread through historical and modern migration. While the history and preparation of Somali flatbread, known as canjeero in southern regions and laxoox in northern regions, has been shared orally for generations among the women who cook it at home, it has not been the object of scientific studies. An in-field study was therefore carried out in various cities in Somalia, Somaliland, and Ethiopia’s Somali State to document the formulation, production methods, and consumption patterns of this Somali flatbread. Laxoox/canjeero production was found to be relatively homogenous, but the data revealed two significant divergences: in bread formulation and in the procedure for structure development. These divergences result from disparities in the mechanization of bread production between rural and urban, and from the destruction of infrastructure, including food processing machines in public markets, leading up to the Somali civil war. An original framework of four production styles (“heritage,” “new heritage,” “innovative,” and “global”) illustrates these divergences in detail. Heritage production is linked to the historic era of nomadic Somali pastoralism, while the other three styles originated in civil conflict and continue today. Graphical abstract

The Large and Diverse Family of Mediterranean Flat Breads: A Database

“…Therefore, there is a concrete risk of losing the memory and knowledge behind this kind of bread. This happens continuously to many food products, everywhere, but since bread is much more than simply a nutritious food, being linked to identity and local knowledge [ 3 ], abandoning a certain type of artisanal bread, in favor of a more industrialized one, is a phenomenon with important cultural repercussions.…”

“…These breads, whose origin is very ancient [ 1 ], are produced all over the world. Those spread from the Fertile Crescent reached the Mediterranean area (North Africa, Southern Europe, Middle East and Anatolian peninsula), the Indian subcontinent, and the Caucasian region, up to Xinjiang [ 2 ], as well as the Arabian peninsula, with interlinks with the Horn of Africa [ 2 , 3 ]. Flat breads are also produced in the American continent, mostly in Central and South America [ 4 ], but also in the North, owed to Native Americans [ 5 ].…”

Ethnobotanical survey and preliminary phytochemical screening of Posa kumura: an uncharted ethnic food of Assam

“…After the completion of due time for online survey, the acceptance of response was switched off in the Google form and the final Excel Sheet (Microsoft Office Version 2018 for Windows, Washington, USA) was downloaded. In the same Excel Sheet the data obtained through personal visits were also entered to analyze the responses received from the respondents (Wolgamuth et al 2022). For preliminary phytochemical analysis all the tests were done in triplicate for conformity of the results.…”

Physical-Chemical and Nutritional Characterization of Somali Laxoox Flatbread and Comparison with Yemeni Lahoh Flatbread

“…This flatbread is strongly related to Somali culture; the familiar sound of vigorous manual batter mixing every evening has been likened to a lullaby in popular culture, linked to a sense of security that bread will be available the following morning [ 2 ]. Despite its local ubiquity, this bread has been little investigated, with the exception of an in-field study which documented its formulation, production methods, and consumption patterns in various cities in Somalia, Somaliland, and Ethiopia’s Somali State [ 3 ]. The production of laxoox , in detail, follows four “styles” which have been denominated as “heritage”, “new heritage”, “innovative”, and “global” [ 3 ].…”

“…Despite its local ubiquity, this bread has been little investigated, with the exception of an in-field study which documented its formulation, production methods, and consumption patterns in various cities in Somalia, Somaliland, and Ethiopia’s Somali State [ 3 ]. The production of laxoox , in detail, follows four “styles” which have been denominated as “heritage”, “new heritage”, “innovative”, and “global” [ 3 ]. Heritage production (featuring hand-ground whole grains with little or no wheat; handmade pregelatinized dough; and spontaneous fermentation or the addition of a starter from the previous baking batch) is linked to an historic era of pastoralism, while the other three styles (featuring combinations of commercial wheat flour and/or commercial pregelatinized dough and/or commercial baker’s yeast) originated in the Somali civil conflict and continue today [ 3 ].…”