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 physical–chemical and nutritional characteristics of Somali laxoox and Yemeni lahoh flatbreads have not been studied to date, nor have their possible similarities been investigated. Fieldwork was carried out in Somaliland (northwest Somalia), at nine different households, to collect Somali and Yemeni flatbreads. The nutritional characteristics (12.47–15.94 g/100 g proteins, 2.47–4.11 g/100 g lipids) and the total phenolic compounds (5.02–7.11 mg gallic acid equivalents/g on dry matter) were influenced by the natural variability of manual food preparation, as well as variability in the recipes used. All the breads had a porous structure. Cell density varied from 22.4 to 57.4 cells/cm2 in the Somali flatbreads, reaching 145 cells/cm2 in the Yemeni flatbreads. Higher amounts of refined flour increased the pale color of the breads. The principal component analysis highlighted differences between Yemeni and Somali flatbreads, pointing out a certain variability within the latter, with two samples forming a separate subgroup.
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