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Lahoh
Spongy bread originating in Yemen From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Lahoh (Arabic: لحوح, romanized: laḥūḥ [laħuːħ]; Somali: laxoox[disputed – discuss] or canjeero) is a type of spongy flatbread eaten regularly in Yemen, Djibouti, Kenya, Ethiopia, Somalia and Saudi Arabia. Yemenite Jewish immigrants popularized the dish in Israel. It is called canjeero/canjeelo in southern Somalia and also called lahoh in Somaliland, Djibouti, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.
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Preparation
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Lahoh is traditionally and typically prepared from a thick batter of sorghum flour (preferred flour for making Laxoox), White cornmeal/cornflour, warm water, yeast, and a pinch of salt. The mixture is beaten by hand until soft and creamy.[1] The batter is then left to ferment overnight, to cook, and then is eaten for breakfast. There is a sweet-tasting variety of the dish, one made with eggs,[2] as well as another variety that is spiced and typically eaten in Somali households at breakfast during Eid called Cambaabuur (Ambaabuur).[3] It is traditionally baked on a metallic circular stove called a taawa. Lacking that, it can also be baked in an ordinary pan.
Somali laxoox/canjeero is a pancake-like flatbread, i.e., made from a batter comprised typically of legumes or cereals other than wheat, usually due to a scarcity of wheat production.[4] The modern-day production of Somali laxoox/canjeero is relatively homogenous, but recent research[5] revealed two significant divergences: in bread formulation and the procedure for structure development. These divergences correspond broadly to regional differences in production methods. An original framework of four production styles ("heritage," "new heritage," "innovative," and "global") illustrates these divergences in detail.[5]
In (greater) Somalia, gluten-like structure development in laxoox/canjeero historically relied on cajiin, a pre-gelatinized dough made from sorghum (or other non-glutinous or low-gluten grains) and hot water in a manual process involving 1 to 2 days of intermittent activity. Hydrothermal treatment changes protein and starch properties, causing starch to gelatinize and conferring hydrocolloid properties that mimic gluten. Gelatinized starch provides the batter with gas-holding capacity,[6] which improves the stability of the dough and the flexibility of the resulting bread. Thus, cajiin was fundamental to achieving the desired texture in laxoox/canjeero made from low-gluten or gluten-free flours, such as sorghum. In the late twentieth century, industrial-grade kneading/sheeting machines were introduced in cities including Mogadishu, Hargeisa, Burao, Baidoa, and Warsheikh to produce commercial quantities of cajiin dough. This greatly reduced labor for household cooks, however, only a handful of machines remain. Those in northern Somalia cities were destroyed or dismantled during the conflict leading up to Somalia's civil war and never replaced. Per a 2019 survey,[5] canjeero production in southern Somalia and parts of Puntland includes the use of cajiin, while its use in northern Somalia and Ethiopia's Somali State has ceased.
Laxoox/canjeero is commonly prepared using long fermentation, typically overnight, for consumption at breakfast. Some cooks enhance fermentation using a microbial starter known as dhanaanis, which speeds fermentation. Cooks may manipulate the type or quantity dhanaanis or another fermentation agent (such as commercial yeast) in response to temperature changes or adjust the fermentation period.
While canjeero in Somalia is frequently prepared only with refined white flour and corn flour, laxoox in northern Somalia and Ethiopia's Somali State is typically prepared with multiple dry ingredients, including sorghum, maize, barley, teff, and pulses such as cowpea and adzuki beans, in addition to herbs and spices to taste.[5]
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Regional consumption
In Somalia, Djibouti, and in parts of Ethiopia and Kenya, for breakfast (which is where lahoh is typically eaten), it is consumed with subag (a Somali butter/ghee), olive oil, sesame oil, and sugar or honey or "beer" (liver and onions), "suqaar" (stir-fry meat), or with "odkac/muqmad". Occasionally, it is eaten for lunch with a Somali stew, soup, or curry. It is almost always consumed with Somali tea.[2]
It can also be found in Israel, where it was introduced by Yemenite Jews who immigrated there.[7][8]
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References
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