Παρασκευή 27 Αυγούστου 2021

Bread in Africa

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While domestication of grains for easy harvesting may have originated in Anatolia and Caucasus, about 10,000 years ago, the Horn of Africa was certainly not far behind. Grinding of grains into flour with sliding stones, and the baking of flat breads, is far older. Today, the main breads of Africa are still made under very primitive conditions. in a manner possibly in place before the dawn of history.   Photo by Lelaw Wondimu distributed under license Creative Commons.

More on Bread.





North Africa

  -   The Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya, Mauritania), Egypt, Sudan

 

Baghrir

  -   [Beghrir] 

This is a popular bread in the Maghreb region, often eaten for breakfast with a mix of butter and honey, but also with jams. It is made from semolina or wheat flour.   Photo by Tamorlan distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike v3.0 Unported.

 

Pita Bread

 

-   [Pita (Greek); Pocket Bread; Pide (Turkey); Khubz Arabi (Arabic)] 

This lightly leavened wheat bread is very popular throughout North Africa, and far beyond. The ethnic markets here in the Los Angeles region are piled high with pita, in both white (photo) and whole wheat versions, in the 7 inch and larger sizes.

The earliest Arabic recipes (10th century) have these baked in a Tandoor, but today they are usually made in continuous industrial ovens so as to meet the high demand. Pita is baked in a very hot oven at 450°F/232°C or higher, causing the disk to puff up dramatically. When removed from the oven the disk collapses, but the two sides remain separated, so the bread can be opened into a pocket. Throughout the region, street foods of all kinds are packed into pita pockets.

The photo specimen was a 7 inch diameter disk 0.15 inch thick. Half the top layer was removed to show the inside. Enriched wheat flour, water, yeast, salt, calcium propionate.

Kisra Rhaheeefa 


Kisra Rhaheeefa is much like Ethiopia's Injera and used similarly, but is made from Sorghum Flour or Wheat Flour rather than Teff. The "Kisra Rhaheeefa" name differentiates it from "Kisra Aseeda", which is a Sorghum Porridge.   Photo by Mohammed Elfatih Hamadien distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike v4.0 International.

The Horn of Africa

  -   Ethiopia, Djibouti, Eritrea, Somalia

 

Injera

  -   [Injera (Amharic); (Bidenaa (Oromo)] 

This is the bread of Ethiopia and Eritrea, usually made from Teff. It was traditionally, and is often still today, made very large, to fit the table for which it would be the tablecloth. Scoops of stews and other recipes are placed directly on it. Diners tear off pieces of the "tablecloth" and use them to pick up the food. Today, especially in restaurants it is often made smaller and served on an Indian thali, or a very large plate.   Photo by PhoTom distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike v4.0 International.

This is a sour dough bread, made with a leavened batter similar to thin pancake batter. The batter is baked on a large clay or metal tray, over moderate heat, and on one side only. Bubbles on the top side burst, giving the bread a spongy texture, almost like honeycomb tripe, which is very good at holding sauces. Temperature is regulated so it sets through, but does not brown on the bottom (see the rolled examples in the photo at the top of the page). It can be made using white or brown Teff, or a mix. Farmers say the white Teff is preferred to the brown by most of their customers.

Lahoh

  -   [Luhuh (Somali), Laxoox, Lahooh, Canjeero, Canjeelo, Anjeero]

This bread is popular in Somalia, Djibouti and Yemen, but now also popular in Israel, introduced by Yemenite Jews. It is a fermented sour dough bread usually made of Sorghum Flour or Corn Flour and cooked on circular metal stove called a taawa or daawo. In Yemen, it is often served by street vendors.   Photo by Gilabrand at en.wikipedia distributed under license Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike v3.0 Unported attribution required.

East Africa

  -   Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan

 

Chapati

Long influenced by India, East Africa has adopted the Indian Chapati as their main form of bread - but they use white flour instead of the whole wheat Atta flour used in India. As it is very inconvenient for me to produce Chipatis, I use Flour Tortillas, easily available here in Southern California. I prefer the small 5 inch diameter ones. Incidentally, Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas make an excellent substitute for Indian Chapatis

 

Kisra Rhaheeefa

 

South Sudan (Christian and Native Religion) is now a separate country from Sudan (all Muslim) and is moving strongly into the East African community. One thing they still have in common with Sudan is Sudan's Kisra Rhaheeefa.
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Bread and Bread-Baking Technologies in Africa

Bread is a dietary staple in North Africa, Northeastern Africa, and the Horn of Africa, and it is important in the diet of many Saharan and sub-Saharan people. African breads are made from the flours of a variety of cereals, tubers, and corms that are baked, steamed, and sometimes fried to produce pancake, flat bread, leavened or slightly leavened loaves, or cakes using ovens, hearths, griddles, pots, and molds. Technical choice in bread baking is associated with the baking properties of bread ingredients and social group’s culinary practices and preferences and does not represent evolutionary stages.

The Bread/Oven Porridge/Pot Bread/Griddle Traditions

Research of Africa’s culinary practices includes the history of bread consumption and its associated technologies, an investigation that is far from exhaustive. Several researchers observe a general (but not absolute) culinary divide between bread-based cuisines that use ovens and griddles...

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    Additional Reading
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    Egyptian Bread Websites
  3. Hilary Stewart on Ancient Egyptian bread baking. http://ancientfoods.wordpress.com/2011/08/12/ancient-egypt-bread/
  6. Sally Grainger and Roman bread, British Museum. http://blog.britishmuseum.org/2013/07/19/a-very-versatile-roman-oven/
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