A classic Za’atar mix of thyme, sumac, sesame seeds, and salt.
Manakish, pronounced manakeesh, is a very popular flat bread from the Middle East. It is most commonly topped with a za’atar blend, but can also be found topped with tomatoes, local cheeses, ground seasoned lamb, chilies, or greens. It can be sliced or served whole, and eaten flat or folded. Manakish is common for both breakfast and lunch. In many places of the Levant, the women make their own dough, then bring it either to a communal oven or a local shop to have it baked.
For the recipe below I included the ingredients for a basic Za’atar blend, but there are a lot of different ways to make Za’atar, depending on where you are from. At it’s core Za’atar is a mix of the wild za’atar herb (or most often thyme as a substitute), toasted sesame seeds, salt, and usually sumac. I go into quite a bit more detail about this and even have recipes for specific regional blends on our za’atar page. Feel free to try one of those or simply adjust the one listed here to meet your needs.
Manakish – Za’atar Flat Bread
By: Semiserious Chefs
Makes: 8 Individual Loaves
Ingredients:
- 1 cup warm water
- 2 1/4 t yeast
- 1 t sugar
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1/4 t sea salt
- 1 T olive oil
Za’atar Topping
- 2 T Thyme
- 2 T Sumac
- 2 T Toasted Sesame Seeds
- 1/2 t Sea Salt
- 3 T olive oil
Directions:
- Add 1 1/2 cups of hot-but-no-too-hot-to-touch water, the yeast, and sugar to a small bowl and let stand for around 10 minutes, until the yeast has engaged and begins to froth.
- Sift the flour and salt into a large bowl and create a well in the middle. Pour in the yeast water and oil, and slowly turn the mixture with your hand until a ball forms and pulls away for the sides of the bowl.
- Turn your dough out onto a well floured surface, and kneed for 10 minutes, until it becomes smooth and elastic.
- Form the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl, in a warm place, for 1 1/2 hours, until dough has doubled.
- Preheat the oven to 425 °F.
- Punch down the dough and kneed for a few minutes, then divide it into 8 equal segments.
- Roll each section into a ball and place on a floured working surface. Flatten each ball with a rolling pin and round out to a disk that is roughly 1/4 inch thick and 5-7 inches in diameter.
- Place your loaves on prepared baking sheets. Cover, and leave in a warm place to rest for 20 minutes.
- Brush each loaf with a little bit of olive oil then top with the za’atar mix; spreading it nearly to the edge.
- Bake for 10 minutes, until golden.
Nathan was very proud of his heart-shaped manakish. He chose simply thyme and salt for seasoning.
Making Manakish is also a great family affair. Kneading dough and forming the loafs is easy enough for even the youngest child, as well as mixing up the Za’atar.
Post a comment