Manakish

The za'atar is slaked with oil into a spreadable paste first, never scattered on dry.

Vegan.

Ingredients

the dough

• 500 g plain flour
• 300 ml warm water
• 7 g fast-action dried yeast
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 10 g salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

the topping

• 6 tablespoons za'atar
• 6 tablespoons olive oil

to serve

• tomato, cucumber, olives, mint

Method

1. THE ZA'ATAR IS SLAKED WITH OIL INTO A SPREADABLE PASTE FIRST, NEVER SCATTERED ON DRY. Equal volumes, roughly -- six tablespoons of each, stirred to a loose dark green paste and left five minutes to come together. Then it is spread over the dough with the back of a spoon, right to the edge. Dry za'atar thrown onto oiled dough does two things, both bad: the loose herb and sesame scorch in a hot oven and turn bitter in two minutes, and most of it falls off the moment the bread is picked up. Bound in oil, the blend is protected from the direct heat, it stays put, and the oil carries the flavour into the crumb.
2. THE DOUGH IS PRESSED OUT BY HAND AND LEFT UNEVEN. Flattened with the fingertips to about half a centimetre, with the rim left a little thicker and the surface dimpled. The dimples hold the paste; a smooth rolled disc lets it slide to the middle.
3. THE TOPPING GOES RIGHT TO THE EDGE. No clean border. The exposed rim of a man'ousheh is the part that burns, and covering it with the oily paste protects it.
4. IT IS BAKED AS HOT AS THE OVEN WILL GO, AND BRIEFLY. 250°C on a preheated tray or stone, six to eight minutes. The bread should puff slightly, set, and colour at the edges while the topping stays dark green. A moderate oven dries the bread into a cracker and takes the paste past green to brown.
5. IT IS NOT PROVED AFTER SHAPING. Pressed out, topped and straight in. A second prove makes it rise into a thick soft bread with the topping sitting on a dome, which is a different thing.
6. IT IS FOLDED IN HALF TO EAT, AND IS EATEN AT ONCE. Within minutes, folded over a little salad. Left to stand it goes leathery; this is breakfast bread and has a short life.
7. The flour, yeast, sugar and salt mixed with the warm water and oil, kneaded 10 MINUTES and risen 1 HOUR 30 MINUTES.
8. The oven heated to 250°C with a tray or stone inside.
9. The za'atar and the 6 tablespoons of olive oil stirred to a LOOSE PASTE and left 5 MINUTES.
10. The dough divided into 6, each PRESSED OUT BY HAND to about 5 mm and 20 cm across, dimpled, rim left thicker.
11. The paste spread over each with the back of a spoon, RIGHT TO THE EDGE.
12. Slid straight onto the hot tray. NOT proved.
13. Baked 6 to 8 MINUTES, until the edges colour and the topping is still DARK GREEN.
14. TESTED: the topping should be green and moist, not brown and dusty, and should not fall off when folded.
15. Folded in half and eaten at once.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under Lebanon · All recipes