Za’atar Manakeesh is a famous savory flatbread breakfast pastry known in Palestine and the Middle East. It’s basically a delicious kind of pastry that looks like Pizza but instead of the tomato sauce and cheese, it has thyme and olive oil.
INGREDIENTS:
- 1¼ cup Thyme (dry)
- ¾ cup olive oil (adjust for consistency needed)
- flour for dusting and rolling
- 3 cup All purpose flour (sifted)
- FYI: you could use store-bought flatbread instead of making your own dough!
THE PROCESS:
THE DOUGH:
- Ingredients: Flour, Instant Yeast, Oil, Milk and Yogurt.
- Mixing- Mix dry ingredient in a mixing bowl. Wet in another. Then add in the wet into the dry and mix on low speed using an electric mixer for 3-4 minutes. Be sure to use the dough attachment for this step.
- Kneading- Sprinkle some dough onto a cutting board. Remove the dough from the mixer and knead it by hand for a minute and form into a ball shape. Spray the bowl with some oil and return the dough back into the bowl.
- Letting the dough rise- Cover and allow the dough to rest and rise for 1 hour.
- Portion the dough- Deflate and remove the dough from the bowl and transfer to a cutting board again. Sprinkle with some flour and form a ball shape. Cut the dough into 8 equal parts, and each part into 2 portions, making 16 portions total.
- Final Rise- Form the portions into balls and place on a sheet pan. Cover and allow them to rise one more time for 10 minutes.
ASSEMBLE AND BAKE:
- Preheat oven- Preheat oven to 220 C (425 F).
- Roll out dough- Using a rolling pin, roll the dough balls into a round 10 cm (4 inch) flat dough.
- Top- Spread the Thyme spread onto the dough.
- Bake- Bake for 12-15 minutes in the oven until the outer edge is lightly golden brown.
What is Za’atar Manakeesh served with?
Za’atar Manakeesh are typically served with greek youghurt, sliced cucumbers, sliced tomatoes, olives and most importantly a cup of hot tea.
