Lebanese Za'atar Manakeesh

Za'atar manakeesh is a popular Lebanese breakfast made with za'atar spice blend, olive oil, and flatbread.

Za'atar manakeesh and cheese manakeesh are made in hot stone ovens on the street corners of Lebanon. Manakeesh can be rolled as a burrito or sliced like a pizza. You can do half cheese and half za'atar, or even add some olives, tomatoes, fresh mint, and cucumbers. The possibilities are endless for this delicious Lebanese breakfast flatbread.

Za'atar

Za'atar is a spice mixture made of dried thyme, sesame, and sumac. It's a delicious spice blend that's mixed with olive oil. You can sprinkle za'atar on top of pita chips, use it as a stuffing for za'atar and cheese spring rolls, or use it for za'atar labneh.

Za'atar manakeesh are made with simple ingredients but taste heavenly. The smell of thyme infused with olive oil on dough as it bakes in the oven is something else. In Lebanon, za'atar manakeesh is normally bought from a local bakery.

Ingredient Notes

• Dry zaatar spice: Zaatar is a mixture of dried thyme, sesame seeds, sumac, and salt. You can buy ready-made zaatar mixes available in Middle Eastern grocery stores, trader joes, or online. I mix my own blend at home. This is just because it allows me to determine the flavor my family likes by adding less sumac and salt. If you want to customize the blend's flavor according to your taste, I recommend that you buy the zaatar blend ingredients separately and combine them at home. If you would like to make your own za'atar spice, see the section below.
• Olive oil: I like to drizzle a little bit of extra olive oil on each flatbread before popping it into the oven.
• Teta's homemade dough (ajeen recipe): My favorite recipe for Lebanese dishes. Its ingredients are as follows: active dry yeast, vegetable oil, milk, salt, sugar, flour, egg, and water. If you are short on time, you can use ready-made pizza dough, whole wheat biscuit dough, and dinner roll dough.

How To Make Za'atar Manakeesh

Prepare the dough (or use store-bought dough). To make homemade dough, place the dry ingredients (flour, active dry yeast, salt, and sugar) in a bowl. Create a well in the middle. Crack the egg and pour all the liquid ingredients (lukewarm water, milk, and vegetable oil) into the well.

Scrape the sides into the liquid ingredients and combine everything together. Then start kneading the dough. Remove the dough from the bowl and place it on a floured countertop. Continue kneading by hand for up to 10 minutes.

Wrap the dough with plastic wrap and a towel, and let rest for a minimum of 1 hour so the dough can rise.

While the dough is resting, mix the dry zaatar spice with olive oil. Heat the oven to 350 ℉ (180 ℃).

After the dough rested, knead for 5 more minutes. Then, split the manakeesh dough into even balls (about 10). Using a rolling pin, roll out the dough into similar-sized circles.

Spread about 2 and ½ teaspoons of zaatar and olive oil mixture on each circle. Add some parchment paper to a baking sheet. Place the zaatar manakeesh on the baking sheet leaving some distance between each.

Pop the manakeesh into the middle of the oven at 350 ℉ (180 ℃). Check on the manakeesh after 12 minutes. They should take around 15 to 2o minutes to cook completely.

Tips and Tricks

• The secret is all in the dough: The more we let it rest, the better. Kneading it a few times during the resting phase also makes a huge difference.
• If short on time, use store-bought dough. This recipe is the best when making the dough from scratch, however, if you are short on time, use store-bought dough. Suitable options are pizza dough, whole wheat biscuit dough, and dinner roll dough.
• Watch that oven: I always make sure I don't over bake manakish. All they need is around 12-20 minutes in the oven (just until the dough is done).
• Don't overdo it with the za'atar mixture: I spread a teaspoon of zaatar mix on every rolled-out dough portion (a circle that's usually double the size of my palm). If I add more the mixture will end up drenching the dough or running over its sides. So always make sure to keep the amount of zaatar mixture you add proportional (this changes depending on the size of your dough).

Variations and Substitutions

• Use whole wheat flour instead of all-purpose flour. Swap equal parts to substitute.
• Sprinkle some chia or flax seeds into this dough to add to its nutritional value.
• Use oat flour or gluten-free flour to make this gluten-free.
• Manouche za'atar extra: This manouche version gets its name from local bakeries where it is sold packed with vegetables and "extras" or additions. From fresh mint to tomatoes and even cheese the Lebanese add pretty much everything to their manouche.
• Za'atar w Labneh: This is one of my favorite versions. To make it add some labneh, a thick Lebanese strained yogurt, to the manouche.

How To Serve Manakeesh?

Manakeesh can be served and eaten all by itself especially if we're grabbing it from a bakery on a busy day. However, when we do have time to sit down for a manakeesh breakfast feast, we do it right. There's an array of dishes that work really well on the side of a plate of manakeesh. These include labneh (Lebanese dip made with strained cow milk's yogurt), Lebanese white cheese chunks, and marinated olives.

I often eat zaatar manakeesh with a side green salad or sometimes even a bowl of fatoush. I also sometimes serve mini manakeesh pastries alongside hot and cold mezze. No matter what I've served these with, they've always made for an incredible addition.

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📋 Recipe

Lebanese Za'atar Manakeesh

Author: Mariam

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: Lebanese

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 20 minutes mins

Total: 25 minutes mins

5 from 8 votes

Print Pin Rate Email

Servings 10

Za'atar manakeesh, or manouche, are Lebanese thyme and olive oil flatbreads.

Ingredients

 

US Customary - Metric

Homemade Dough Ajeen Recipe (or store-bought dough, see note 1)

• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• ¾ teaspoon active dry yeast
• ¾ cup lukewarm water
• 1 large egg
• ½ cup milk any type
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon of sugar

Zaatar and Olive Oil Topping

• 3 tablespoon za'atar see below
• ¼ cup olive oil

Homemade Dry Zaatar Mixture

• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds
• 1 tablespoon sumac
• pinch of salt

Instructions

Make the Dough

• Or, use store-bought dough (see note 1). Measure out the flour and place it in a bowl. Add dry yeast, sugar, and salt. Combine all the dry ingredients together using a spoon. Create a well in the middle of the flour mixture. Crack the egg in the well. Add in the milk, oil, and a little bit of water (save the rest and use only if needed). Start folding in the flour sides and use your hands to combine everything. When the dough's texture is pretty soft, form it into a ball. Place the dough ball on a floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Roll the dough in any shape you want to and cover it with cling film (plastic wrap). Then wrap it up with a kitchen towel and leave it out to rest for one hour. 

Make Za'atar Manakeesh

• After the dough has risen, knead for 5 minutes. Then, shape the dough into a large ball. Shape into smaller individual portions (around 10). Roll each portion into a proportional circle.
• Mix the dry za'atar mixture with olive oil in a bowl. Spread the za'atar and olive oil mixture in a thin layer on each circle. Add some parchment paper to a baking sheet. Place the za'atar bread on the baking sheet leaving some distance between each.
• Pop the manakeesh into the middle of the oven at 350 ℉ (180 ℃). Check on the manakeesh after 12 minutes. They should take around 15 to 20 minutes to cook completely.
• Remove the manakeesh from the oven. Serve hot alongside some chopped vegetables.

Notes

• If not making the dough from scratch, there are a couple of substitutions for store-bought dough. Pizza dough, whole-wheat biscuit dough, and dinner roll dough are all suitable options for this recipe. 

Nutrition

Serving: 1 piece | Calories: 331 kcal | Carbohydrates: 35 g | Protein: 6 g | Fat: 18 g | Saturated Fat: 2 g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 16 g | Trans Fat: 0 g | Cholesterol: 19 mg | Sodium: 157 mg | Fiber: 2 g | Sugar: 1 g