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top down shot of zaatar manakeesh on a dark board with labneh, cucumber and olives

Manakeesh Zaatar

4.50 from 2 votes
Created by Mariam Ezzeddine
Manakeesh Zaatar is a famous savory flatbread breakfast pastry known in Lebanon. It's basically a delicious fluffy homemade dough topped with a zaatar spread.
Prep Time 40 minutes
Cook Time 15 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 55 minutes
Course Breakfast/Brunch
Cuisine Lebanese
Servings 16 servings
servings

Equipment

  • Rolling pin

Ingredients

  • cup Zaatar dry
  • ¾ cup olive oil adjust for consistency needed
  • flour for dusting and rolling

The Dough

  • 3 cup All purpose flour sifted
  • tbsp. sugar
  • ¼ tsp. salt
  • 2 tbsps. instant yeast
  • ¾ tbsp. baking powder
  • 3 tbsps. canola or vegetable oil
  • ½ cup whole fat yogurt
  • 1 cup milk whole milk, lukewarm
  • oil spray

Instructions

The Dough

  • Mix the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl and the wet ingredients in another. Then add in the wet into the dry and mix with an electric stand mixer to combine well using a flour dough hook for 2-4 minutes on low speed.
  • Remove the dough from the bowl and sprinkle some flour on a cutting board. Knead the dough a little with your hands and then from a nice ball shape. Spray the bowl with some oil spray and return the dough back to the bowl. Cover and let the dough rest for 1 hour.
  • When the dough rises double its size, punch it and release the air from it. Remove the dough again from the bowl and transfer to a cutting board. Sprinkle with some flour and knead to shape it again into a ball shape.
  • Cut the dough evenly into 16 pieces. Another way you can do this is cut the round dough into 8 triangles and then use each of those triangles to divide the piece into portions. If you like your Manakeesh bigger or smaller, you can adjust the dough size accordingly. Completely up to you.
  • Form the dough portions into small balls and place on a sheet pan. Cover with a kitchen towel or saran wrap and let them rest for 10 more minutes. The balls will have a final rise.

Assembly and Baking

  • Preheat oven to 425 F
  • Mix zaatar with the olive oil. Consistency must be spreadable.
  • Dust the cutting board with some flour and roll one piece of dough out, about 4 inches wide. It doesn't have to be perfect. Just don't thin it out too much or else it will loose it's fluff. Place onto a lined sheet pan or non stick baking pan. Repeat the same step for the rest of the dough.
  • Spread 1-1½ tablespoon of the spreadable zaatar mixture evenly onto the each rolled dough.
  • Bake on the middle rack for 12-15 minutes until the edges are a little golden brown in color. Do not over cook or else they will crisp up.
  • Allow to cool for a minute or two and enjoy with some Labne spread, olives and a cup of tea.

Notes

Leftovers can be store in an airtight container for up to 10 days in your fridge.
You can bake a batch and freeze them in a good zip lock bag and warm them up whenever needed. Simply thaw and place them to reheat in a preheated 350 F  oven for 5-7 minutes.

Nutrition

Calories: 266kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 125mg | Potassium: 217mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 735IU | Vitamin C: 9mg | Calcium: 420mg | Iron: 24mg
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