Manakish

Manakish Za'atar (Levantine Za'atar Flatbread)

Manakish is a beloved Lebanese breakfast flatbread topped with za'atar and olive oil (or akkawi cheese). Fresh from the oven, it is crisp at the edges, soft in the middle, and meant to be folded and eaten by hand.

Prep

90 min

Cook

12 min

Total

102 min

Serves

6 small flatbreads

Difficulty

Medium

Recipe ingredients

• •500 g (about 3⅔ cups) bread flour, or all-purpose flour; plus extra for dusting
• •10 g (2 tsp) instant yeast, or 2¼ tsp active dry yeast
• •10 g (2 tsp) fine sea salt
• •10 g (2 tsp) granulated sugar, feeds the yeast and lightly browns the crust
• •60 ml (¼ cup) extra-virgin olive oil, plus about 90 ml / ⅓ cup for brushing the dough and topping
• •300 ml (1¼ cups) lukewarm water, around 38 °C / 100 °F
• •120 g (¾ cup) za'atar spice blend, Lebanese za'atar is heavy on thyme, sumac, and toasted sesame; lower-quality blends may need more
• •15 g (2 tbsp) toasted sesame seeds, optional, for extra nutty crunch on top
• •200 g (about 7 oz) akkawi cheese, optional cheese variation; must be desalted first by soaking in cold water for 2–4 hours, changing the water once

Steps

1. 1 Make the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together 500 g flour, 10 g yeast, 10 g salt, and 10 g sugar. Add 60 ml olive oil and 300 ml lukewarm water and stir with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
2. 2 Knead on a lightly floured surface for 8–10 minutes, until smooth and elastic (the dough should spring back when poked). Alternatively, knead in a stand mixer with the dough hook for 5–6 minutes.
3. 3 Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel, and let rise in a warm spot for 45–60 minutes, until about doubled in size.
4. 4 While the dough rises, prepare the za'atar topping: Stir 120 g za'atar with about 120 ml olive oil (⅓ cup) to make a loose, spreadable paste. It should be the texture of thick wet sand — add more olive oil a teaspoon at a time if it looks dry. Stir in 15 g toasted sesame seeds if using.
5. 5 If using akkawi cheese: drain it well, pat dry, and shred coarsely. It should taste only faintly salty; if it still tastes noticeably briny, soak it longer and pat dry again.
6. 6 Preheat the oven to 240 °C / 465 °F (convection 220 °C / 425 °F). If using a pizza stone or steel, place it on a rack in the lower third of the oven to preheat for at least 30 minutes.
7. 7 Divide the risen dough into 6 equal pieces (about 115 g each). Shape each into a ball, then, on a lightly oiled surface (not floured — oil keeps the crust tender), press each ball out with your fingertips into a round about 15 cm / 6 inches across and roughly 5 mm / ¼ inch thick. Traditional manakish is hand-stretched, never rolled.
8. 8 Transfer the rounds to parchment paper. Brush the surface very lightly with olive oil to help the topping stick.
9. 9 Spread a generous heaped tablespoon of the za'atar paste over each round, spreading it almost to the edge but leaving a 5 mm / ¼ inch border. For cheese manakish, scatter akkawi to cover the surface.
10. 10 Slide the rounds (on parchment) onto the hot stone or onto a baking sheet. Bake 8–12 minutes, until the edges are deeply golden and crisp, and the za'atar topping is fragrant and bubbling slightly in spots.
11. 11 Cool on a rack for 1–2 minutes — the crust will crisp as it cools. Serve warm, folded in half, with olives, sliced tomato, cucumber, fresh mint, and labneh on the side.