Soft flatbread topped with a fragrant zaatar and olive oil paste, baked until golden, a beloved Lebanese breakfast staple.
Manakish is the bread most Lebanese people eat for breakfast, sold fresh each morning from bakeries where a thin round of dough is spread with a paste of zaatar and olive oil before baking directly on a hot stone or in a very hot oven. Zaatar itself is a blend of dried thyme, sumac and toasted sesame seeds, its herbal, tangy, nutty character defining the flavor of the bread more than the dough underneath, which stays soft and simple by comparison. Straight from the oven, manakish is often eaten folded in half around fresh vegetables like tomato, cucumber and mint, or simply torn and eaten plain alongside a cup of coffee or tea to start the day.
Serves 6
Combine flour, yeast, sugar and salt, then stir in warm water and olive oil until a soft, smooth dough forms; knead 8-10 minutes.
Cover and let rise in a warm place 1 hour until doubled.
Divide into 6 balls, then roll or press each into a thin round about 6-7 inches wide.
Mix the zaatar with olive oil into a spreadable paste.
Spread the zaatar paste generously and evenly over each round, right up to the edges.
Spread the topping all the way to the edges — bare dough edges will puff up unevenly and dominate the bread.
Bake at 240C/475F on a preheated baking stone or sheet for 8-10 minutes until the edges are golden and the bottom is lightly browned.
Serve warm, torn or folded, plain or with fresh vegetables.
Preheat your baking stone or sheet thoroughly — a very hot surface is what gives manakish its properly bready, slightly crisp bottom.
Spread the zaatar paste all the way to the edges of the dough so it bakes evenly without a bare, overly puffed border.
Use a good quality zaatar blend, ideally with real sumac and toasted sesame, since it's the dominant flavor of the whole dish.
Manakish bil jibneh replaces the zaatar with a layer of soft, stretchy cheese for a savory cheese version.
A combination version splits the dough half zaatar, half cheese for variety.
Adding sliced tomato on top of the zaatar before baking is a common regional variation.
Best eaten fresh and warm; the dough itself can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to a day. Baked manakish keeps a day at room temperature and reheats well in a warm oven.
Manakish has been a staple of Lebanese and broader Levantine breakfast culture for generations, traditionally baked fresh each morning by neighborhood bakeries specifically for the day's breakfast rush before people head to work.
Yes, a preheated heavy baking sheet works well too, just make sure your oven is fully heated before baking.
Mix dried thyme, sumac and toasted sesame seeds yourself in roughly equal parts for a homemade approximation.
The oven likely wasn't hot enough, or too much oil was used in the topping — bake at a high temperature and use a moderate amount of oil in the zaatar paste.
Per serving (150g / 5.3 oz) · 6 servings total
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