Manakish

Manakish or mu‘ajjanāt (‘pastry’) is a popular food in Syria and is almost the equivalent of the Middle Eastern homemade flatbread pizzas.

Manakish is specific to Lebanon.  It was a key component in the Lebanese breakfast during the civil war. 

The word Manakish is rooted in the Arabic verb naqash, which literally means to sculpt, or carve out.

Manakish is made from smaller portions of dough left over from daily baking. Classic Manakish are typically with one of three toppings: minced lamb, cheese, or a mixture of za’atar spice(thyme) and olive oil.

It is a favorite breakfast in Syrian cuisine. It often served warm as part of a mezze, or as a snack with a glass of mint tea and feta cheese on the side.

Traditionally, women would bake dough in a communal oven in the morning, to provide their family with their daily bread needs, and would prepare smaller portions of dough with different toppings for breakfast at this time.

Ingredient

For Dough

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup lukewarm water

1/2 tsp sugar

2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp virgin olive oil

For Za’atar Topping

7 to 8 tbsp quality Za’atar

1/2 cup virgin olive oil

Preparation

1- In a small bowl, combine water, sugar and yeast. Set aside for 10 minutes to foam.

Make the dough.

2- Combine flour, salt, and olive oil in a large bowl.  Work the mixture with your hands. Now, make a well in the middle and pour in the yeast and water mixture. Stir until soft dough forms.

Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until dough is elastic, smooth, and no longer sticky (as you knead, if dough is too sticky for you, you can sprinkle just a tiny bit of flour).

3- Form dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover with damp cloth and place in a warm place. Leave to rise for 1 hour and 30 minutes.

4- Knead briefly and form into 8 small balls. Arrange on lightly floured surface, cover again and leave to rise another 30 minutes.

5- Prepare the za’atar topping. While dough is rising, mix together the za’atar spice and olive oil in a bowl.

6- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

7- Flatten the dough into small discs about 5 inches in diameter. With your finger tips, make indentations in discs and add about 1 tbsp za’atar topping in the middle of each disc, leave a narrow boarder around. Arrange discs in prepared oiled baking sheet.

8- Bake in 400 degrees F heated-oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until the dough is slightly browned on bottom and edges (za’atar topping will remain liquidy at this point). Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes or so, the topping will dry and settle into dough.

9- Serve za’atar manaqish warm with assorted vegetables, olives, feta cheese, or homemade labneh.

 

Hamsa.Zughib