Za'atar Manoush

6/11/2015

Za'atar manoush is the Lebanese pizza! What makes this dish a favorite for many is the delicious mixture (za'atar) that you spread onto the dough. This mixture is made of spices and roasted sesame (it smells heavenly) and can also be eaten with pita bread. We typically eat manoush for breakfast or lunch with tomatoes, cucumbers, and a Lebanese yogurt spread called labneh. Before Eva cooks this dish she always buys extra dough and cooks another pan of feta cheese manoush to go with the za-atar manoush (find the feta cheese manoush recipe here). Enjoy!

Za'atar Manoush Ingredients:

10-12 ounces of dough (depending on how thick you want)
Olive oil
Za'atar spread (can be found in most Middle Eastern stores or check out Eva's recipe for it below)

*Makes one pan or 8 slices
Za'atar Ingredients:

1/4 cup za'atar
1/4 cup sumac
2 tablespoons of sesame seeds
Teaspoon of salt
8 tablespoons of olive oil

Instructions (with Za'atar recipe):
1. Heat non-stick pan on low heat and once heated, add sesame seeds to toast. Be sure to stir often so they don't burn (this step should only take a few minutes)
2. Once the sesame seeds are toasted or have turned a brown color, add za'atar, sumac, and salt and toss them together for a few minutes over the heat.
3. Turn stove off and place mixture into a mixing bowl with 8 tablespoons of olive oil (more or less depending on how oily you want)

Now that you have your mix, here are the instructions for the manoush:

4. Preheat your oven to 425 degrees
5. Butter the bottom of a baking pan
6. Spread out dough on pan as evenly as possible (like making a pizza)

7. If you bought your za'atar mix pre-made, add 4-8 tablespoons of olive oil
8. Spread za'atar mix over dough evenly and use your fingers to press down on the dough to avoid bubbles

9. Cook in oven for up to 20 minutes on the bottom rack or until the bottom is a golden brown and for up to 5 minutes on the top rack until top is golden brown (you can cook for longer depending on how crispy you want)
* Cook time may vary depending on your oven and how thick the dough is, you may have to turn your pan around as it cooks

7 Comments

Maureen Abdalla

6/12/2015 02:30:24 pm

Yummy!

AnneMarie link

7/26/2018 03:34:27 pm

Can Za'atar go stalle? If so, how can it be 'refreshed". Thanks!!

Eva's Lebanese Cooking

7/27/2018 04:59:27 am

Hi AnneMarie,

It does not go stale if you put it in a container that seals. You can also freeze it to use later. :)

Erin link

2/13/2021 02:34:59 pm

Thanks for a ggreat read

Ameena

7/15/2021 10:35:18 am

What kind of dough do you use? Is there a recipe for the dough?

Avi

4/30/2022 04:42:42 pm

Hey Ameena,

I make this from scratch on a regular basis and although I'm not sure how Eva makes her dough, I use strong white bread flour (or just a basic white plain flour works fine) I do it by feel not by weight or measurement these days so I'll try to explain:
I take a large mixing bowl and sieve around 500g flour into it then and add half a teaspoon of salt, a teaspoon of soft brown sugar and give it a good mix. In a measuring jug, I add around 150ml warm water (not too hot but like a comfortable bath temperature) three teaspoons of fast action yeast and a teaspoon of sugar and mix well. I leave it in a warm place to rise until it has a large head of froth. I put plenty of lukewarm water in a separate jug and mix in first the yeast mixture with the flour very gently with my fingers, then a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, then little by little, as much water is needed to make a soft, but not sticky dough. I knead this first in the bowl, then on a floured surface, for as long as I can cope with, adding more flour to the surface if required. The longer, the better. Once it has formed a lovely, soft ball and is no longer sticky, I whack it on the worktop as though it's an axe and I'm chopping wood many times, folding it over every time over and over again, then hurl it onto the worktop repeatedly. This makes it really stretchy and soft. I then cover the ball of dough with a light coating of olive oil and leave it to rise, in the bowl, covered with a damp cloth. After an hour, I repeat the kneading process and rise again. When it's doubled in size, I roll it into a long roll, cut into several pieces and pull them into round, flat breads on baking stones, brush with a mixture of za'atar and olive oil and bake (I preheat my oven stones first, which are old earthenware tiles I salvaged!)
I think it will work beautifully without the stones though!
Happy cooking ☺️

5/1/2022 08:31:08 am

Thank you for sharing this process Avi! This sounds wonderful and would definitely be worth trying. We occasionally make our own dough for this recipe but to be honest, we often buy it pre-made to save time!

Za'atar Manoush

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