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    Home » By Category » Appetizers & Snacks » Baked & Grilled

    Published: Sep 13, 2014 · Modified: Oct 1, 2020 by Usha Rao

    Lebanon - Manakish Zaatar

    Today we are traveling to the Middle East to get a taste of Lebanon. The food in most of the Middle Eastern countries is similar with minor changes and Lebanese food is no except.

    Meditteranean Cuisine, Lebanese Cuisine, Lebanese Food, Middle Eastern Flat Bread, Lebanese Bread, Blogging Marathon, Around the World in 30 Days with ABC Cooking, Zaatar Pie,

    Lebanese cuisine consists of whole grains, fresh vegetables, fruits and seafood. Chicken is eaten lot more than red meats. Olive oil, garlic and herbs are integral part of the cuisine. Some of the popular food from this nation are hummus, falafel, fattoush, tabbouleh, kebbehs and baklava to name a few. It was difficult for me to pick one recipe from this cuisine. I finally zeroed in on manakish, also known as manakeesh and manaqish and manousheh in singular form. It is usually eaten for breakfast and can be topped with herbs, cheese or meat. I used zaatar seasoning. It can be eaten as it is or can be served with some fresh vegetables.

    Meditteranean Cuisine, Lebanese Cuisine, Lebanese Food, Middle Eastern Flat Bread, Lebanese Bread, Blogging Marathon, Around the World in 30 Days with ABC Cooking, Zaatar Pie,

    Zaatar seasoning is a blend of sumac, sesame seeds, dry thyme and dry oregano. Sumac is a common spice in the Middle East. It is dark reddish spice that has a lemony flavor and I must admit, I have neglected or ignored this spice for too long. Whenever a recipe called for sumac, I always left it out but not anymore! This was the first time I used sumac in my cooking and am going to use it a lot more from now on.

    Meditteranean Cuisine, Lebanese Cuisine, Lebanese Food, Middle Eastern Flat Bread, Lebanese Bread, Blogging Marathon, Around the World in 30 Days with ABC Cooking, Zaatar Pie,

    Zaatar seasoning can be made at home or can be bought from any Middle Eastern store, as I did. Here in New York, some of the local supermarkets sell sumac in the spice section if one wants to make the zaatar seasoning at home. The other ingredients required for the blend are common herbs which are available in any supermarket. I have listed the recipe for zaatar seasoning even though I used a store bought one.

    Lebanese bread, Zaatar pie,

    Source: The Kitchen
    Total Time: 55 - 65 minutes
    Preparation: 45 - 55 minutes
    Baking Time: 8 minutes
    Yields: 2 - 5 ½” – 6 ½” pies

    Ingredients:
    Flatbread:

    • ¼ cup lukewarm Water
    • ⅛ tsp. Sugar
    • ½ teaspoon + a dash of Active Dry Yeast (will need ¼ of a packet and each packet weighs ¼ ounce)
    • ¾ cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour and more for dusting
    • ¼ tsp. Salt
    • ½ tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil + more for greasing

    Topping:

    • 1 ½ - 2 tbsp. Zaatar Seasoning (I used store bought seasoning and check below for homemade seasoning)
    • 2 tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

    Zaatar Seasoning (This recipe yields around ¾ cup seasoning and will need only 1 ½ - 2 tbsp. for the bread)

    • ¼ cup ground Sumac
    • 3 tbsp. Dried Thyme
    • 3 tbsp. Dried Oregano
    • 2 tbsp. Sesame seeds
    • 1 tsp. Coarse Salt

    Preparation:

    1. Take lukewarm water in a bowl. You can microwave water for 10 – 15 seconds to bring it to lukewarm temperature. Add sugar, yeast and let it stand for 10 minutes until it becomes foamy.
    2. Meantime, combine flour and salt in a large bowl. Add olive oil and mix it with your fingers. Make a well and keep the flour aside until yeast water becomes foamy.
    3. Add yeast water mixture and make soft dough using your fingers.
    4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic.
    5. Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover it with a damp cloth or a plastic wrap. Leave it in a warm place for 1 hour until it doubles in size. I left it on my counter top.
    6. Preheat the oven to 400F and place a greased baking sheet in the oven as it heats. You can also use a pizza stone.
    7. Knead the dough lightly and divided it into two balls. Pull out the baking sheet and place the balls on the baking sheet. Cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap (you do not want to use a plastic wrap if the sheet is hot) or a kitchen towel and let stand for 15 minutes. Check note below.
    8. Meanwhile combine zaatar seasoning and oil in a small bowl, mix and keep aside the topping. I used 2 tablespoons of zaatar seasoning and had some leftover. I did not want to throw it away and spread all of it. I felt I should not have used all of the seasoning.
    9. On a lightly floured surface, flatten and roll each ball of dough into ⅛” thick, about 5 ½” - 6 ½” in diameter.
    10. Press each circle with fingertips making an indentation for the topping to rest in.
    11. Transfer the circles onto the baking sheet.
    12. Spread the zaatar topping leaving ½” border around the edges.
    13. Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned and crisp, about 8 minutes.
    14. Cut the pie into wedges using a pizza cutter. Serve warm or cool on the racks. It is usually served for breakfast but I ate it for lunch. It also makes a good starter for parties.

    Note:

    • I heated the baking sheets and placed the divided dough on it to rest. After this preparation, I realized that rolled out bread needs to be placed on the hot baking sheet and not the divided dough. In step 7 of the preparation use a regular pan and in step 11, after the bread is rolled out, transfer that bread to hot baking sheets or pizza stone.

    Events - This goes to Bake Fest # 35 hosted by Nalini, an event start by Vardhini.
    BakeFest

    Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 44

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    1. themadscientistskitchen says

      October 13, 2014 at 10:35 pm

      Wow Usha!b Iam bookmarking this one. Now waiting for the zaatar Pradnya has promised me.

      Reply
    2. Srivalli says

      September 16, 2014 at 4:18 am

      Wow very beautifully made usha..your Zaatar has got such lovely colour.

      Reply
    3. Suma Gandlur says

      September 15, 2014 at 10:15 am

      Sounds very flavorful and beautifully presented.

      Reply
    4. pumpkinfarmfood says

      September 15, 2014 at 7:49 am

      i dont know for which country..but I am makign this for sure...loved the deep olive green color you have managed in your pics ...fell in love with this pizza

      Reply
    5. Kalyani says

      September 15, 2014 at 7:03 am

      I have sumac at home, and this is being bookmarked ! wonderful flatbread Usha :-))

      Reply
    6. PJ says

      September 15, 2014 at 7:03 am

      Looks so good USha and lovely texture too!

      Reply
    7. cookingwithsapana says

      September 15, 2014 at 5:39 am

      Very nicely made , looks so soft and delicious . Love the clicks

      Reply
    8. Vaishali Sabnani says

      September 14, 2014 at 9:23 pm

      Oh Usha this bread tastes awesome. You have done it up so well. .I made this bread a few days back but since my grand kids were around could not click...but I can absorb the flavors. .really good. And yes do I need to say that as always the clicks are beautiful.

      Reply
    9. Harini says

      September 14, 2014 at 8:10 pm

      The seasoning seems to be a very popular one, right? I have sumac sitting in myp antry for a while now. I have to figure out a way to use it up.

      Reply
    10. Pavani says

      September 14, 2014 at 3:46 pm

      That Lebanese bread looks perfectly done. Zaatar seasoning seems to be the most used spice for the letter L. Will have to make it myself to see how it tastes 🙂

      Reply
    11. Priya says

      September 14, 2014 at 6:18 am

      I have few slices of this incredible and absolutely flavourful Manakish Zaatar..

      Reply
    12. Varada says

      September 13, 2014 at 7:56 am

      It looks awesome! I really love the texture and contrasting colors. I have never used Zaatar before, never had a need to. I have used sumac.

      Reply
    13. kurinji says

      September 13, 2014 at 4:11 am

      colorful and yummy looking zaatar...

      Reply

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