Za'atar Manaeesh
I apologise for the late arrival of this second post. The past three months have been dark but I am determined to keep cooking and keep talking. Please enjoy this recipe for a classic Arabic breakfast
Za'atar Manaeesh
500g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp fast action dried yeast
250ml tepid water
4 tbsp good quality za’atar
6 tbsp olive oil
This recipe will make eight to ten 90g rounds. To the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, add the flour, salt, sugar and yeast and set the mixer on a medium speed. Slowly pour in the tepid water as it’s mixing and continue to knead until everything is just mixed together. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let it prove for one hour. Meanwhile, mix the olive oil and za’atar together in a bowl and set aside.
When you have a soft dough, divide it into balls of 90g each. To do this, pull and tuck the dough under itself to create a rough ball shape and then mould the ball with your hand by rubbing it in a circular motion on a counter top. Leave the dough balls on a floured surface under a tea towel to prove for 30 minutes.
Dust the counter with flour. When the dough balls have risen, roll them out into flat circles until they are about the thickness of a pound coin or slightly thinner. Place each round onto it’s own sheet of greaseproof paper for ease of transfer. In the meantime, preheat your oven to 200 degrees C, gas mark 6, and place a flat oven tray or pizza stone on the top shelf to warm up with it.
When the dough has finished it’s prove, add a tablespoon of the za’atar mixture on top of each one and spread it round so it covers the whole surface. Using the greaseproof paper, shuffle the rounds one or two at a time onto your oven tray/pizza stone and bake for 10-12 minutes until the edge is a light brown colour. Use one of your proving tea towels to help fold the bread in half while it’s still hot. Wait for it to cool down slightly so as you don’t burn your mouth and then enjoy with a glass of hot, strong, sweet tea. If you’re planning to bake them all off before you serve them, cover them with a clean, dry tea towel once you’ve folded them to stop them drying up.