Vegan Mankeesh Zaatar Recipe
Mankeesh (also spelled Manakish, Mana'eesh, or Manakeesh) is a traditional Levantine flatbread topped with a spread of Zaatar blend and olive oil.
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Equipment
Ingredients
For the Manakeesh (Flatbread)
- 3 cups all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon fine sat
- ⅓ cup canola oil , more for coating the bowl
- 3/4-1 cup warm water , more water if needed
- 1 tablespoon dry active yeast
- 1 tablespoon white sugar or honey
For the Zaatar-Olive Oil Topping/spread
- ⅓ cup olive oil , extra virgin
- ¼ cup Zaatar Blend
Makes: 9inch round
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Sift together the all purpose flour and salt over a sizable bowl and make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
- Drizzle the canola oil in the well and start incorporating with your hands the flour into the oil until all the flour is coated with the oil and its texture resembles wet sand. You can a stand mixer fitted with hook attachment for this step and the following steps. Set it aside until you proof yeast.
- Mix the yeast, warm water, and sugar or honey in a mixing bowl and stir until are ingredients are combined. let it sit on your kitchen counter for 5 minutes until the mixture is foamy and frothy.
- Drizzle the yeast-water mixture into the flour-oil mixture and knead with your hands or with a stand mixer until a soft dough comes together. Add more warm water while kneading of the dough is still dry and not soft enough.
- Transfer the dough to an oil coated large container, drizzle a spoonful of oil on top and cover it with a clean tea tower and/or plastic wrap, and let the dough rise in a warm place for 1 hour.
- Divide the dough in two equal dough balls. Pinch the ends of each one and roll the dough ball to smooth their surface. Let the two dough balls rest for 20 minutes, always covered with a tea towel. Over a flour dusted surface, roll out each dough ball with a rolling pin into a 8 inch diameter and 1/2 inch thickness. Let each disk rest for 20 minutes until you prepare the Zaatar topping and preheat the oven or preheat your cast iron skillet on stove top.
Prepare the Zaatar-Olive Oil Topping/Spread
- Mix the Zaatar blend and the olive oil in a small bowel and spread evenly one tablespoon at a time over each dough disk.
Assemble the Manakeesh & Bake
- Bake the bread on stove top in a hot/preheated cast iron pan set on medium-low heat or lay the manakeesh on a baking sheet and pop them in a preheated oven at 450° F. Bake for 12 minutes or until the edges become lightly golden.
- Serve the bread hot or warm with a platter of cucumber, cherry tomatoes, pickles, and cheese and/labneh.
Nermine's Notes
1- Don't rush the dough rising time. The dough should double in size and that would take an hour at least, depending on how warm your kitchen is.
2- For a better rolling experience, Let dough balls rest before you roll them out, and when you roll out the dough to disks, let the latter rest as well before baking. When the dough rests, it becomes so much easier to handle.
3- Don't over bake the manakeesh so they don't dry out.