Lebanon, Syria, Palestine, Jordan
Manakish za'atar
Za'atar and olive oil, baked at breakfast
Scale the dough for thisThe oldest thing on this site and the one most people would not call a pizza. A round of dough spread with za'atar loosened in olive oil, baked in a neighbourhood oven, and eaten at breakfast folded around cucumber and mint. Za'atar is a blend, not a herb: dried thyme or hyssop, sumac for sourness, toasted sesame, salt. Buy it somewhere it turns over quickly, because sumac loses its edge and the whole thing goes dusty.
The build
- Mix the za'atar and oil and let it sit twenty minutes so the sesame softens.
- Roll the dough, dimple it with your fingertips so the oil has somewhere to sit.
- Spread the paste over the whole surface including the edge.
After the oven Eaten immediately, folded, with cucumber, tomato, olives and mint inside.
The bake
Just until the base is set and the edges take a little colour. Overbaked, the za'atar turns bitter.
On top
- Sauce
- Za'atar mixed with enough olive oil to make a loose paste. Roughly two parts za'atar to three parts oil.
- Cheese
- None, though the same bread with akkawi or a salty white cheese on it is the other half of the tradition and needs no argument.
You got it right when Deep green and glossy on top, soft enough to fold in half without cracking.