Zaatar Bread Recipe (Zaatar Manakish)

Zaatar Bread Recipe is a lebanese zaatar bread which is mix with a herb of zaatar spices. In the Middle East, they call this recipe Zaatar Manakish or Manakeesh.

During my childhood, when I went to Jordan, they serve this popular street food that is widely eaten by the locals. Although, this is originally a lebanese bread, it is popular and commonly served in Levantine countries such as Jordan, Israel, and Lebanon.

During breakfast, I remember my Aunt from Jordan bought us a very tasty and fluffy Lebanese pizza called a zaatar bread from the store. We ate this together with hot tea which blends well.

The taste of the zaatar herb is very similar to thyme, except it has additional spices like sumac. Also, zaatar is very healthy which is rich in vitamins and antioxidants.

This Arabic bread with Zaatar is a very delicious which is flavorful and rich in herbs and spices. Furthermore, it is a vegan-friendly diet which is perfect for those who love pizza but don't eat meat.

What is Zaatar?

Zaatar is a middle eastern herb that is a combination of Thyme / Oregano, sumac, marjoram, sesame seed, and salt. Some people think that zaatar and thyme are the same since it has an almost similar odor and taste. They both come from the same family plant, but they are considered different spices.

For convenience, you can buy ready-made zaatar spices in any Arabic grocery stores without making one.

What is Manakeesh or Manakish?

Manakish or Manakeesh is a Middle Eastern version of flatbread pizza. This arabic bread is popular in Lebanon, Jordan, and other Levantine countries.

In Western countries, we are all familiar with pizza as a flatbread that has different toppings of meat, cheese, or vegetables. The techniques of making a Zaatar Manakish are similar to pizza, except the ingredients are different

Like other countries, there are many types of Lebanese Manakish recipe which can be top with zaatar, cheeses, or spiced ground beef. But in this post, I will be sharing you my easy recipe of Zaatar Bread.

Recipe ingredients

The ingredient of making a manakish dough recipe for Zaatar Bread is similar to making a pizza, except the topping is different. Below is the list of ingredients for making a Zaatar Manakish recipe.

• White Flour- I am using an all purpose flour white flour which is similar type of flour when making my mini pizza or greek flatbread.
• Salt and Sugar- This will help give sweetness and saltiness of the bread.
• Instant Yeast- This will help grow the dough
• Water- For mixing the flour and the rest of the ingredient
• Extra Virgin Olive oil- The olive oil is used for making a dough and mixing the zaatar herbs.
• Zaatar Powder- This is a ready made arabic herbs which I bought from a middle eastern grocery store. This will be use as a topping for my flatbread

What do you serve with this Manakish recipe?

In my time in Kuwait and Jordan, we usually eat this arabic or lebanese zaatar bread at breakfast. However, this can also be serve during dinner along with other side foods.

Zaatar Manakish are not eaten alone and they are serve with other foods such as scrambled egg, labneh, halloumi cheese, black or green olives, hummus, arabic salad, vegetables, and of course, arabic tea.

Furthermore, these foods mentioned above are eaten using pita bread or kuboos bread as the locals call it.

What Kitchen Tools or Appliances I need to make this Recipe?

When making this Lebanese zaatar recipe, you need an oven when baking a lebanese pizza. Without it, you can't make this recipe and it will not work when cooking in the pan or microwave since it will make the Manakish dough hard or rubbery.

Also, you need a tray where you will put the zaatar bread and bake in the oven.

Step-By-Step Instructions

The first thing you need to do is to make a manakish dough recipe.

Firstly, combine warm water with yeast. Add the flour, salt, sugar, olive oil and the yeast mixture in one large bowl. Mix it all and use your hand to knead the dough. Add more flour if sticky or add more water if it has too much flour.

Later, add a tablespoon of olive oil in the dough to give a nice fluffy texture. Cover it with cloth and leave it for 1 to 2 hours. While waiting for the dough to grow, prepare a ready-made zaatar and mix it with olive oil in a small bowl for later use.

After 1 to 2 hours, remove the manakish dough and roll into a long cylindrical shape, and use a knife to divide them into 8 balls. Instead of using a rolling pin, use your hand to make a small round shape. Brush it with olive oil before adding the topping of the Zaatar-olive oil mixture. Repeat the rest of the seven pieces.

Preheat the oven 200 C or 400 F. Brush the olive oil in the tray before transferring all the zaatar bread. It will help prevent sticking on the tray. Lastly, once the oven is already hot, transfer the Zaatar Manakish and let it baked for 10 minutes. Serve it with any hot tea, and you are done.

Below is the full instruction of Zaatar Bread Recipe

📋 Recipe Card

Lebanese Zaatar Bread

Saif Odeh

Zaatar Manakish is a breakfast flatbread Lebanese Zaatar Recipe which is mixed with a thyme, sumac, marjoram, sesame seed, and salt.

4.87 from 53 votes

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Prep Time 15 minutes mins

Cook Time 10 minutes mins

Total Time 25 minutes mins

Course Breakfast Recipes

Cuisine Middle Eastern, Arabic

Servings 8

Calories 238 kcal

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For making a dough

• 3 cup of white flour
• 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoon of sugar
• 1 tablespoon of instant yeast
• 2 tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 ¼ cup of water

For Zaatar Topping

• 5 tablespoon of zaatar
• ¼ cup extra virgin olive oil

Instructions

 

• Combine 1 cup of warm water and instant yeast in a big cup. Mix them well.
  
• Combine flour, salt, sugar, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, and yeast-water mixture in a large bowl. Stir them using a wooden spatula. While mixing, add another ¼ cup of water. Remove the spatula and continue mixing them using your hand.
  
• Knead the dough using your clean hand. Add another 1 tablespoon of olive oil and continue kneading to have a soft and fluffy dough. After that, cover it with a cloth and leave it for 1 to 2 hours
  
• Combine the zaatar mix and the olive oil in a small bowl. Mix them well.
  
• After 1 to 2 hours, remove the dough from the bowl and transfer into a clean and empty table.
• Sprinkle the dough with flour and use your hand to roll the dough into a long cylindrical shape. Use a knife to divide into 8 pieces. Shape each pieces into a ball.
  
• Use your hand to make a round and fluffy flatbread. Brush the tray with some olive oil before transferring them to avoid sticking the bread into the pan.
  
• Add the zaatar mix topping in each of the flatbreads. Repeat this of the remaining bread
  
• Preheat the oven 200 C or 400 F. Once it is hot, transfer into the oven with 200 C or 400 F and bake it for 10 minutes.
  

Notes

• Avoid mixing the yeast with hot water since this will kill the yeast and slow down the growth of the dough
• If the dough is too dry, add another ¼ cup of water
• If the dough stick to your hand, add more flour.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 238kcalCarbohydrates: 39gProtein: 6gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 9gSodium: 378mgFiber: 2gSugar: 1g

Keyword lebanese zaatar bread, manakish, zaatar bread, zaatar manakish

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Other Bread or Flatbread Recipes

Zaatar Manakish is an example of flatbread recipes. If you are looking for similar recipe, here are my food recipes that might interest you:

• Mini Pizza Recipe
• Greek Flatbread Recipe
• Cheese Manakish

Have you tried making Zaatar Bread? Let me know in the comment below