Za’atar Manakish (Lebanese Flatbread)


Date Published: August 2nd, 2020 | Last Updated: August 2nd, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: breads, easy, snacks, vegetarian
Serves: 8 (or 4 large ones) | Prep time: 1.5hrs (from start of dough) | Cook time: 10 mins

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This is mine and Toby’s go-to snack. We divide a batch of basic dough and freeze them ahead of time and when we feel like snacking, we’ll defrost it for a couple hours, roll it out then spread za’atar over it and bake. It’s so quick and simple – in under 15 minutes we have freshly baked za’atar manakish. If we’re feeling a little more indulgent, we’ll sometimes use our defrosted dough to make halloumi cheese pies out – which is also super easy (click here for the recipe)!

  • Za’atar (Lebanese spice mix)
  • This is our favourite brand of za’atar!

If you’re unfamiliar, Za’atar is a blend of Lebanese spieces that usually include oregano, sumac, thyme, and sesame seeds. It’s packed full of earthy flavours with a lemon-y acidity from the sumac. I’ll admit when I first I tried it, I didn’t think too much of it, but Toby kept buying the manakish and after a few sneaky bites here and there over time, now I can’t get enough! Lots of shops sell za’atar but everyone has their own ratios of spices so they can taste vastly different depending on the brand. Our favourite brand is called “Za’atar extra” (pictured above) where we buy from A1 bakery in Dandenong. It’s on my to-do list to try and recreate their spice mix just incase we move and can’t find this brand anywhere else (I’ll post it if I’m ever successful).

Side story: This dish has sentimental value to me. When I first started dating Toby (my now fiancé), he took me to a small Lebanese bakery shop in Werribee called A1 bakery and ordered two cheese pies and an “oregano pizza” as he called it. Between the two of us, I’m usually the one introducing him to good restaurants and new foods. This is the first place he took me to that really impressed me. The halloumi cheese pies were to die for but the “oregano pizza” was just okay for me. As time went on, we’d keep going back to the bakery and the “oregano pizza” really grew on me (which we later learned the proper name was: za’atar manakish). After we moved out of the Werribee area, we had to drive 40mins to the closest A1 bakery in Dandenong to get the cheese pies and manakish, but it was worth it. It was magical every time. At our last trip, Toby surprised me with a packet of za’atar seasoning that the bakery sold and suggested we try making it at home during quarantine for some fun. After reading through a handful of recipes online, I made a compilation of them all and combined it into this recipe. We made it for the first time a few months ago and it came out A-MAZING! We’ve made it countless times since.

Back in 2018: Toby would take me to A1 Bakery for Za’atar Manakish and cheese pies all the time when we lived near Werribee

The recipe is a bit word-y but it’s actually super easy once you make it. The dough is made from the basic dough recipe which gives it a beautiful fluffiness if you roll it out thick and a nice crispy crunchy texture if you roll it out thin. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do! If za’atar isn’t your jam, you can always turn the dough into halloumi cheese pies :D.

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

Directions:

Make one dough ball from the basic dough recipe and let it proof for 1 hour until doubled in size (click here for tips on how to proof your dough in the oven). Once risen, punch the dough and knead a couple times on a floured surface to get rid of any air pockets. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (or bigger if you prefer your manakish larger) and let it rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200˚C.

In a bowl combine the za’atar with the olive oil and mix.

After the dough has rested, knead each ball a couple times on a floured surface then roll it out to 5mm thick (or to preference – the thinner you roll it, the crispier your flatbread and the thicker it is, the more fluffy it will be). Transfer the dough onto a greased baking tray. (It’s important to transfer the dough to the tray FIRST before spreading the za’atar otherwise it may get a little messy!)

I prefer mine a little crispy so I roll it out thinner here. If you want it fluffier, roll it thicker.

Mix and spread your za’atar mixture over the dough and bake in the oven at 200˚C for 7-10 minutes until the edges are golden. Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving so the olive oil gets soaked into the bread. Enjoy!

Tip: If you don’t want to make an entire batch, you can freeze the divided dough balls by wrapping them in cling wrap and just defrost the dough a few hours before you want to use it. You don’t need to rest it, just roll it out and spread za’atar over it (use roughly 2 Tbsps of olive oil + 2 Tbsps za’atar per flatbread). This makes a quick and easy late night snack!

Did you try this recipe? I’d love your feedback or any comments on what you thought! Leave a message below and follow me on facebook and instagram (@polyphagicabby). 🙂

Watch the Video Tutorial!

Summarized Recipe:

Za’atar Manakish

Date Published: August 2nd, 2020 | Last Updated: August 2nd, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: breads, easy, snacks
Serves: 8 (or 4 large ones) | Prep time: 1.5hrs (from start of dough) | Cook time: 10 mins

Ingredients:

Directions:

  1. Make one dough ball from the basic dough recipe and let it proof for 1 hour until doubled in size (click here for tips on how to proof your dough in the oven). Once risen, punch the dough and knead a couple times on a floured surface to get rid of any air pockets. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (or bigger if you prefer your manakish larger) and let it rest for 10 minutes.
  2. Preheat the oven to 200˚C.
  3. In a bowl combine the za’atar with the olive oil and mix.
  4. After the dough has rested, knead each ball a couple times on a floured surface then roll it out to 5mm thick (or to preference – the thinner you roll it, the crispier your flatbread and the thicker it is, the more fluffy it will be). Transfer the dough to a greased baking tray.
  5. Mix and spread your za’atar mixture over the dough and bake in the oven at 200˚C for 7-10 minutes until the edges are golden. Let it sit for 5 minutes before serving so the olive oil gets soaked into the bread. Enjoy!

Tip: If you don’t want to make an entire batch, you can freeze the divided dough balls by wrapping them in cling wrap and just defrost the dough a few hours before you want to use it. You don’t need to rest it, just roll it out and spread za’atar over it (use roughly 2 Tbsps of olive oil + 2 Tbsps za’atar per flatbread). This makes a quick and easy late night snack!

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Halloumi Cheese Pie


Date Published: July 14th, 2020 | Last Updated: August 2nd, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, vegetarian, breads
Serves: 8 pies | Prep time: 25 mins (without dough) | Cook time: 15 mins

Jump to recipe | Watch the video

Halloumi cheese pies are a common item in many Lebanese bakeries around Melbourne. I was first introduced to them by my partner Toby on one of our first few dates. He took me to a small little bakery in Werribee called ‘A1 Bakery’ that was the size of a two-car garage with only three tables and some chairs. They sold a few common Lebanese grocery items on a small shelf in the back. Toby told me that he used to get cheese pies and ‘oregano pizzas’ (which I later found out was a za’atar manakish) all the time back at home with his parents. I had never heard of either until that day.

I’ll be honest, I never even knew what halloumi was until a few years ago. It was the greatest find ever. It’s got a subtle taste like many white cheeses and it’s squishy – similar to Canadian cheese curds in poutine. My mind was blown the first time I had it grilled. When Toby told me that this bakery makes a pocket of halloumi, I knew I had to have it. It was amazing! It was like eating a pizza pocket but with glorious halloumi cheese. ❤

Back to present day in isolation from the pandemic, on a whim we decided to try remaking the delicious pies and the ‘oregano pizzas’ aka manakish. The results were spot-on and surprisingly easy! All you need is a basic dough and some halloumi cheese. I’ll post the manakish recipe too shortly so keep your eyes peeled.[Edit: The manakish recipe is now uploaded! Click here for the recipe.]

Anyways, without further ado, here’s the recipe! You can watch the video below to guide you through the recipe. If you have any comments or suggestions, I’d love to hear from you in the comment section! You can follow me on instagram, youtube and facebook to see all the recipes I post!

Happy cooking!

Ingredients you’ll need:

  • Basic dough – a full dough will make 8 cheese pies. If you don’t want to make that many, you can halve the dough recipe or freeze half the dough for future use. I frequently make 4 cheese pies and 4 za’atar manakish with one basic dough recipe. Or alternatively, Toby likes to freeze the divided dough balls individually and just defrost one or two a few hours before making a quick late night snack. If you’re feeling lazy, you can also make this with store bought pizza dough.
  • Halloumi cheese, shredded – amount will depend on how full you want it. I usually use about 3/4 cup of shredded cheese per cheese pie.

Directions:

Start off with a ball of basic dough (after it has risen and you’ve kneaded it a couple of times).

Divide the dough ball into 8 equal portions. Cover with a tea towel and leave in a warm place for 15mins to go through a second rest and rise (don’t worry if it doesn’t rise too much during this process). If you don’t have a warm place, you can use the proofing method in my how-to section.

Note: If you don’t want to make 8 cheese pies, you can wrap up the balls individually in cling wrap and freeze them for future use.

After the balls have rested, take each one out and knead a couple times (to release any new air bubbles that may have formed) on a lightly floured surface, then roll it out until about 3mm thickness. This dough does rise quite a bit so make sure your dough isn’t too thick.

Add shredded halloumi to half of the dough. Leave about 1-2cm away from the edge so you have enough room to seal the pie.

Fold one half over the other and seal the edges together. It doesn’t really matter how you seal it, as long as there are no holes. I pinch my dough edges and fold it upwards (you can see how I do it in the video).

Put your pan on a baking tray and bake at 200˚C for about 15 minutes until the top is golden brown.

Ta-da! Serve immediately. 🙂

Let me know in the comments if you tried this recipe! I’d love to hear from you.

Watch the Video Tutorial!

Summarized Recipe:

Halloumi Cheese Pie

Date Published: July 14th, 2020 | Last Updated: July 14th, 2020
Author: Abby |Category: snacks, vegetarian, breads
Serves: 8 pies | Prep time: 25 mins (without dough) | Cook time: 15 mins

Ingredients:

  • 1 basic dough (or store-bought pizza dough)
  • 6 cups Halloumi cheese, shredded (or to taste. I use about 3/4 cup per pie)

Directions:

  1. Get your basic dough (after it’s risen the first time and kneaded to release air bubbles) and divide it into 8 equal portions.
  2. Cover the 8 balls with a tea towel and set in a warm place for 15 mins (you can use the proofing method if you don’t have a warm place)
  3. After 15 mins, knead each dough ball a few times to release any new air bubbles and use a rolling pin to roll it to 3mm thickness.
  4. Cover half of the dough with halloumi cheese and fold the other half over it. Pinch the edges to seal it.
  5. Bake at 200˚C for 15mins until golden brown. Enjoy!

Note: if you don’t want to make 8 cheese pies, you can make only half of the basic dough recipe or just use half and freeze the other half for later or in another recipe. I frequently make 4 cheese pies and 4 za’atar manakish with one dough ball.

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