Manakish are soft Lebanese flatbreads topped with za'atar and olive oil, or with melted cheese. In Lebanon they're the everyday breakfast, picked up warm from the bakery and eaten with a glass of tea. This recipe makes both versions from one simple dough, three with za'atar and three with cheese.
The dough is soft and fluffy, and the bottom bakes crisp in a hot oven. They're easier than you'd think, and you don't need anything special to make them. I make a double batch and freeze half for quick breakfasts and lunch boxes.
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What Is Manakish?
Manakish are small round flatbreads with topping, like a thin Lebanese pizza. You'll see the name spelled manakeesh, manaqish or manaeesh, and a single one is a manoushe.
The word comes from the Arabic for carving, because you dimple the dough with your fingertips before the topping goes on.
You'll find them all over the Levant, in Syria, Jordan and Palestine, and every bakery has its own toppings. Za'atar and cheese are the two classics. The third is lahm bi ajeen, a thin layer of spiced ground meat, which is the same thing as Lahmacun in Turkey. My Biberli Ekmek is the Turkish version of the same idea, with a vegetarian pepper paste topping.
If you'd rather watch than read, the short video below shows the whole process from dough to oven.
What Is Za'atar?
Za'atar is a Middle Eastern herb mix made with dried thyme or wild oregano, sumac, toasted sesame seeds and salt.
It tastes herby and a little tangy from the sumac, with a nutty crunch from the sesame. Every family and every shop has its own blend.
For manakish you mix it with olive oil into a thick paste and spread it over the dough. I buy mine from a Middle Eastern grocer, and it's easy to find online.
It's just as good sprinkled over Mediterranean Roasted Eggplant or over a bowl of labneh with a pool of olive oil.
Why This Recipe Works?
- The dough is soft and fluffy with a crisp golden bottom, just like the bakery ones.
- You get both classics from one batch, three za'atar and three cheese.
- Nothing special is needed: flour, yeast, olive oil, za'atar and cheese.
- Ten minutes of mixing and kneading, then an hour of waiting for it to rise.
- Kids love the cheese ones, and they're perfect for lunch boxes.
- Freeze the baked breads and warm one up for a five minute breakfast.
- Cheaper than the bakery and better than any supermarket flatbread.
Ingredients You'll Need
Please scroll down to the recipe card below for the full ingredients list with measurements, complete recipe method, recipe notes, and nutritional information.
- Bread flour - It has more protein than all-purpose flour, so the dough is stretchier and bakes up fluffier. All-purpose flour works if that's what you have, and the bread will be a little softer and flatter.
- Yeast - I use fast action dried yeast, which goes straight into the flour. If you have active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm water first and give it ten minutes to foam. Fresh yeast works if you double the amount.
- Sugar - A little granulated sugar feeds the yeast and helps the dough rise.
- Salt - It gives the bread its flavor and keeps the dough from rising too fast.
- Olive oil - It keeps the dough soft, and it's mixed with the za'atar to make the paste. Vegetable oil works in the dough if you'd rather.
- Za'atar - Buy it from a Middle Eastern shop or online. Any good blend works, and the section above explains what's in it.
- Cheese - I use feta, because it's easy to find and it goes soft and golden in the oven. Halloumi, or a mix of feta and mozzarella, works if you want more of a melt. In Lebanon the bakeries use akkawi, a mild salty white cheese. If you can get it, soak it in cold water for 30 minutes first to take out some of the salt.
- Nigella seeds - A sprinkle over the cheese before baking. Sesame seeds work instead.
How to Make Manakish?
The dough is the only real work, and it takes about ten minutes. After that it's rising, rolling and topping.
Make the Dough
Put the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and olive oil in a large bowl and mix them together.
Add the warm water and stir until it comes together into a rough dough. Tip it onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for 5 minutes, until it's smooth and stretchy.
Put it back in the bowl and cover it with a clean kitchen towel.
Leave it in a warm place for about an hour, until it has doubled in size.
Make the Toppings
For the za'atar topping, mix the za'atar and olive oil in a small bowl into a thick paste that spreads easily.
For the cheese topping, crumble the feta into a bowl. If you're using halloumi or mozzarella, grate it. Keep the nigella seeds separate for sprinkling on top.
Shape and Bake the Manakish
Heat the oven to 410° F (210° C). Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and roll them into balls. Let them rest for 15 minutes on a lightly floured surface.
Keep them covered with a damp kitchen towel so they don't dry out. Roll each ball into a 6 inch (15 cm) circle and lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Press your fingertips into each circle to make small dimples. This stops the dough puffing up in the oven and gives the za'atar little pockets to sink into.
Spread the za'atar paste over three of the circles, leaving a small border at the edge. Be generous with it.
Spread the crumbled feta over the other three and sprinkle the nigella seeds on top. Leave the same small border around the edge.
Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until the edges are golden and the bottom is lightly browned. Eat them warm, or let them cool on a rack under a kitchen towel so they stay soft.
Recipe Tips From the Chef
- Use warm water, not hot. If it's too hot to hold your finger in, it will kill the yeast.
- Knead for a full 5 minutes so the dough turns smooth and stretchy. That's what gives you a soft, fluffy bread.
- Don't rush the rise. If you bake the dough before it has doubled, the bread comes out dense and chewy.
- Weigh the dough when you divide it, so all six pieces bake in the same time.
- Roll the circles thin, because they puff up in the oven. Dimple them with your fingertips before the topping goes on.
- Don't pile on too much topping. A heavy layer stops the dough baking through underneath.
- If you use akkawi, soak it in cold water for 30 minutes first and squeeze it dry. It's very salty straight from the packet.
- Bake in a properly hot oven. A pizza stone or an upturned baking sheet, heated with the oven, gives you a crisper bottom.
- Cover the baked breads with a kitchen towel as they cool, so they stay soft.
Other Manakish Toppings
- Za'atar and cheese together is my favorite. Spread the za'atar paste first, then scatter the cheese over the top.
- Lahm bi ajeen is a thin layer of spiced ground lamb or beef with onion, tomato and parsley. Use the topping from my lahmacun recipe and spread it thinly.
- Egg manakish is a bakery breakfast. Crack an egg onto the dimpled dough and bake until the white is set.
- Kishk is a tangy dried yogurt and bulgur mix, spread thinly with chopped onion and tomato.
- Spinach, or cheese with slices of sujuk, if you like a spicy one.
What to Serve with Manakish?
Eat them the Lebanese way, warm, with sliced tomato and cucumber, olives, fresh mint and a bowl of labneh. Fold one in half around the vegetables and eat it with a glass of sweet tea. I usually make Turkish Tea.
For lunch or a mezze table, put them out with Mediterranean Hummus Dip, Lebanese Fattoush Salad and a plate of Zeytoon Parvardeh and Pickled Cucumbers. A cold glass of Ayran goes well with the cheese ones.
Storage and Make Ahead Instructions
Za'atar manakish keep for 2 days at room temperature in an airtight container, or up to 4 days in the fridge. Keep the cheese ones in the fridge from the start.
Reheat them in the oven at 356° F (180° C) for 5 to 10 minutes, or in a dry frying pan over low heat. They come back soft with a crisp bottom. The microwave works, but the base goes soft.
To freeze them, cool them completely, stack them with parchment paper between each one and put them in a freezer bag. They keep for 3 months. Reheat from frozen in the oven at 356° F (180° C) for about 10 minutes.
You can make the dough a day ahead. After the first rise, punch it down, wrap it and keep it in the fridge overnight. Take it out an hour before you want to roll it, so it comes back to room temperature.
Recipe FAQs
In Lebanon it is akkawi, a mild, salty white cheese that melts without going greasy. Bakeries soak it in water first to take out some of the salt. Outside the Middle East it is hard to find, so I use feta. Halloumi, or a mix of feta and mozzarella, are the other good options.
No, but they are cousins. Manakish dough is rolled thinner and there is no tomato sauce. The topping is za'atar, cheese or spiced meat, not a pile of ingredients. It is a breakfast bread, usually folded in half, and it bakes in under ten minutes.
Usually the yeast was dead or the water was too hot. Check the date on the yeast, and use water that feels warm on your wrist, not hot. A cold kitchen slows the rise down. Give it longer, or put the bowl somewhere warm like an oven with just the light on.
Related Recipes
More Middle Eastern breads to try next:
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I hope you enjoy the process of making this deliciously soft Lebanese Manakish with Za'atar and Cheese as much as you enjoy eating it! 🙂
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Manakish Recipe - Za'atar and Cheese
Ingredients
For the Dough
- 2 ½ cups bread flour (300 g)
- ¾ cup water (180 ml)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 packet fast action dried yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon sugar
For the Za'atar Topping
- 3 tablespoon za'atar
- 3 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
For the Cheese Topping
- 3 ½ oz feta cheese (100 g)
- 1 tablespoon nigella seeds
Instructions
Make the Dough
- Put the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and olive oil in a large bowl and mix them together.
- Add the warm water and stir until it comes together into a rough dough. Knead on a lightly floured surface for 5 minutes, until smooth and stretchy.
- Put the dough back in the bowl and cover it with a clean kitchen towel. Leave it in a warm place for about an hour, until doubled in size.
Make the Toppings
- For the za'atar topping, mix the za'atar and olive oil in a small bowl into a thick paste that spreads easily.
- For the cheese topping, crumble the feta into a bowl. If you're using halloumi or mozzarella, grate it. Keep the nigella seeds separate.
Shape and Bake the Manakish
- Heat the oven to 410° F (210° C). Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and roll them into balls. Rest them for 15 minutes under a damp kitchen towel.
- Roll each ball into a 6 inch (15 cm) circle and lay them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Press your fingertips into each one to make small dimples.
- Spread the za'atar paste over three circles and the crumbled feta over the other three. Leave a small border at the edge. Sprinkle the nigella seeds over the cheese.
- Bake for 7 to 8 minutes, until the edges are golden and the bottom is lightly browned. Eat warm, or cool under a kitchen towel so they stay soft.
Video
Notes
- Bread flour gives the fluffiest bread. All-purpose flour works and gives a slightly softer, flatter one.
- Use warm water, not hot, or it will kill the yeast. If you use active dry yeast, dissolve it in the water first and let it foam for ten minutes.
- Knead for a full 5 minutes and let the dough double in size. A short rise gives a dense, chewy bread.
- Weigh the dough into 6 equal pieces, roll them thin and dimple them with your fingertips before topping.
- Don't overload the topping, or the dough underneath stays raw.
- Feta is my cheese here. Halloumi or a feta and mozzarella mix work. Akkawi is the traditional one: soak it in cold water for 30 minutes and squeeze it dry first.
- Other toppings: za'atar with cheese on top, spiced ground meat, an egg, or kishk.
- Make ahead: after the first rise, wrap the dough and keep it in the fridge overnight. Bring it back to room temperature before rolling.
- Storage: 2 days at room temperature or 4 days in the fridge (cheese ones always in the fridge). Freeze for 3 months with parchment between the breads.
- Reheat in the oven at 356° F (180° C) for 5 to 10 minutes, or about 10 minutes from frozen. Cover the baked breads with a towel as they cool so they stay soft.
Tina says
I made the cheesy ones and everyone loved them. I will double the amount next time, they were so good!