Pita
A yeast-raised wheat pocket bread; this measured oven version bakes eight soft rounds on a preheated stone or steel.
Man’oushe
manakish
Lebanese za’atar flatbread made from yeast dough, baked on a heated stone or heavy sheet pan until its rim is golden.
Lebanese breakfast flatbread
Man’oushe is a Lebanese flatbread commonly topped with za’atar mixed into olive oil. The recipe author describes it as breakfast food and recalls eating it in Beirut; she also recounts a very flat example in El Mtein. Other toppings and accompaniments appear in the account, but this formula is the za’atar version and does not include filled or cheese-topped variations. The page's total cook-time entry is 15 minutes, though it directs 7–10 minutes per loaf and says to repeat the bake for all four; it does not explain whether the loaves bake simultaneously.
The dough combines all-purpose and cake flours with yeast, sugar, salt, water and a little neutral oil. The author notes that cake flour contributes to a softer dough. After a first rise until doubled, the dough is divided into four balls and rested again, then rolled thin and spread with the za’atar mixture. A preheated baking stone or overturned heavy sheet pan gives the bread a hot surface; a peel or overturned pan helps transfer the dough safely.
The instructions give 400°F for a conventional oven, or 425°F for convection, and 7–10 minutes per loaf. Watch the edges for golden colour and use care around the heated stone or pan. Wheat flour is raw and can carry harmful bacteria: keep it away from ready-to-eat food, wash hands and tools after handling, and do not taste uncooked dough. This measured version makes four loaves; no tested scaling formula or storage duration is established. The source lists a half-cup each of za’atar and olive oil but calls for about 3 teaspoons of the mixture per loaf, so the stated batch makes more topping than the directions use; the remainder is not explained.
Sources for this section
History
The modern recipe identifies man’oushe as Lebanese and traditionally eaten for breakfast. Its author recounts eating examples in Beirut and El Mtein. This source does not establish the bread's earliest attestation or a precise birthplace.
Ingredients
Yield 4 loaves · Scaling: source batch only
All-purpose flourUnbleached
591 mL2½ cup as recorded
Cake flour
237 mL1 cup as recorded
9.9 mL2 tsp as recorded
WaterLukewarm, 90–100°F; use ¼ cup to proof the yeast and the remainder in the dough
296 mL1¼ cup as recorded
4.9 mL1 tsp as recorded
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
Neutral oilCanola or safflower are examples
15 mL1 tbsp as recorded
Za’atar
118 mL½ cup as recorded
118 mL½ cup as recorded
Method
Risks and precautions · Standard risk
Raw wheat flour
Flour can carry harmful bacteria; raw dough should not be tasted.
Hazard sourceHeated baking surface
The method heats a stone or heavy pan in a hot oven; contact can burn.
Hazard sourceKeep raw flour and dough away from ready-to-eat food, wash hands and utensils after handling, and do not taste uncooked dough.
Control sourceUse a peel or overturned pan to move dough onto and off the hot baking surface, and protect hands from the hot oven and stone or pan.
Control sourceContains wheat (gluten). Check the za’atar blend's package for its ingredients and allergen statement.
Do not taste raw dough. The source gives no validated storage duration.
- Mix both flours with the salt in a large bowl or food processor. In a small bowl, stir the yeast and sugar together, then add ¼ cup lukewarm water. Leave for about 10 minutes, until foamy.
- Add the yeast mixture and neutral oil to the flour. Slowly mix in the remaining 1 cup water. Knead by hand for about 10 minutes until soft and elastic, or run the food processor for 1 minute after adding the water.
- Lightly oil a bowl and the dough, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1½–2 hours. Divide into four portions, shape into balls, cover, and rest for 20 minutes.
- While the dough rests, heat a baking stone or overturned heavy sheet pan near the bottom of the oven at 400°F for 20–30 minutes. For convection, set the oven to 425°F. Mix the za’atar with the olive oil.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll each dough ball, turning it often, to a round about ¼ inch thick. Spread about 3 teaspoons of za’atar-oil mixture over the dough, leaving a ½-inch rim. Transfer it on a floured peel or overturned pan to the hot stone or pan.
- Bake each loaf for 7–10 minutes, until its edges are golden brown. Remove carefully to a rack and cool for a few minutes before serving. Repeat with the remaining dough.
Conditions
Yield4 loaves
Fermentation1.5–2 h
Places
Lebanon
Documented preparation · Country evidenceThe source identifies the food as Lebanese and describes eating it in Beirut and El Mtein; not an origin claim.
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Sources
Maureen AboodInspiration · Method · Geography
Lebanese man’oushe, za’atar flatbreadThe measured formula makes four loaves with all-purpose flour, cake flour, salt, warm water, active dry yeast, sugar, neutral oil, za’atar and extra-virgin olive oil.
The dough is proofed, kneaded, risen until doubled for 1½–2 hours, divided and rested 20 minutes, then rolled to ¼ inch and topped.
The oven is heated to 400°F for 20–30 minutes with a baking stone or overturned heavy sheet pan; convection is set to 425°F. Each loaf bakes 7–10 minutes until the edges are golden brown.
The article describes man’oushe as Lebanese and traditionally eaten for breakfast, and recounts eating it in Beirut and El Mtein.
Cited in: Lebanese breakfast flatbread
U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationSafety
Handling Flour Safely: What You Need to KnowRaw flour can carry harmful bacteria; do not taste uncooked dough and keep flour separate from ready-to-eat food.
Wash hands, utensils and surfaces after handling flour.