If you have ever been invited to a Lebanese breakfast, chances are you know what a mankoushi is. A dough that is rolled out as a flatbread; a mankoushi can be topped with cheese, zaatar, vegetables and almost anything that comes to mind. Unlike other manakish recipes that require the dough to rise for at least an hour, this is a no rise, no wait, no fail Manakish recipe that my cousin Safaa shared with me when I was back home in Lebanon last summer. It only takes 20 minutes to get the Manakish in the oven and the best part is that you can freeze any remaining dough for later use.
The Recipe:
Makes 8-10 Manakish
There are two steps to this recipe, read it through before you begin to make sure you have all the ingredients on hand.
Ingredients
1st part
- 2 cups of all purpose flour
- 1 tsp of salt
- 2 tsp of fast active yeast
- 2 tsp of sugar
- 2 cups of warm water
Mix the first 5 ingredients and leave the mixture to rest for 5 minutes. At this point the mixture will have a liquid texture.
2nd Part
- 3 cups of all purpose flour
- 0.75 cup of vegetable oil
Begin adding the remaining ingredients from part 2 to the mixture from part 1, 1 cup of flour at a time. Add the vegetable oil, knead the dough for 5 minutes and let it rest for 10 minutes.
Baking Instructions
Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Form the dough into 8-10 balls and on a lightly floured surface, flatten each ball of dough and roll it into a circle 1/8-inch thick and about 7-8 inches in diameter.
- Next press each circle with your fingertips to make little indentations.
- Spray your baking sheet with cooking spray or a bit of vegetable oil and place the flattened dough on your baking sheet.
- Spread a topping of your choice (see topping ideas below).
- Bake for about 9 minutes until golden brown. You might need to bake in 2-3 batches depending on your baking sheet size.
- Serve immediately.
Topping ideas:
Vegetable Topping: Dice 2 tomatoes, a red onion and a green pepper and mix all together. Drizzle with olive oil and salt and let the mixture rest for 15 minutes and your ready to go.
Cheese topping: Mix ½ a cup mozzarella cheese with 1 cup of akkawi cheese which is a Middle Eastern melting cheese that you can find in any Middle Eastern supermarket.
Zaatar Topping: Mix 1/4 cup ground sumac, 3 tablespoons dried thyme, 3 tablespoons dried oregano, 2 tablespoons toasted sesame seeds, 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil.
Enjoy!
