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In Lebanon and Jordan, bakeries pull trays of this out of blistering hot ovens and sell them to people on their way to work. Made with a drop-dead simple dough and topped with za'atar and roasted herbs, this za'atar manakeesh recipe helps you turn out pro results in an ordinary kitchen with a basic home oven.
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Manakeesh is often described as Middle Eastern flatbread pizza. And while, surrre, you can make it in a pizza oven (if you have one) and, suuuuuure, that gets the idea of the shape across, it undersells 200% what is actually happening. There is no cheese, no sauce, no toppings piled on. Just dough rolled thin, brushed edge to edge with a wet za'atar paste, and baked at a screaming hot temperature until the crust blisters and the topping gets fragrant AF and slightly crisp on top.
In Jordan, people talk about this the way Iraqis talk about kuboos, Moroccans talk about msemen, and Afghans talk about bolani. It's that level of an everyday icon. And the second it comes out of the oven, you fold it in half like a taco while it is still hot. That fold is not just for show either, it traps the heat and pushes the olive oil back into the crust instead of letting it just sit there on top.
You do not need a wood-fired oven or a legit bakery setup to pull this off. A home oven cranked as hot as it will go and about 10 minutes gets you shockingly close to the real thing.
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🥰 Why you'll adore this Za'atar Manakeesh
✊ Vegan AF: All my vegan Middle Eastern recipes are cruelty-free, both by not including animal-based ingredients, and by me not thinking any mean thoughts while I write them.
⏱️ Oven to Table in 10 Minutes: Once the dough has risen and rested, the actual baking takes less time than it takes to preheat most ovens. Blink and it is done.
🔥 Home Oven or Shmancy Pizza Oven, Both Work: Crank your regular oven as hot as it goes and you get shockingly close to the real thing. Got a pizza oven sitting around? Even better, but it is not required to make this genuinely great.
✅ Tested and Approved Worldwide: Over 1,000 testers make my vegan recipes before anything ever gets published. And this time, the group chat was mostly people asking why they had never made it before!
🤘Learn to make killer vegan Middle Eastern food
This guide to my most popular plant-based Middle Eastern recipes is 100% FREE, & you'll love the actual heck out of it 🥰
🌶️ Manakeesh Ingredients
The Flour
Go with bread flour, no substitutions unless you just have no other option. More protein means stronger gluten, and stronger gluten is what gives manakeesh the right fluffiness instead of it turning into a miserable, brittle cracker in the oven. All-purpose works fine as backup, just softer and less chewy.
If you've never messed with bread flour before, get pumped. It's also exactly what my vegan cinnamon rolls use, so buy extra.
The Yeast
Active dry yeast is what makes this dough rise. The amount called for in this recipe is the same amount that's in a standard packet of yeast.
Proof it first in warm liquid with the sugar, and if it does not turn foamy within 8 minutes, that yeast is dead and gone, RIP, grab a new packet. If instant yeast is all you have hanging around, good news, it works too. Don't worry, it's normal that the instant stuff will not foam up as noticeably in the initial activation step.
Za'atar
Za'atar (which you'll sometimes find written without the apostrophe, like "zaatar") is a blend of dried thyme, sumac, and toasted sesame seeds, and every region, every family, every grandma has their own version. My personal fave is the one from Burlap and Barrel, because like just about everything they sell, it's genuinely on another level.
Got some leftover from making this? It goes hard in fattoush, beet hummus, and Middle Eastern cucumber salad too.
*See the recipe card at the bottom of the page for exact quantities, nutritional info, and detailed cooking directions.
🤯Variations
Vegan Manakeesh bil Jibneh
Skip the za'atar and top the rolled dough with a layer of vegan mozzarella-style shreds mixed with a lil nutritional yeast and a pinch of Aleppo pepper flakes. This is the other classic bakery topping, gooey and rich instead of herby and savory.
Spinach Manakeesh
Sauté chopped spinach with onion, baharat, and a squeeze of lemon, then spread it over the dough before baking instead of the za'atar mixture.
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📖 How to make vegan za'atar manakish
This one moves fast once the dough has risen, so have your toppings mixed and your oven cranked before you start rolling. Follow the steps and tips below, or scroll down to the recipe card if you have made this before.
Step One
Yeast of Eden:
Combine the yeast, brown sugar, and plant milk or water in a large mixing bowl. Stir until dissolved, then let it sit for 7 to 8 minutes until foamy and clearly active.
Step Two
Knead to Know Basis:
Add the bread flour, salt, and olive oil. Stir until a shaggy dough comes together, then knead by hand or with a stand mixer and dough hook for 8 to 10 minutes, until the dough turns smooth, soft, and slightly tacky.
Step Three
Dough You Believe in Life After Love:
Move the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover it, and let it rise somewhere warm until it has doubled in size, 60 to 90 minutes.
Step Four
The Church of Za'atar Day Saints:
While the dough rises, stir together the za'atar, lemon zest, parsley, mint, olive oil, and water until fully combined into a spreadable paste.
Step Five
Preheat of the Moment:
Preheat the oven as high as it will go, 475°-500°F (around 250°C). If you are using a baking stone or steel, put it in the oven now so it heats along with everything else.
If you are using a pizza oven rather than a home oven, bring the temperature up to 700°F (370°C) and let it sustain that temperature for at least 20 minutes before baking.
Step Six
Divides of March:
Turn the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface and cut it into 6 equal portions (about 200 grams each). Shape each into a ball, cover with a clean towel, and let them rest for 20 minutes.
Step Seven
Manakeesh Me, I'm Irish:
Roll or gently stretch each portion into an oval or 7-inch circle about ¼ inch (6 mm) thick.
Step Eight
Za'atarzan Was Swinging on a Rubber Band:
Spread the za'atar topping evenly across each round, leaving a narrow bare border around the edge. Move each one to a parchment-lined baking sheet, or onto a lightly floured pizza peel if you are using a stone or steel.
✅ If you want to avoid big bubbles forming, poke the formed manakeesh all around with the tines of a fork before baking.
Step Nine
Bake to the Future:
Bake for 6-7 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned and the topping smells incredible. If baking directly on a hot stone or steel, slide the manakeesh onto the surface and bake until the bottom crisps and the edges turn golden.
If using a pizza oven, the baking time will likely reduce down to 3 minutes or less. Once the dough is cooking in the pizza oven, and has firmed up enough, use a turning peel to rotate it once or twice, especially if your oven is hotter on one side near the heat source.
Step Ten
Brush Up on Your Shakespeare:
Using a pastry brush, brush the crust around the edges with additional extra virgin olive oil. Serve warm.
💡Serving Ideas
Manakeesh is basically a dip delivery system, so do not hold back.
Muhammara is a genuinely perfect match, that roasted red pepper and walnut combo plays so well against the herby za'atar. Toum brings a garlic punch that turns every single fold into a whole gosh darned bonanza. And for eggplant freaks, if you aren't doing Lebanese baba ganoush or Moroccan zalouk, the lesser known baddie, mutabal, gives you something smoky and creamy to swipe through before you even hit the topping.
Matbucha is another full-force banger here, jammy and a little sweet against all that olive oil. And if fire is what you are after, zhoug or shatta drizzled in before you fold adds a one-two punchy heat that people do not expect but immediately get on board with if their head doesn't catch fire like that time Michael Jackson was doing a Pepsi commercial.
👉Top tips
- Get the Oven As Hot As It Goes: Manakeesh wants blistering heat to mimic a proper bakery oven. 475°F (245°C) is the bare minimum here, and if your oven can go hotter, send it, up to 700°F even. A wimpy oven just gets you pale, tough crust instead of that gorgeous leopard-spotted blister everyone is actually here for.
- Preheat Your Stone or Steel If You Have One: A screaming hot baking surface transfers heat straight into the bottom of the dough the second it lands, so you get a crisp base way faster. No stone or steel? A regular sheet pan still gets the job done, the bottom just ends up a little softer, and that is fine too.
- Dock It: Either dock the dough with a docking roller before topping it, or prick it all around with the tines of a fork before baking. This will prevent massive bubbles from forming.
🤷♀️ Recipe FAQs
Yes. After the first rise, punch it down, cover it tightly, and refrigerate overnight. Let it come back to room temperature for about an hour before dividing and shaping. The slow cold rise actually improves the flavor, but it's kinda annoying to plan that far in advance, at least for me.
Your oven probably was not hot enough, or it was not fully preheated before the dough went in. Give the oven a full 20 to 30 minutes to reach temperature, and use the highest setting your oven allows.
Yes, and this is possible both before and after baking. To freeze unbaked, skip the 2nd rise completely and roll and form right away. Freeze them flat on a tray before transferring to a bag, then bake straight from frozen with a couple extra minutes added. Baked manakeesh freezes well too, and reheats nicely straight in a hot oven.
🧊 In the Fridge
Store baked manakeesh in an airtight container or wrapped tightly for up to 3 days. The crust softens in the fridge, which is normal, and reheating brings a lot of the crispness back.
🔥 Reheating
Warm in a 400°F (205°C) oven for 5 to 7 minutes, straight on the rack if you want the bottom to crisp back up. A microwave works in a pinch but leaves the crust soft and a little tough.
✌️You'll also love these vegan flatbread recipes:
Learn the secrets to perfect falafel in this fun cooking class with Chef Adam Sobel!
Za'atar Manakeesh Recipe
Equipment
- stand mixer (optional)
- Baking stone or steel (optional)
- Pizza Peel (optional)
Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cups unsweetened plant-based milk or water
- 3 ½ cups bread flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoon salt or to taste
- ⅓ cup olive oil
For the Topping:
- ½ cup za'atar
- 2 teaspoons lemon zest
- ¼ cup parsley minced
- 2 tablespoons mint minced
- ½ cup extra virgin olive oil
- 2 tablespoons water
For Brushing:
- ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
Instructions
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the yeast, brown sugar, and plant-based milk or water. Stir until the yeast and sugar are dissolved. Let stand for 7-8 minutes, until the mixture is foamy and active looking.
- Add the bread flour, salt, and olive oil. Stir until a shaggy dough forms, then knead by hand or with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook for 8-10 minutes, until the dough is smooth, soft, and slightly tacky.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 60 to 90 minutes.
- While the dough rises, prepare the topping by stirring together the za'atar, lemon zest, parsley, mint, olive oil, and water until evenly combined.
- Preheat the oven to 475°-500°F (250°C). If using a baking stone or steel, place it in the oven while it preheats. If you are using a pizza oven rather than a home oven, bring the temperature up to 700°F (370°C) and let it sustain that temperature for at least 20 minutes before baking.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal portions (about 200 g. each). Shape each portion into a ball, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and let rest for 20 minutes.
- Roll or gently stretch each portion into an oval or round ¼ inch (6 mm) thick. Transfer to a parchment paper-lined baking sheet or a lightly floured pizza peel if using a baking stone or steel.
- Spread the topping evenly over each round, leaving a narrow border around the edge.
- Prick the surface of the dough all over with the tines of a fork before baking to prevent large bubbles from forming in the oven.
- Bake for 6-7 minutes, until the crust is lightly browned and the topping is fragrant. If baking directly on a baking stone or steel, transfer the manakeesh to the hot surface and bake until the crust is crisp on the bottom and lightly browned around the edges. If baking in a pizza oven around 700°F, the baking time will be reduced to around 3 minutes.
- Brush around the edges with additional extra-virgin olive oil and serve warm.
Notes
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