History

Manoushe is Lebanese and Palestinian breakfast bread, dough rolled thin and smeared with a paste of dried wild thyme, sumac, toasted sesame and olive oil before it goes into the oven. Dubai's version is a direct import that then multiplied: Palestinian bakeries in Business Bay, Lebanese chains along Sheikh Zayed Road and 24 hour counters in Deira and Satwa all bake it, and the city added cheese, labneh and cocktail sausage variants to the traditional zaatar and jibneh pair. The correct way to eat it is folded in half within a minute of leaving the oven, with mint leaves, tomato and olives tucked inside and a glass of sweet tea beside it.

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Common allergens: Gluten, Sesame

Make it at home

Yield Makes 4Hands-on 25 minTotal 1 hr 45 minDifficulty Easy

Ingredients

  • 350g plain flour
  • 1 teaspoon instant yeast
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 2 tablespoons olive oil
  • 210ml warm water
  • 6 tablespoons dried zaatar mix (thyme, sumac, toasted sesame, salt)
  • 5 tablespoons good olive oil, for the paste
  • Mint leaves, sliced tomato and olives, to serve

Method

  1. Mix the flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Add the 2 tablespoons oil and the warm water and knead 8 minutes to a soft dough. Prove 90 minutes until doubled.
  2. Heat the oven to its maximum, at least 250C, with a baking steel or heavy tray inside.
  3. Stir the zaatar and the 5 tablespoons olive oil into a loose, spoonable paste. It should pour slowly, not clump.
  4. Divide the dough into 4 and roll each piece to a 22cm round on a floured sheet of baking paper. Leave a 1cm rim.
  5. Spoon a quarter of the paste onto each round and spread it to the rim with the back of the spoon.
  6. Slide onto the hot steel and bake 6 to 8 minutes until the base is set and the rim is just colouring. Fold in half with mint, tomato and olives inside while hot.

Tip from the editors. Buy zaatar from a Levantine grocer rather than a supermarket jar. The cheap blends are mostly wheat rusk and taste of dust.

Where to eat zaatar manoushe

Zaatar manoushe in Dubai

Mama'esh ★ 4.2

$ PalestinianPalestinian manakish and fatayerBusiness BayWalk-in only

Mama'esh bakes Palestinian manakish and pies on Marasi Drive in Business Bay, Dubai, alongside musakhan rolls, hummus and all-day breakfast.

Worth the queueZa'atar manakish

TipTry the musakhan chicken rolls alongside the za'atar manoushe.

Directions

Man'oushe Street ★ 3.9

$ LebaneseAl Satwa

Man'oushe Street bakes za'atar manakish around the clock on Al Diyafah Road in Al Satwa, Dubai, a Levantine counter built around one flatbread.

TryZa'atar manakish

TipThe lahm bi ajeen topped with minced meat and tomato is worth ordering alongside the za'atar classic.

Directions

Karam Beirut ★ 3.9

$$ LebaneseDowntown Dubai

Karam Beirut bakes manoushe and rolls shawarma on the lower ground floor of The Dubai Mall, a Lebanese street food counter dressed for Downtown Dubai.

OrderZaatar manoushe with a side of shawarma and a glass of jallab.

TipThe branch sits on the lower ground floor, entered from the Fashion Avenue car park, P1 and P2.

Directions

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