When I think of my childhood as a Palestinian, I think about fatayer and manaeesh; the soft aromatic bread topped with your preferred toppings, as for me, it was always zataar and cheese. I must give credit to my teta Khitam for that, she made them so soft and irresistible!
Mana’eesh recipe
Ingredients:
– Flour: 4 cups
– Instant yeast: 1 tablespoon
– Sugar: 1 tablespoon
– baking powder: 1 teaspoon
– salt: half a teaspoon
– Olive oil (or vegetable oil): 1 small coffee cup or approximately 120ML
– Yogurt: 3 tbsp or 3 tbsp milk powder
– Warm water: a cup
(Optional) if you like Za’atar as a topping you will need:
– Za’atar (thyme) you can buy yours from CanaanPalestine.com or your local Palestinian market.
– olive oil
Feel free to use any topping you enjoy such as cheese or cooked minced meat.
STEPS:
1. Mix the yeast, sugar, and water in a bowl and leave for 10 minutes until the yeast is brewed.
2. Mix the flour with baking powder and salt. Then add in the yogurt (or milk powder) and oil then stir
3. Add the mixture of water, yeast and sugar to the flour mixture and knead until the dough is firm but soft.
4. Cover the dough and leave it in a warm place for an hour until it rises to double its size.
5. While waiting for the yeast, prepare your favorite topping. If you enjoy za’atar (thyme), mix 3 tablespoons of za’atar with 3 to 4 tablespoons of olive oil.
6. When ready, cut the dough into circles in whatever sizes you’d like, and top them with the za’atar or your preferred toppings.
7. At last, set the oven on medium heat (bottom only) and bake until the edges are slightly golden, optionally, you can also turn on the top heat and toast your mana’eesh until golden.
Sah’tayen!
