Mana'ish ib za-atar (Arabic pizza with a'atar)

Makes 10-15 PIZZAS Starters and mains

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Method

In a large bowl, stir the yeast and salt together. Add approx. 435ml cold water, until the mixture is well combined. Mix in almost all of the flour and work the dough until the texture is smooth. The dough should be a bit sticky, but it should hold together. Cover the bowl with cling film and chill overnight.

For pitta bread

When ready to bake the pitta, preheat the oven to 250C/230C Fan/Gas 9. Retrieve the dough. Sprinkle flour on a dry surface to prevent sticking and knead the dough until it is smooth. Divide the dough into 10-12 x 100g pieces and shape them into small buns. Place them on a dry surface and cover with a clean tea towel. Leave the dough to rest and rise for around 30 minutes. Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven while the dough rises.

Once the dough has risen, roll the buns out into rounds, each around 15 cm in diameter. Remove the pizza stone from the oven and lightly flour it, working quickly. Place the rounds on the stone and put it in the oven. Bake the bread for 3-5 minutes or until it puffs up and is golden brown. Remove the bread from the oven and let it cool before serving.

For plain mana'ish

Prepare the dough according to the recipe for pitta bread, below. Divide and roll out into rounds, each around 15cm in diameter. Place the rounds on a dry surface and cover them with a tea towel to rest and rise for around 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, lightly press down on the dough to prevent it from rising when baking.

While the dough is resting, preheat the oven to 250C/230C Fan/Gas 9. If your oven doesn’t get that hot, keep the temperature as high as possible. Place a pizza stone or baking sheet in the oven while the dough rises.

Before baking, top each round of dough with your preferred toppings. Bake for around 5 minutes until golden.

For mana'ish with za'atar

Preheat the oven to 250C/230C Fan/Gas 9. Prepare the dough for the pizza crust (see recipe, left). In a bowl, combine the za’atar and oil, stirring until it resembles pesto. Spread the mixture onto the rolled-out dough.

Bake the dough on a pizza stone for around 5 minutes.

While the dough is baking, roughly chop the tomatoes and separate the mint leaves.

Remove the bread from the oven and squeeze half a lemon over it. Top the hot bread with the chopped tomatoes and mint.

This recipe was taken from the April 2020 issue of Food and Travel.

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