Zaatar Focaccia

Posted by Raissa Nebie on January 4, 2010 | 1 Comment

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One thing I really miss about living in Cote D’Ivoire is the overabundance of great Lebanese food. One of my personal favorites was Zaatar Manaeesh, a pita-like flat bread topped with Zaatar (a thyme-based middle eastern spice mix). Manaeesh is a popular breakfast food in Lebanon where it’s eaten with Labne, a thick strained yogurt. For a while now, I’ve had a full jar of Zaatar that my friend brought me from Israel and I never got the chance to use it. So, when an Italian friend of mine asked me what he should do with Zaatar, the first thing that came to my mind was Manaeesh, followed by fond memories of my time in Abidjan. I looked for a recipe on the internet, but nothing was really convincing. Therefore, I decided to improvise and do my own thing. I figured flat bread… hmm why not Focaccia? And BAM! I whipped up this Zaatar Focaccia. If you don’t have any Zaatar, you can easily substitute your favorite dry herbs.

ZAATAR FOCACCIA (adapted from epicurious)
4 cups bread flour + additional for kneading (all-purpose flour works too)
1 packet of active dry yeast
1.5 cups lukewarm water
1 tsp sugar
1/2.tsp salt
1/4 cup olive oil
3 heaping tbsp Zaatar

Stir together the water, sugar and yeast in a mixing bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes until foamy. Add the oil and the salt. Then, add the flour gradually while mixing until dough forms. Depending on the moisture in the air, you may need to add more or less flour. Knead the dough until soft and smooth.

Scrape the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 1 minute. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and turn the dough to coat with the oil. Let rise, covered at warm room temperature, until doubled.

zaatar focaccia

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Press dough evenly into a generously oiled baking pan. Let dough rise in the pan, covered with a kitchen towel, until doubled.

Preheat oven to 425°F.

Stir together the Zaatar and 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Make shallow indentations all over dough with your fingertips, then brush with the Zaatar mixture.

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