Za'atar Flatbread

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It must have been a couple of months ago that I first baked the za'atar flatbread recipe I'd found in my artisan bread cookbook. Almost as long as I've had the book, I've been eyeing that recipe, but a key ingredient is the za'atar spice the bread is topped with and I had never remembered seeing it in the store. Or never remembered to actually look for it, I guess. So when I happened across a jar of it in the spice section while looking for something else, I didn't hesitate to make the purchase, and the next day I experimented with the recipe. We loved it and it's become a requested family favorite, so I'm also sharing the recipe here. 

So in my cookbook it's called Za'atar Flatbread, but it seems to me that it's the spice blend that is named za'atar, and the bread itself is more often called man'ouche (or some variation of that spelling). It's a Lebanese bread typically served at breakfast, and are almost like flatbread pizzas. The bread has little holes in the top or can be slightly hollowed on the top so it will hold toppings like minced meats, cheese, or the za'atar spice and oil. Because the recipe I used has the spice on top, we've adopted the name za'atar bread for it as it's referred to in the recipe book.

Za'atar spice is a combination of herbs - typically thyme, oregano, marjoram, and sumac, along with sesame seeds and perhaps coarse salt. 

Okay, let's get to how to make the bread. You start with a good olive oil bread dough. I used the one in Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day by Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois, which is the same one I use for Tomato and Parmesan Bread (find the recipe in that post: A Taste of Italy with Tomato and Parmesan Bread)

Za'atar Flatbread
1 pound olive oil dough
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 tbsp za'atar spice

 Flatten the ball of bread dough into a round, about half an inch thick. I've done it a bit thicker than that and it works fine - just takes a little longer to bake. Put the dough round on a cookie sheet lightly greased with olive oil. Sprinkle za'atar spice generously over the dough. Use your fingertip to poke dents all over the surface of the dough about an inch apart. Then drizzle olive oil generously over the dough. Let it pool in those dents and run off the side of the dough and underneath. If the za'atar spice blend you're using doesn't already have salt in it, you can sprinkle a little coarse salt on top of the dough.

Preheat the oven to 450°F, with an empty shallow metal pan on a lower shelf. After the bread has rested for 20 minutes, place the cookie sheet in the center of the oven, pour about a cup of hot water into that metal pan and close the oven door (to trap the steam). Bake for about 15 minutes, or a bit more if your dough round was thicker. It's done when it's firm to the touch and is a medium brown.

Cut it into wedges and serve it while it's still warm.

It's a delicious go-with for a meal, but we usually eat it with a dip (plain Greek yogurt with a bit of lime juice and za'atar spice; or genuine labneh; or even with olive oil and balsamic vinegar) and some cheese. 

Although man'ouche is Lebanese or Middle Eastern, it's very similar to other breads in the Mediterranean region, so that's why I decided to include this in my European Bread Basket. That, and I don't have a separate tag for Asian or Middle Eastern foods. Maybe that will be a "retirement" project - more international foods!

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