Baked · Flatbread

Manoushe (Za'atar)

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The dough is baked directly on a domed griddle in under two minutes — most bakeries hand you one before you've even finished paying.

Rounds of dough are spread with a paste of za'atar (thyme, sumac, sesame, olive oil) and baked on a hot dome or in a stone oven until blistered, then folded in half. Corner bakeries called 'furn' sell them fresh all morning, often topped instead with cheese, minced meat, or labneh.

Why it's made this way: Za'atar flatbread grew out of Levantine mountain villages, where thyme and sumac grew wild and bread ovens were communal, making a thyme-topped bread a cheap, fast breakfast that could feed a household straight from the neighborhood oven.