Mena’eesh
Arab Khoubiz Bread with Za’atar or Cheese
Our picky-eater of a son, never met a Dorrito, hot dog or very plain pizza, he wouldn’t eat, but everything else in his persnickety opinion was suspect as a candidate for food (fruit nor vegetable ever passed his lips not even when offered money to take a taste, or a ‘double-dog-dare’.)
Jordanian food, except for plain rice, didn’t pass the “poison” taste test, so you can imagine our wonder when he eagerly ate (let alone sampled) Mena’eesh. No one could have talked him into taking a bite but I guess it resembled pizza enough, without the red sauce that he never actually enjoyed that much, that he thought he had found his Nirvana of pizzas! But that was only the cheese version. The Za’atar variation had too many shades of green in it and those unsightly bumps, which we call pinenuts, were met with distaine .
Simply put, Mena’eesh is a flatbread which we call pita and Arabs call “khoubz” (bread) baked with oil and cheese on top (“Akawi” or a mixture of feta and mozarella). The more traditional version consists of oil and Za’atar (spice mix of dried thyme, sumac and toasted sesame seeds) and pine nuts on top. The rest of us Jordanian expats. loved both versions!
Mena’eesh - with Za’atar or Cheese
For Dough:
1 cup lukewarm water
1 teaspoon sugar
2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast (one package active dry yeast)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
For Za'atar Topping
1/3 - 1/2 cup Za'atar spice
½ cup extra virgin olive oil
1/3 cup toasted pine nuts
For Cheese Topping:
1 cup Akawi Cheese (mizithra, feta, queso blanco or queso fresco work well as substitutes)
1 cup Mozzarella Cheese
-In a small bowl, combine water, sugar and yeast. Set aside for 5-10 minutes until foam appears on the top. In a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of an electric mixer, combine flour, salt, and olive oil. Work the mixture with your hands or with the beater. Pour in the yeast and water mixture. Mix until soft dough forms.
-If using an electric mixer with a dough hook, knead for 5 - 8 minutes. If working by hand, turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes or until dough is elastic, smooth, and no longer sticky (as you knead, if dough is too sticky, sprinkle with more flour.)
-Form dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled mixing bowl. Cover with a cloth or plastic wrap and place in a warm spot or in an oven on the proof-setting. Leave to rise for 1 hour and 30 minutes or until doubled in size.
-Punch dough down. Knead briefly and form into 8 balls. Arrange on lightly floured surface, cover with cloth and let to rise another 30 minutes.
Prepare the Za'atar topping.
-While dough is rising, mix together the za'atar spice and olive oil in a bowl.
-Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Place a large baking sheet in oven to heat as the oven preheats.
-Remove baking sheet from oven and brush it generously with oil. On a lightly floured or oiled surface, flatten and roll the dough into small discs about 5 inches in diameter. With your finger tips, make indentations in discs and spread about 2 tablespoons za'atar topping on the top of each disc with the back of a spoon, leaving a narrow boarder around the edges and sprinkle with a bit more olive oil over the top. Arrange discs on prepared oiled baking sheet (use two sheets if needed, do not crowd the discs). Sprinkle pine nuts evenly between discs.
-Bake in a 400 degree F heated-oven for 7 to 8 minutes or until the dough is slightly browned on the bottom and edges (za'atar topping will remain runny at this point). Remove from heat and let sit about 5 minutes as the topping dries and settles into the dough.
-Serve Za’atar Mena’eesh warm or at room temperature with assorted vegetables, olives, feta cheese, or labneh (plain Greek-style yogurt).
For the Cheese (jubnah) Topping:
1 1/2 cup Akawi Cheese (mizithra, feta, queso blanco or queso fresco work well as substitues)
1 1/2 cup Mozzarella Cheese, grated
1/4 cup olive oil
-Grate and combine both cheeses. Follow recipe to prepare dough as described above. Place on oiled and heated baking sheet. Brush each disc generously with oil. Sprinkle each disc with about 1/3 cup grated cheese.
-Bake at 400 degrees for 7 - 8 minutes until cheese is melted and bubbly. Remove from heat and let sit a few minutes. Serve warm.
Roll dough into discs 5 - 6 inches in diameter.
Let rolled dough rest for about 30 minutes before baking.
Serve Mena’eesh warm or at room temperature.
Generously spirnkle the Za’atar over the top of the bread, with lots of olive oil and pinenuts.
PERSNICKETY NOTES:
**Try combining za’atar and cheese if you like both flavors together. Top each dough round with the za’atar oil mixture first, then top with cheese and pine nuts.
