Middle Eastern Flatbread; Man’ouche with za’atar and Baba Ganoush

We found some nice eggplants at the market and I had a good recipe for Baba ganouch somewhere in my brain. I found a nice recipe for flat bread from the Middle East; man’ouche with za’atar.

Manakiche (plural for man’ouche) are aten rolled or folded over to taste with: labne (thick yoghurt),mint leaves, black olives, spring onion, cucumber and tomato. We ate the manakiche with Baba Ganouch (recipe below).

You can bake the man'ouche in the oven, but I had fun baking them on the bottom of my  wok. They're done in a few minutes and don't you love the big bubbles too?

I heard the people in the Middle East have man'ouche for breakfast and when they buy them early in the morning, they're still wearing their pajama's. When we go to the market in our village (in Thailand) early in the morning of lot of Thai people are wearing their pajama's as well. It looks cosy.

I baked the man'ouche fully dressed.

Dough for Man’ouche:
1 tsp dry yeast

255 gr all purpose flour (or 180 gr all purpose flour and 75 gr self rising flour)
4.5 gr salt
3 gr sucar
125 gr lukewarm water
0.5 tbsp olive oil

For topping:
1 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp za'atar (mix of oregano, thyme, basil, savory, roasted sesame seeds and salt)

This is what I did:
Mix the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and water. Add the oil slowly. Knead the dough for 10 minutes on the floured work counter until it’s supple. Transfer the dough to a slightly oiled container, cover with a moist towel and leave for 1.5 – 2 hours.
Knead the dough on a floured work counter and pre shape into apple sized balls. Cover and leave to proof for 30 minutes. Mix the za’atar with olive oil. Flatten the dough into a thin pizza and smear the za’atar-oil on top.

Baking in the oven: pre heat the oven to its highest temperature. Move the baking stone to the bottom of the oven. 

Place the man’ouche on parchment paper on the baking stone. Bake for 3 – 5 minutes until done.

Baking on a inverted wok: Make sure that the wok no Teflon coating.
You can also bake man’ouche on an inverted wok. Put the inverted wok on a wok burner or the largest pit of the stove. Bake the man’ouche on the wok for about 3 minutes. It’s done when the bottom has a nice brown color and the top has big bubbles.
Eat the man’ouche when it’s still warm.

Baba Ganoush
when you look on Internet for Baba Ganoush you’ll find many recipes and here is mine. A long time ago I learned this from a Lebanese girl who I met in the Netherlands.
I love the part where you place the eggplant in the fire and burn them. When it’s nearly done I put them (with the roasted garlic) in a plastic bag and close the bag.

This is what I used:
2 eggplants,
3 cloves garlic, unpeeled

80 g tahini (sesame paste)
1 tsp coarse salt
2 tbls lemon juice
a pinch of chile powder or to your taste
1 tbls olive oil
cilantro leaves


This is what I did:
I made a fire in my Thai BBQ. When the charcoals are white and ready I placed the eggplants on top of the charcoals until they are blackened. They’re done when they’re almost soft.
 I pricked the garlic cloves with peel on a wooden skewer and placed them on the charcoals too. When they’re done I put the eggplants and garlic gloves in a plastic bag and close it firmly. In the bag the eggplants and garlic cloves continue cooking. The eggplants are completely done when poked with a fork you feel no resistance. Take it all out of the bag and let cool.

Cut the eggplants open and scrape out the pulp. You only use the pulp. Clean the garlic cloves. Place all ingredients with the pulp and garlic cloves in a food processor and puree until smooth. Add additional salt and lemon juice to your taste and mix in the cilantro leaves.

Enjoy your meal!

I found the recipe for the man’ouche at 24 Kitchen, a Dutch website
I send this to Susan’s YeastSpotting and to Bake Your Own Bread

What did you bake this month? Don’t forget to show it.