This middle eastern flatbread has a dough made with olive oil. The result is a light and airy dough that gets almost a fried texture as it bakes, getting crispy on the outside and light and airy on the inside. This version is appetizer sized with two variations so you can try both without filling up.
Mini Mana'eesh Two Ways
Prep Time: 2 hours 30 minutes Cook Time: 45 minutes Yield: 32-38 pieces
INGREDIENTS
For the Dough
3 cups all purpose flour
3 tsp instant yeast
2 tsp sugar
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup + 2 tbs olive oil
1 tsp salt
For the Toppings
2 long red peppers, halved and deseeded
2 tbs walnuts, finely minced
1 tbs pomegranate balsamic vinegar or pomegranate molasses
2 tbs Kalamata olives, finely minced
1/2 tsp Turkish hot pepper flakes
1 clove garlic, grated
Salt and pepper
200 g chicken Chorizo sausage (uncooked)
175 g pizza mozzarella cheese, grated
125 g feta cheese, crumbled
1 tsp Nigella/black seeds
5 tbs olive oil, divided
2 tbs za'atar
DIRECTIONS
To the bowl of a kitchen mixer, add the yeast, sugar, and water; let bloom 5-10 mins till foamy.
Add 1/4 cup olive oil to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Put the dough hook attachment on the mixer, and on low speed (speed 2), add the salt and 2 & 1/2 cups of flour in increments. It should take around 3 minutes.
Once the dough has started to take shape at the 3 min mark, add another 1 tbs olive oil and continue to mix. The dough will become sticky. After about a minute, add the remaining 1/2 cup flour. Continue to mix with the dough hook attachment until the dough has been kneaded for a total of 10 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, oil lightly with the remaining 1 tbs olive oil, and place the dough back in. Cover and let rise for 1 & 1/2 hours.
While the dough rises, prepare the toppings. Preheat the oven to 425 F. Rub the skins of the peppers with a few drops of olive oil to coat. Roast for 20-25 mins, until blistered. Let cool.
Mince up the roasted peppers to a chunky paste, and add to a mixing bowl with the minced walnuts, pomegranate vinegar/molasses, olives, Turkish pepper flakes, grated garlic, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Mix well to combine and set aside until ready to use.
Cut the casing off of the chorizo sausage and add the meat to a mixing bowl. Use a spoon or fork to lightly mix the sausage so that it resembles ground meat. Set in fridge until ready to use.
In another small mixing bowl, add the remaining 4 tbs olive oil and 2 tbs of za'atar. Mix well to form a paste. Set aside until ready to use.
To a final bowl, add the mozzarella cheese, feta cheese and nigella seed. Mix well to combine. Set aside until ready to use.
Once the dough has risen, start the manakesh. Lower the oven to 375 F, and prepare your baking trays. If using a pizza stone, you can use it as is. If using baking trays, line them with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 32-38 balls. I did this by dividing the dough into quarters, then cutting each quarter into 5 pieces. Finally, cut each piece in half again to get your final balls. Some pieces won't need to be cut because they will already be small enough, leaving you with roughly 32-38 balls.
Roll the balls into thin discs, about 1/4 inch in thickness. Transfer them to the prepared baking trays or pizza stone, leaving a little bit of space between each one. Use a pastry brush to brush one with the za'atar paste. Divide the red pepper mixture evenly onto half of the mana'eesh. Use a spoon to spread the mixture on, ensuring it goes edge to edge. Now divide the chorizo sausage evenly between the remaining mana'eesh, and use your fingers to spread into a thin layer ensuring to spread it to the edges.
Divide the cheese mixture evenly on top of each manakesh. Bake for 15 minutes on the middle rack, then broil for another 2-3 minutes to brown the cheese (watch carefully to make sure it doesn't burn). Depending on your oven size, you may have to bake in batches. Repeat until all mana'eesh have been baked, and serve warm.
NOTES
You can make the dough one day in advance. Complete the recipe up to step 3, then once the dough has risen, transfer to a large container with a lid. Keep in the fridge for up to 24 hours. Make sure there is some room in the container as it will continue to rise in the fridge.