Making Za'atar Seasoned Bread

When I was younger in the desert, we had maneish from the Armenian bakery. I wanted to share in the experience with my people, so I made it myself.

Here are the bread ingredients:

• 1 cup warm water
• 1 sugar cube
• 2.25 tsp dry active yeast
• 3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tbsp olive oil (extra virgin)

I also used olive oil with Za'atar seasoning blend to make the topping, by visual intuition.

First, mix bread into a dough ball and let rise for 2 hours.

After rising, preheat oven to 400 F and place dough in an oiled glass baking dish, then spread to fill the whole bottom.

Add the topping to the dough, using Za'atar seasoning mix and olive oil.

Note that the oil will eventually be absorbed into the dough!

Bake for 18 minutes, or until golden browned. This is slower than most recipes, due to the glass dish.

Ideally, serve with tomato wedges and onion bits atop it, and potentially with feta or ricotta cheese if not vegan.