Devon Akmon

For the past month or so Dharma and I have been baking our way through the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook. All in all, our impression of the book is favorable. Admittedly, I was somewhat surprised to discover a recipe for za’atar bread. I suppose this speaks to the popularity of the Mediterranean diet. Although my family still cooks many traditional Lebanese dishes, they tend to steer clear of baking. Thus, I’ve never been taught the art of baking those delectable Arab breads that I’ve come to love.

I was mentioning this to my work colleague, Anan, while we made a quick stop to a local Arab market recently. I was on the prowl to locate a good za’atar mix so that I could begin experimenting with bread recipes at home. My colleague kindly told me to hold off on purchasing the za’atar; she assured me that she had a huge quantity that she had brought home from Jordan and that she would be happy to share some with me. I was surprised to find a nice big sack of the mixed herbs on my desk the following day. So, now that we’ve finished off our batch of pumpernickel, we’re ready to start exploring various za’atar recipes. Here are the four versions that we’ll try:

• Za’atar Flatbread from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day
• Sesame Herb Bread (Manakeesh Bi Zahtar) from Feast from the Mideast: 250 Sun-Drenched Dishes from the Lands of the Bible
• Thyme Bread (Manaqish Bil-Za’tar) from Mediterranean Street Food
• Mana’eesh Zahter (Thyme-Sumac Pies) from Sahtein

We’ll share with you our favorite recipe in the comments section when we finish this little experiment. I suspect we’ll try one recipe per week. If you’ve tried making homemade za’atar bread, or you have a favorite za’atar bread from a local bakery, please do share! And, if you live in the Ann Arbor area, please do not pay $4.00 for a single loaf at one of our overpriced local grocery stores. You could buy a dozen for that price from an Arab baker, so save your money and try the real stuff.

The first loaf, from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. So good!

- Devon Akmon