Baking time varies depending on your oven and the moisture content of the cheese. Start with 10 minutes and check on them often. They are done when the crust is golden. The pictures show exactly the end result we’re looking for.
The Akkawi cheese needs to be the kind that crumbles easily. It should not be so firm that it requires slicing with a knife. It should not be very salty either. The extremely salty kind needs desalting by rinsing in water repeatedly, so it is best avoided.
You can reheat leftovers in the microwave for 30 seconds, but this tends to diminish the crunchiness.
Reheating in the oven is best if you have the time. You can do that at 170°F for 10 minutes.
850 g of Akkawi yields 18 small manakish on 3 half-sheet (18″x13″) baking trays.
283 g of Akkawi yields 6 small manakish on 1 half-sheet (18″x13″) baking tray.
We usually make 6 cheese, 6 za’atar and 6 pizza manakish, or something else like Lahm Bi Ajeen.

The story, tips & photos

Well, for starters, this crunchy and crusty dough is unlike any pizza dough we’ve ever tried. The credit goes to the combination of all-purpose flour and semolina flour, plus the addition of an egg to the mixture.

Akkawi cheese is by far the best cheese you can use on these oven-baked small manakish.

Hand holding a small cheese manakish topped with melted Akkawi cheese

What is Akkawi cheese?

Akkawi is a smooth-textured, mildly salty white brine cheese. It is commonly produced in the Middle East, notably in Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria, Egypt and Cyprus.

Easy manakish dough

Making this dough is so easy, and the result is consistent every single time. You just have to follow the instructions, especially the sequence, to ensure success every time you make it. The dough is so easy to work by hand. I've never used a dough mixer for this recipe.

3 parts flour to 1 part semolina will do the trick. You’re probably wondering if you can skip the semolina. Of course, you can make it with 4 cups of flour. But you didn’t arrive at this recipe looking for shortcuts, did you? Enough said!

Whisk all the dry ingredients by hand, making sure they are fully incorporated.

Add the oil to the warm milk and pour it in.

Whisk an egg and pour it in.

Mix with a spatula until all the ingredients are well incorporated, then knead by hand.

Cover the container tightly and let the dough rise for about 2 hours, or until it doubles in volume.

Shaping and baking small cheese manakish

It’s math time! This is actually important to make sure the recipe yields 18 equally sized small manakish.

Weigh the dough and divide the number by 18. Then weigh each small piece before forming it into a small ball. Do that for 6 balls at first. Place them on a tray, cover and let rest for 10 minutes as you form the remaining ones.

Press down on the balls by hand, starting at the center, and gently flatten them by moving outwards. No rolling pin needed.

Now let’s get cheesy.

It’s important to squeeze the water out of the cheese. You don’t want it to be too moist. Then crumble it by hand.

Place about 3 tbsp of the crumbled cheese on each flattened dough. Press down by hand to further flatten the cheese and stretch the dough a bit more. Spray an extremely light amount of olive oil on top, but this is totally optional.

Bake in a preheated 450°F oven for 10 minutes, but check on them often.

The baking time varies depending on your oven and the moisture content of the cheese.

Start with 10 minutes and check on them often. They are done when the edge and crust are golden. The pictures show exactly the end result we’re looking for.

For presentation, you can place them on a large cheese or charcuterie board along with sides of cucumbers, tomatoes and olives. Forest Decor makes great charcuterie boards.

Small Cheese Manakish