Zaatar rolls
November 19, 2009 • Category: Savory Pastries
I had made some dough for flatbreads and the urge came to do something with zaatar. I just love the stuff. So much that I eat it every morning with olive oil and some form of bread. I figured instead of making a typical man’ooshe (flatbread), why not make tiny snails, to nibble on, that way I will prolong the pleasure. The method is easy: roll the dough as thin as possible into a rectangle shape. Spread the zaatar paste on it; roll it like a jelly roll and cut it in tiny snails. Place the snails side by side on a cookie sheet and, when you feel like it, bake them for about 20 minutes.
The zaatar smell that wafts out of the kitchen while they are baking is unbelievable! I think I got more pleasure out of smelling them than out of eating them! These snails are chewy, with a bit of crispiness on the edges (after all they are made out of bread dough). They are perfect for a get-together because they will pair up with any drink and they will be different.
INGREDIENTS:
FOR THE DOUGH, double batch, can freeze half or use for a pizza or pita breads.
- 3 1/3 cups mixture of white and whole-wheat unbleached flour (preferably organic)
- 1 1/2 teaspoon of dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons of sugar
- 1 teaspoon of salt
- 4 tablespoons of olive oil
- 1 cup of lukewarm water
FOR THE SNAILS: Yield is about 40
- 1/2 cup of zaatar mix (make sure it is to your liking-see post on zaatar)
- 1/3 cup of olive oil (or more)
METHOD:
- Use a measuring cup and pour 1/2 cup of lukewarm water in, then add the yeast and sugar and stir to mix the two. Set aside in a warm place, covered, for about 10 minutes, until the yeast starts bubbling up.
- Meanwhile, place the two flours in a mixing bowl and add the salt. Mix to combine all. Form a well in the center and drop the yeast mixture, 3 tablespoons of olive oil and the rest of the water (about 1/2 cup) and start mixing until the dough lumps together and forms a ball, adding more water if necessary.
- Form the ball with your hands with a few strokes and place back in the bowl, covered, for about 20 minutes.
- Remove from the bowl, knead for 3 minutes and place back in the bowl with 2 tablespoons of oil, covering the entire surface of the dough. Cover and let the dough rise for two hours. This should give you enough dough for two batches of snails (90 snails) or one batch and one ball of dough to make pizza with or pita bread or flatbread. You can sprinkle some flour on the extra ball and freeze it in a freezer bag.
- After the dough has risen, roll it out on a greased work surface as thin as possible, into a rectangular shape. Grab the zaatar and olive oil paste and spread it on the entire surface of the dough with a spoon or a spatula.
- With your fingers, roll the dough from the wide side, like a jelly roll, until you end up with a thin sausage.
- Cut the sausage every 1/4 inch or so, and place the snails in a greased cookie sheet; (the cookie sheet can be lined with foil and greased)
- Bake for 20 minutes, reversing the sheet from front to back and top to bottom, to make sure it bakes evenly. You may also want to flip the snails halfway through. When the snails look golden and crisp, they are done! Remove and serve warm or at room temperature. Store leftovers in the freezer.These snails taste best fresh out of the oven.
NOTE:
You can cover the snails with a plastic bag or wrap and store them in the fridge and bake them the next day. These will dry up eventually if stored at room temperature, so it is best to store them in the freezer and reheat them gently in a slow oven. To get them chewy again after a few hours at room temperature, a few seconds (less than 10) in the microwave will do the trick.
Comments
22 Comments • Comments Feed
Bethany says:
Genius Idea! I love zaatar too altough i really don’t have it as often as i’d like to. I need to start making more labneh!
On November 19, 2009 at 10:24 am
Joumana says:
Beth, I am a real purist with zaatar. I like it with nothing else, besides oil and bread!
On November 19, 2009 at 11:01 am
Julianaj says:
Never had this…looks delicious, great for entertaining 🙂
On November 19, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Dinners & Dreams says:
This looks exotic. Where can I buy zaatar mix from?
Nisrine
On November 19, 2009 at 9:11 pm
Joumana says:
Hi Nisrine,
You can buy zaatar mix at any middle-eastern grocery store or online. I have posted a site on my blogroll called buylebanese.com and they carry all the spices and can ship.
On November 19, 2009 at 10:42 pm
sharon says:
Hello there,
Thanks for visiting The Keybunch and leaving a comment on my post because it led me back to your site! I feel so thrilled having a lebanese cuisine site to refer to because I am a big fan of Arabic and Lebanese food!! You can be sure I will be back here often!:)
I lived briefly in Kuwait, and I used to love the zaatar rolls and fatayers there, and reading this zaatar recipe brought back memories of the great taste of zaatar on rolls with olive oil:) with a cup of hot tea to sip on!
Many thanks once again!
Sharon
On November 20, 2009 at 3:56 am
Simply Life says:
wow these are just beautiful and I’m sure they’re delicious too!
On November 20, 2009 at 10:52 am
Maninas says:
They’re beautiful.
On November 20, 2009 at 2:42 pm
tobias cooks! says:
Looks great, I will check out the Zaatar mix. I am not sure if I can find that here. Will see.
On November 20, 2009 at 2:57 pm
Ivy says:
I was pleasantly surprised to see that you had a dessert and not escargots:) Your snails sound delicious but as Tobias said, not sure if we can find Zaatar here in Greece.
On November 20, 2009 at 4:19 pm
Dinners & Dreams says:
Thanks, Joumana for the info about zaatar. I like the new look of your blog better. I’m not sure how new it is–it was different the first time I visited. All of your food is so mouth-watering!
Nisrine
On November 21, 2009 at 4:52 pm
Julie says:
Yummy, this looks delicious!
On November 23, 2009 at 12:25 pm
oum mouncifrayan says:
everything is perfect!!!
On December 2, 2009 at 6:45 am
Jackie says:
This looks yummy! But I didn’t see the oven temperature anywhere? 350 degrees?
My husband makes wonderful man’ooshe. He allows a bag of Rhodes frozen dinner roll dough to thaw & rise a bit, then rolls it out into flatbreads. He mixes zaatar, chopped onion & olive oil for the topping. The onion really makes them special!
On June 20, 2010 at 8:09 am
Rania says:
Yammmmmm, it’s delicious, I will do it today, I love Zaatar
Just today i found the site, hehehehe all your posts are 2009.
Thanks a lot
On March 3, 2011 at 6:43 am
Debbie Ghobril says:
Healthy, light and delicious snack
On April 20, 2011 at 9:28 am
domi says:
De délicieux ” escargots ” à déguster en toute lenteur et avec le plus grand plaisir…ils sont très beaux !!!
On May 8, 2011 at 12:22 pm
Needful Things says:
Hi Joumana – what temperature are these baked at?
On April 23, 2013 at 5:25 am
Joumana says:
@Needful things: Sorry, did not notice the omission; I baked them at 350F (180C)
On April 23, 2013 at 5:48 am
Needful Things says:
Thanks! Will be making these today 🙂
On April 24, 2013 at 4:37 am
Needful Things says:
Had to come back & add: these were great! Huge hit 🙂
On April 24, 2013 at 10:31 am
Joumana says:
@Needful things: happy!!!! thanks!! 🙂
On April 24, 2013 at 12:28 pm