The Saj: Traditional Bread Oven in the Middle East

If you’ve ever been to a bread bakery anywhere in the Middle East, chances are that you’ve seen a man’oushe being made. You’ve seen the effortless way they stretch and whip the dough before slapping it onto a hot saj or tossing it into a scorching brick oven to get that perfect char. The simplicity of the man’oushe can be misleading— there are centuries of history and tradition baked into it, but when you first bite into that crispy, chewy crust, the only thing you think is just how good it is.

In our completely unbiased opinion, the man’oushe is one of the most iconic and delicious foods in the world. And that’s why we set off on a quest to do one thing: to get the rest of the world to love the man’oushe as much as we do.

And so, that was where we found ourselves in the spring of 2016, covered in flour and sticky dough, as we attempted to recreate the most classic of Middle Eastern classics: the za’atar man’oushe.

It’s

Manoushe

We opened up shop at local farmers’ markets, fielding questions like, What’s za’atar? What’s man’oushe? How do you pronounce that? When people walked by, they said, “Ooh, pizza?!” We weren’t sure how it would be received.

But over the next three years, something truly special happened. People gave us a chance. We have customers who had no idea what za’atar or a man’oushe was, who now bring their friends to our stand and make it a regular part of their week. People came to love the savory spread of za’atar and olive oil on top of fresh baked bread. Now we can say with confidence, "It’s not pizza. It’s a man’oushe."

As our man’oushe became increasingly popular, we started thinking about how could we make the best version of the man’oushe available to people at all times?

Our

biggest

launch…

That’s what brings us here today. Our biggest launch to date: our hand-rolled, freshly baked za’atar man’oushe that you can pull out of your freezer any time. You won’t have us waving dough around in your face like at the markets, but you’ll have our fresh-off-the-saj za’atar man’oushe ready to eat at home whenever you want.

Those of you who’ve been following us for a while know our commitment to real, authentic products that honor our roots. We started small and local but now our za’atar is available across the country. Our mission is to do the same with the man’oushe.

Our New Man’oushe in all it’s Glory.Available now at Glens & Each Peach Markets in Washington DC — Our New Man’oushe in all it’s Glory.
Available now at Glens & Each Peach Markets in Washington DC

We want the man’oushe to stay a distinctly Middle Eastern icon, exactly how you would find it in the traditional bakeries of the Middle East. When you pull that hot, bubbling za’atar man’oushe out of your oven, we want it to be an extension of this unique experience.

To this day we still use the same old Hobart dough mixer our Grandfather bought for our Grandmother back in the 80s. In a way this craft has been literally and figuratively been passed down into our hands. We want to make teta (our grandma) proud and we want to make all of you proud by being able to have the za’atar man’oushe whenever you crave it.

Find Our Man’oushe

Shipped free to your door or, exclusively in the DC, Maryland, Virginia area @ one of these local groceries: