The Thousands

This is about Mankoushe – a Lebanese bakery owned by two young brothers and arguably the greatest thing to hit our streets since the crepe phenomenon of 2008. Mankoushe means pie. It kind of looks like pizza, but it isn’t. This is not pizza. This is not crepe. This is Mankoushe. And it’s light, soft and perfectly balanced in the flavour department. Everything is fresh too. Oh. And organic spelt flour is available for the lesbian in you.

I spent time with the brothers in their kitchen and this is what they do: brother makes dough in giant mixing machine, brother puts dough into another machine, machine pushes out dough balls, brother takes balls and places on belt-type machine, dough rolls out thinner than Naomi Robson, brother places in wood-fired oven, brother tops pastry according to order, brother wraps, brother hands to you smiling.

The process is genius. Complex and timely? Not really. Besides, mama lives around the corner. Flour in hand, she is ready to deliver should they run low on pastry, haloumi, or ‘mama’s special sauce’.