The base is made from a simple dough - flour, water, yeast, salt and a splash of oil. The baker rolls it into a flat round disc, spreads on the topping, and slides it onto a very hot stone or metal oven floor. In about three minutes the bread is bubbling and golden underneath.
Za'atar is the most famous topping - a herb mix of dried thyme, sesame seeds, salt and a tangy reddish berry called sumac. The cook mixes it with olive oil to make a thick green paste before spreading it on the dough. The smell of baking za'atar manakish on a Beirut street at 7am is something Lebanese people who live abroad talk about with longing.
Other manakish toppings include cheese (usually a salty white cheese called akkawi), meat with spices, or both cheese and za'atar together. Sweet versions exist too - some children love manakish with a smear of sweet date syrup, or with a thick chocolate spread.
Most Lebanese children eat their manakish folded in half on the walk to school, the way an English child might eat a sausage roll or an American child a breakfast bagel. Bakery queues at 7am are full of school kids waiting their turn.