After the Man'oushé bi-za'tar, the jibneh is the most popular pie ordered in the street corner Lebanese bakery. It is usually made with white cheese called ‘akkawi. The cheese is cut into even squares and preserved in salted water.

480 g (2lb – 4 cups) of ‘akkawi cheese
Yields 4 pies.

Start with the dough. Divide into 4 equal pieces.

1- ‘Akkawi cheese is very salty when purchased. To reduce the salt content, grate it and leave it to soak overnight in water. Change the water two or tree times if possible. If time does not permit soak the grated cheese for a couple of hours, then run tap water over the cheese in a colander Drain Well.

2- Spread the cheese evenly on prepared dough.

3- It is advisable if you are using a hot griddle or a convex disk to put the cheese in the middle, to wait till the cheese melts for about 30 seconds, then to spread the cheese evenly. This method will prevent cheese from running on the cooking surface. The time of cooking depends on source of heat; 3 to 5 minutes should be enough.

4- If the cooking method to be used is the conventional cooking oven, preheat the oven to 200 oC (400 of – Gas mark 6). Bake for 7 to 10 minutes. Make sure that the cheese does not burn.

5- Serve the pies hot.

You can add a teaspoon of dried mint and a tablespoon of oil to the cheese or simply add a sprinkle of dried red pepper.