Bringing amazing Lebanese flavors to the Scarborough region, Toronto’s own Al Deewan Bakery is an authentic open flame bakery specializing in Manakeesh, Lebanese mini pies, Lebanese-style flatbreads, baked goods, and all kinds of unique offerings.
Al Deewan Bakery was founded by successful Toronto businessman Mohammad El-Karaouni, who oversaw everything from the brand, initial planning stages to designing the interior and the flavors on the menu.
Mr. El-Karaouni is recognized across southern Ontario as the founder and current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of well-known tent company OTC – Outlet Tags Canopies ltd. He is also a proud member (officer) of seventeen years with the Toronto Police Service!
Prior to opening Al’deewan Bakery, to get authentic Manakeesh, you’d have to go all the way to Ottawa to get it. As someone who loves Manakeesh and similar Lebanese-style dishes, I was tired of having to wait to visit Ottawa to pick up authentically prepared Manakeesh. So with this in mind, I put myself to work to build the ultimate Lebanese bakery in the GTA.
It’s no secret there’s no shortage of Toronto pizza joints. That said, trying to find an authentic Lebanese bakery is another story. Prior to Al’deewan Bakery, there was a huge gap in the marketplace here. Take Manakeesh, meat pies, cheese pies, or spinach pies, for example. The authentic way to make these the right way, according to Lebanese-style, is by using an open flame. No Scarborough bakery outside of Al’deewan Bakery does this. Instead, they use pizza ovens, which does not unlock the full flavour nor does it produce an authentic Lebanese dish.
We take great pride in the quality of our Manakeesh
As a true open flame bakery, we offer authentic Lebanese bakery products that can’t be found anywhere else.
When it comes to Middle Eastern bakery products, these are something that’s a part of the national food culture in the region. Cooked authentically in the kitchens of families and in restaurants throughout Lebanon and abroad, we’re looking to bring a little bit of this over to Toronto to share with our friends and family here the amazing tastes and flavours found in these dishes.
The simple Lebanese tastes of Manakeesh, our exclusive Al’deewan Bakery pies, and the other baked goods make them easy to work into any brunch, lunch, dinner, or late night snack. Since we’ve opened, we’ve already served hundreds who’ve come in for every meal of the day.
At Al’deewan Bakery, we’ve gone the extra mile in ensuring all of our dishes are prepared according to authentic and traditional standard. In the Middle East, Manakeesh would traditionally be prepared in community ovens in the morning. After the dough baked, women would traditionally take this bread back to the family home, supplying everyone with bread topped with a range of ingredients depending on whether it was for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
