Herb-finished sheet-pan focaccia
Chermoula & Preserved Lemon Focaccia (Moroccan-Inspired)
A vivid Moroccan chermoula — cilantro, parsley, garlic, cumin and paprika — spooned over the crust after baking, with bright salty preserved lemon in the crumb.
- Total
- 4.3 hr
- Hands-on
- 30 min
- Hydration
- 80%
- Skill
- intermediate
By FocacciaRecipe editorial · Updated 2026-07-05 · In editorial development; independent bake-test pending
The short version
Bake a focaccia studded with chopped preserved lemon (with reduced dough salt), then spoon fresh chermoula — a blended cilantro, parsley, garlic, cumin and paprika sauce — over the crust after it comes out of the oven.
Why this works
Chermoula is a fresh herb sauce; baking it would dull the herbs and turn the garlic bitter, so it goes on after the bake. Preserved lemon is intensely salty, so the dough salt is cut to 1.6% to keep the whole thing balanced. The airy crumb catches the herb oil like a sponge.
The schedule
~40m hands-on of 4.2h total · same day
- Mix & fold · 40m
- Bulk ferment · 2h
- Proof · 1h
- Bake · 22m
- Cool · 10m
Terracotta is active work; olive is unattended rising; red is the bake.
Ingredients
Method
- 1
Mix the dough
Whisk flour and yeast. Add water and 40 g oil, then the reduced salt. Mix to a shaggy, very sticky dough.
Look for: Wet and sticky, pulling off the bowl in strands.
- 2
Bulk ferment with folds
Do 3 sets of stretch-and-folds over 90 minutes, then rise until doubled and bubbly.
Look for: Domed, bubble-dotted surface that jiggles when nudged.
- 3
Pan and proof
Oil the sheet pan. Stretch the dough to the edges, resting if it resists. Proof until puffy, about 1 hour.
Look for: The dough relaxes to fill the pan and springs back slowly.
- 4
Dimple and add preserved lemon
Dimple the dough with oiled fingers. Drizzle 20 g oil, then scatter the finely chopped preserved lemon rind over the surface.
Look for: Little flecks of yellow rind sit in the dimples; no large salty chunks.
Avoid: Use only the rinsed rind — the pulp and brine are extremely salty.
- 5
Bake
Bake at 230°C/450°F for 20–24 minutes until deep gold and crisp on the base.
Look for: Golden top, firm browned underside that lifts cleanly from the pan.
- 6
Make the chermoula (while it bakes)
Blend or finely chop cilantro, parsley, garlic, cumin, paprika, lemon juice and 60 g olive oil into a loose, spoonable sauce. Season lightly — the lemon in the bread is already salty.
Look for: A vivid green, pourable sauce that smells sharply of fresh herbs and cumin.
- 7
After baking
Cool the focaccia a few minutes, then spoon the fresh chermoula generously over the warm crust just before serving.
Look for: The sauce stays bright green and glossy — it is never baked, so the herbs read fresh and grassy.
Avoid: Do not bake the chermoula on — heat dulls the herbs and turns the raw garlic bitter.
What good looks like
- Crumb: Airy and open, flecked with preserved lemon.
- Crust: Crisp oil-fried base under a glossy green herb topping.
- Height: About 3 cm tall.
- Color: Golden edges; the chermoula stays raw and vivid.
If something went wrong
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Muddy, dull herb flavor | Chermoula baked with the bread | Always add chermoula after baking, off the heat. |
| Too salty | Preserved lemon pulp/brine used, or dough salt not reduced | Use only rinsed rind and keep dough salt at 1.6%. |
| Bitter garlic bite | Raw garlic overpowering the sauce | Use 1–2 cloves and let the sauce sit 10 minutes to mellow. |
Storing & reheating
Storage: Best fresh. Store bread and chermoula separately; refrigerate the sauce up to 3 days.
Freezing: Freeze the plain baked focaccia up to 1 month; add fresh chermoula after reheating.
Reheating: Re-crisp the bread in a 200°C/400°F oven 5–7 minutes, then spoon on chermoula.
Contains wheat/gluten. Naturally dairy-free and vegan as written.
Tools & ingredients for this focaccia
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Core pantry
- Bread flour (opens Amazon) ↗ — High-protein bread flour or Italian “00” both work.
- Fine sea salt (opens Amazon) ↗ — Fine sea salt for the dough.
- Instant yeast (opens Amazon) ↗ — Instant (or active dry) yeast keeps for months.
- Extra-virgin olive oil (opens Amazon) ↗ — Use a good EVOO you like the taste of.
Specialty ingredients
- Preserved lemon (opens Amazon) ↗ — Jarred; very salty — rinse and use the rind.
Fresh — buy local
- Fresh herbs (opens Amazon) ↗ — Fresh is best; a windowsill pot works well.
- Garlic (opens Amazon) ↗ — Fresh heads; infuse in oil rather than scattering raw.
- Ground cumin (opens Amazon) ↗ — A common item; buy fresh or from your pantry.
You don’t need to buy everything here — many items are already in most kitchens. Fresh produce, cheese and herbs are best bought local and in season.
Frequently asked
- Is this a Moroccan bread?
- No — it is an Italian focaccia finished with chermoula and preserved lemon, two Moroccan flavor staples. It borrows the seasoning tradition, not a specific Moroccan bread.
- Can I make preserved lemon quickly?
- Traditional preserved lemon takes weeks; for a shortcut you can use a quick-preserved version, but the flavor is milder, so taste before reducing the dough salt further.
Keep baking
In these collections
Source: https://www.focacciarecipe.com/recipes/chermoula-preserved-lemon-focaccia · © 2026 FocacciaRecipe.com
In editorial development — this recipe has not yet completed physical bake-testing.