Meyer Lemon Focaccia Bread is a quick and easy no knead yeast bread that’s ready in about an hour. This classic Italian crusty bread makes the most fabulous appetizer ever!
Meyer lemon focaccia is an easy summer bread
At the end of the day, if you’ve got your favorite drink in one hand, and a basket of hot salty Meyer lemon and rosemary focaccia bread by your side, you can count yourself among the very fortunate.
And since a good focaccia bread requires nothing more than flour, water, yeast, and about an hour of your time, it’s a luxury within everyone’s reach. I love it. The combination of the dimpled bread, infused with olive oil and topped with salt and herbs is simple, but perfect. I always make sure to empty (repeatedly) the little basket that they bring to the table at our favorite Italian restaurant, just to keep it flowing 🙂
my basic focaccia recipe is foolproof!
I’ve been making this particular recipe for years. It’s so easy it’s ridiculous. The process is not really bread-like at all since you stir up the yeast, water and flour with a wooden spoon, more like a batter. It rises just once, for 40 minutes, and then it’s ready for the oven. No kneading, no fussing.
more focaccia bread recipes on the site
- Cherry Tomato Focaccia
- Sage Focaccia Bread
- Rosemary and Olive No Knead Focaccia Bread
- Soft Pretzel Focaccia Bread
- Apple, Cheddar, and Fig Focaccia
Meyer lemons make a sunny Mediterranean focaccia topping
Today I layered on paper thin slices of Meyer lemon with fresh rosemary, but you can use so many other things, like whole or sliced olives, artichokes, thinly sliced onion, whatever strikes your fancy. The important thing is to make sure that all those little dimples you make with your fingertips in the unbaked dough get filled with lots of fruity olive oil.
how to slice your Meyer lemons paper thin
It’s also important to slice the lemons very thin or they will be unpleasant to bite into. Even sweet Meyer lemons benefit from a mandoline slicer, it does the job easily and beautifully, although even if your lemons don’t come out in perfect rounds, the bread will still have a lovely rustic look to it.
more Meyer lemons
Meyer lemons are a personal favorite of mine, if you love them too, you’ll want to check out these other lemony recipes.
- Meyer Lemon Pudding (super easy recipe!)
- Honey Meyer Lemon Curd
- Whole Meyer Lemon Bars
- Poached Halibut Salad with Meyer Lemon Vinaigrette
- Meyer Lemon Roast Chicken
“I loveeeee this recipe, and have made it to great reviews. There’s something about the flavours that are a revelation.”
Ozoz
Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Focaccia
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water, 105-110F
- 2 tsp yeast
- 2 tsp table salt
- 4 cups bread flour
- olive oil
- fresh rosemary leaves
- 2 Meyer lemons, sliced paper thin, seeds removed
- kosher or sea salt for sprinkling over the top
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 425F
- Put the yeast in a large mixing bowl and pour in the warm water.
- Add the salt and 2 cups of the flour, mix into a soft and sticky dough.
- Add the remaining 2 cups of flour and mix well. (The dough will still be a bit sticky)
- Cover and let rise for 40 minutes to an hour in a warm place.
- Press out the dough on a well oiled baking sheet. Using your fingers, ease it into a rectangle, approximately 9×13, give or take. Note: you can line your pan with parchment paper or a silpat mat if you like.
- Put the olive oil in a small bowl and dip your fingers into the oil, and then all over the bread, poking the bread surface and leaving little pools of oil. Do this all over the bread. Don’t skimp; this will result in great flavor after the bread is baked.
- Arrange the lemon slices across the top, then scatter the rosemary leaves. Sprinkle with coarse salt.
- Bake for 18-25 minutes until lightly golden.
- The rosemary will crisp up in the oven, so you may want to scatter some fresh leaves on top of the bread after baking to refresh the rosemary flavor and give it visual appeal.
Nutrition
Don’t forget to pin this easy Meyer Lemon and Rosemary Focaccia Bread!
This recipe is wonderful! I’ve never made focaccia in my life (I’m afraid of yeast breads in general), but I needed to use up some organic Meyer lemons I had and the recipe looked so simple. Biting into the lemon slices is so delightful and the presentation is gorgeous. I can’t wait to make this for a family gathering or dinner party of some sort. And I look forward to trying other recipes on your site–thank you!
What Olive oil do you use or can you recommend a good one?
I always use Extra Virgin, Pam, but I don’t have a favorite right now, I like to buy different brands for variety!
what would you suggest if Meyer lemons aren’t available. Have never been able to find them here in W. Central FL
Definitely use regular, organic lemons, Nancy, and be sure to slice them very thinly.
I just bought Meyer Lemons in a small bag of six at Walmart (Hattiesburg, MS). I had to ask the produce clerk if the store carried Meyer Lemons because I didn’5 notice them when I looked. I’m preparing Sue’s recipe for the first time to take to a dinner party tonight.
I loveeeee this recipe, and have made it to great reviews. There’s something about the flavours that are a revelation.
I love biting into the thin lemon slices!
LOVE this flavor pairing!
I pinned this the day it appeared and made it for lunch today when my father-in-law came over. It was easy, just like you said, and also beautiful and delicious. Two questions:
After adding 2 cups of flour the dough seemed wet, not just sticky, and after adding all four cups it seemed sticky like I was expecting back at the two-cup stage, so I added another half cup of flour. It came out great. I was using a sifted wheat flour from a local grist mill. Do you think this was just a difference in the flour, or should have gone ahead and let it rise in its sticky form without the extra flour?
The rosemary seemed to just dry up on the top when it baked. Tasted great but tended to fall off. Do you do anything to it other than sprinkle it on and let it dry (like oil it, or get it wet so it will stick to the dough)?
What temp do you bake at?
I love focaccia but have never made it before. Thank you for this recipe. It’s a delicious keeper!
Actually I guess that was three questions. 🙂
Sorry, Cynthia, I didn’t see your question until today. This bread dough is still a bit sticky after all the flour is added. More sticky than a traditional bread dough. If you added the extra flour and it turned out well, then that’s fine. Different flours can vary a lot in terms of how much liquid they will absorb. I bake at 425, and I updated, thanks.
As for the rosemary, it does dry up, and I usually scatter some fresh leaves over the bread after it cooks.
I’m glad you liked it!
I used bread flour, so that would made some difference. The dough is definitely sticky, and should be. As for the rosemary, I always add some fresh after baking, and I bake at 425F
oh my goodness, perfect. it’s like all i can say. i would eat way too much of this, obviously.
So gorgeous Sue! I like focaccia much more than pizza, and it´s so easy.