Savoury pastry & pies
Medfouna (Berber Bread Pie)
مدفونة · medfouna
Medfouna — 'the buried one' — is a thick, round bread stuffed with a rich filling of spiced minced meat, onion and sometimes almonds or egg, sealed and traditionally baked buried under hot sand and embers until the crust is firm and the filling cooked through. Associated with the desert towns around Zagora and Rissani, it's often introduced to visitors as Berber pizza.
- Origin
- Zagora and Rissani, Sahara-edge Morocco
- Type
- Stuffed baked bread pie
- Eaten at
- Desert trips, family gatherings
- Key flavour
- Spiced minced meat, onion, warm bread crust
What Medfouna is
A soft, enriched bread dough is rolled into two rounds; one is spread with a filling of spiced minced meat, softened onion and sometimes chopped almonds, egg or dates, then covered with the second round and pinched shut at the edges like a giant stuffed disc.
Traditionally, the sealed loaf is buried directly in hot sand and embers to bake, the surrounding heat cooking it evenly from all sides; modern kitchens more often use a regular oven, but the name and the round, hearty shape remain unchanged.
Origin & story
Medfouna belongs to the Berber culinary tradition of Morocco's pre-Sahara towns — Zagora, Rissani and the wider Tafilalt and Draa valley region — where baking bread buried in embers was a practical response to cooking in the desert with limited equipment.
Its nickname, 'Berber pizza', arose from tourism along the desert routes out of Marrakech and Ouarzazate, where visitors on multi-day trips into the Sahara are often introduced to it as an accessible, familiar-shaped way into a genuinely local dish.
Key ingredients at a glance
- Soft, enriched bread dough
- Minced meat, spiced with cumin and ras el hanout
- Onion, finely chopped
- Almonds or a boiled egg (optional)
- Olive oil
This is a flavour snapshot, not a recipe.
When & how it's eaten
Medfouna is served whole and cut into wedges at the table, eaten hot with the hands, the crust giving way to the warm, savoury filling inside — closer to a stuffed savoury bread than a thin, crisp pizza despite the nickname.
It's substantial enough to be a full meal on its own, often served with a simple salad on the side, and it's a natural centrepiece for a shared desert-camp or family dinner.
Regional variations
Fillings vary by household and region — some add dates or raisins for a touch of sweetness, others keep it purely savoury with meat and onion. Vegetarian versions with vegetables or cheese have become common for tourist itineraries.
It is distinct from seffa medfouna, which uses the same 'buried' naming idea but applies it to sweet grain hiding a chicken rather than a stuffed bread.
Where to try it in Marrakech
Medfouna is most authentic in and around Zagora and Rissani on Morocco's desert routes, often served as part of a multi-day Sahara excursion from Marrakech; some Marrakech restaurants with a southern-Moroccan menu also offer it.
A Moroccan pastry class covers stuffed-bread techniques related to medfouna — read more about Morocco's desert food traditions in the guides.
Frequently asked questions
What is medfouna?
A round bread stuffed with spiced minced meat and onion, traditionally baked buried in hot sand and embers — a specialty of Morocco's Sahara-edge towns.
Why is medfouna called Berber pizza?
The nickname comes from tourism along the desert routes, where its round, flat, stuffed shape is an easy comparison for visitors, even though the dish and technique are entirely Moroccan and Berber in origin.
Where does medfouna come from?
Zagora and Rissani, in the pre-Sahara Tafilalt and Draa valley region, where embers were traditionally used as an oven.