Ingredients
Dough
- 300 gplain flour, or shmurah flour for Passover
- 150 mlcold water
Nothing else
- no salt, no oil, no leavening of any kind
Equipment
- a rolling pin
- a docking wheel or a fork
- a very hot oven and a stone or steel
Directions
- Heat the oven as hot as it will go, at least 250°C (480°F), with a stone or steel inside, for a full hour beforehand. Have the rolling pin, the docking fork, the flour and the measured water all laid out and ready, and set a timer.
- Use cold water, because warm water speeds fermentation and you are racing it.
- Knead it only 30 seconds, just enough to bring it together into a rough dough.
- Divide it into 8 pieces immediately and roll each out as thin as you possibly can, thinner than you think reasonable.
- Roll them paper-thin. Thick matzah stays soft and doughy in the middle and will not crisp in the short bake.
- Bake 2 to 3 minutes only, until it is dry, rigid and blistered with dark brown spots. It must come out of the oven before the eighteen minutes are up, which is why they go in one at a time as they are ready.
- Cool them on a rack, where they crisp further as they lose their remaining moisture. For Passover use, the flour itself must be shmurah, guarded from moisture from the time of harvest, and the whole process supervised.
Technique
- Commercially it is made by machine in a few minutes flat, under supervision, for exactly this reason.
- Handmade shmurah matzah is round and irregular; machine matzah is the familiar square sheet.
- It keeps for months in a sealed tin if it is baked dry enough.
Substitutions
- Wholemeal flour, which gives a nuttier and darker sheet.
- Certified shmurah matzah, bought, for any ritual use.
Variations
- Matzah brei, soaked and fried with egg.
- Ground into matzah meal for kneidlach and coatings.
- Egg matzah, which is not permitted for the seder obligation.
History
Recalls the Exodus, when there was no time for dough to rise; baking must be finished within eighteen minutes.
Frequently asked questions
What is Matzah?
Matzah is a bread & pastry from Israel: flat unleavened cracker baked fast, eaten through the week of Passover. Recalls the Exodus, when there was no time for dough to rise; baking must be finished within eighteen minutes.
How long does Matzah take to make?
Matzah takes 5 min of preparation and 5 min of cooking. The recipe makes 8 sheets. It is rated hard to make.
What can I substitute in Matzah?
Yes, within limits. Wholemeal flour, which gives a nuttier and darker sheet. Certified shmurah matzah, bought, for any ritual use.
What is the most important thing to get right in Matzah?
Bake 2 to 3 minutes only, until it is dry, rigid and blistered with dark brown spots. It must come out of the oven before the eighteen minutes are up, which is why they go in one at a time as they are ready.
