Try this matzo recipe for the Passover / Pesach festival. Many matzo recipes exist, but in terms of matzo recipe ingredients, a matzo recipe that is Kosher for Passover must be made with one of the five religiously prescribed grains: barley, oats, rye, spelt, or wheat.

A matzo recipe (can also be spelled: matzoh recipe, matzah recipe, matza recipe, or motza recipe) will be Kosher for Passover if it follows the Jewish dietary laws for Passover when creating kosher for Passover matzo. When creating matzo from a matzo recipe, the matzo dough creation and baking process must be completed within 18 minutes, meaning from the time the water comes into contact with the wheat grain to the end of the baking process in order to prevent fermentation of the dough. Since fermentation of the matzo dough begins 18 minutes after water has come into contact with the wheat grain, Jewish dietary laws for the Passover / Pesach festival state that if the dough goes beyond the 18 minute limit it will be unfit for consumption during the Passover / Pesach festival since fermented products and by-products are not permitted to be consumed during the Passover / Pesach festival. In other words, the matzo dough would not be considered kosher for Passover, or not following the rules of the Jewish dietary laws for the Passover / Pesach festival. On the other hand, if the matzo recipe and resulting matzo dough follows the Jewish dietary laws, the matzo recipe and resulting matzo dough would then be considered kosher for Passover. There are many variations of matzo recipes that include adding chocolate, honey, or other toppings to the ingredients in a matzo recipe, but religious Jews will only eat matzo which replicates the matzo that was consumed by the Hebrews as they were fleeing ancient Egypt, and that matzo was a thin, round-shaped matzo consisting of water and wheat grain that was mixed together and baked all within an 18 minute time span. This matzo is known as "Shmura Matzoh" (Shmura is also spelled: "Shmurah", "Shemura" or "Shemurah") or "watched matzah" in Hebrew, meaning the water and wheat ingredients in the matzo recipe were watched by an Orthodox rabbi (or a person appointed or approved by an Orthodox rabbi) from the time of harvesting of the wheat crop to the conclusion of the baking process to ensure no water or other food became accidentally mixed with the wheat grain beyond 18 minutes prior to baking the matzo otherwise the matzo would become unfit for consumption during the Passover / Pesach festival as well as ensuring that the water and wheat grain to create the matzo dough was mixed and baked within the 18 minute requirement from the time that the water came into contact with the wheat grain.

The following matzo recipe uses matzo meal or matzo cake meal instead of the wheat grain, meaning that the matzo meal and matzo cake meal - assuming they have been approved as kosher for Passover by an Orthodox rabbi (usually shown as a kosher for Passover symbol that is affixed on the box of matzo meal and box of matzo cake meal) - does not need to conform to the 18 minute maximum requirement since both products are derived from matzo, which has already undergone the 18 minute maximum process to become kosher for Passover matzo.

Matzo Recipe

2 cups matzo meal or matzo cake meal
1 1/2 cups water
1/2 teaspoon salt (optional)

Instructions for the Matzo recipe:

  1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit (240 degrees Celsius or Centigrade).
  2. Combine the matzo meal with the water and salt to form a dough.
  3. It may be necessary to add more water to make the dough workable.
  4. Knead the dough and roll out and fold a couple of times.
  5. Cut dough into 8 pieces.
  6. Roll out each piece as thinly as possible between 2 sheets of wax paper.
  7. Cut into rounds or squares and prick the surface of the dough well with a pastry docker or fork.
  8. Work the leftover dough pieces back together to make 1 or 2 more rounds.
  9. Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet for 3 to 4 minutes.
  10. Then turn matzo over and bake another 4 minutes or until the crackers are very lightly browned and crisp.
  11. Cool on a cooling rack and repeat the process.

Makes 8 to 10 matzos.

Nutrition Information Per Serving: Calories: 89; Fat: no fat; Cholesterol: no cholesterol; Sodium: no sodium.


Share/Save/Bookmark          Subscribe