This matzo recipe tastes way better than a box. That’s the joke about storebought matzo, the unleavened bread eaten instead of conventional yeast or baking soda/powder loaves or other baked goods during the Jewish holiday of Passover.
Yet I’ve always liked matzo, and factory-made does taste far better than cardboard. Homemade isn’t difficult and doesn’t take much time. This is a delicious joy to present to guests at a seder table, but be warned: Some Jews prefer the supersized cracker of their childhood, and others may want assurances of this being not just kosher but kosher-for-Passover that you may not be able to assure. So have conventional boxes at the ready.
There is another problem: With no leavening agent or even salt, these crackers may range from crackly crumbly to hardtack tough. That’s when it first comes out; the next day the consistency always is a little different. Usually they are turned out resembling pita breads.
Because of this, I always tell guests that my matzo is either the bread of freedom or the bread of affliction! In any case, the flavor is wonderful. This recipe makes 12 to 18 flatbreads and can be made vegan: see notes. Recipe can be halved.
The original recipe, “Angelina de Leon’s Matzohs,” came from “Jewish Recipes Of the Inquisition,” The New York Times, April 16, 1997. I’ve nudged it toward whole grain.
- 4 cups flour, either whole wheat or unbleached or a combination (452g if all whole wheat)
- 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 4 large eggs, lightly beaten (see Notes for vegan alternative)
- 6 Tablespoons liquid sweetener such as honey, molasses or maple syrup
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1/4 cup water, as needed
Preheat oven to 450 degrees OR heat to medium burners on stovetop for several skillets.
In large bowl, mix flours and pepper thoroughly with fork.
Combine eggs, liquid sweetener and oil in a measuring cup. Pour into flour mix and combine with dough whisk, sturdy spoon or by hand. Add water 1 Tablespoon at a time to make a stiff dough, slightly sticky; you may not need all the 1/4 cup (4 Tablespoons). It will come together in under 3 minutes.
Pull off walnut-size (1 1/2 inches wide) lumps of dough, form into 12-18 balls, possibly lightly flouring hands so they don’t stick. Balls weighing about 55g roll out to a nice handheld size. Place balls on a plate.
Lightly flour a large surface. Flatten a ball with palm then roll into a thin disk 6-8 inches wide, dusting with flour as needed to prevent sticking. If dough won’t flatten easily, rest it a minute and work on other balls, then resume rolling. If dough comes out more oval or simply misshapen, call it authentic! Prick each round several times with two forks held together. Move each completed flatbread to a holding area, perhaps another plate or parchment paper.
You can start baking the first few and roll the others out while waiting on the current batch.
Using oven: Place 4-6 matzos on a large, ungreased cookie sheet or baking stone, edges not touching, and bake 4-5 minutes, until golden brown and a little puffy — no need to flip. Remove to a cake rack to cool.
Using cooktop: 2-3 matzot will fit on a 12-inch nonstick or lightly oiled skillet, 1-2 flatbreads on a smaller skillet. Edges should not touch. Use several skillets to save time. Cook uncovered 2-3 minutes, until lightly browned with a few dark brown spots, flip and cook another 2 minutes, then cool on rack. While each set of matzo bakes, roll out and pierce the next round.
Serve the same day. Store leftovers in plastic wrap, zip-seal bags or a covered container.
Notes
- If not baking immediately, cover the dough or dough balls with plastic wrap.
- Honey. Vegans and others can substitute any other liquid sweetener such as agave, maple or corn syrup. [April 2014 Update: I like molasses. It darkens the color a little and adds a pleasing slightly bitter note.]
- Eggs. Can substitute 1 cup of cholesterol-free liquid eggs or of egg whites. For vegans, omit any egg product and add 4 Tablespoons of powdered egg replacer into flour mixture, and mix the liquid sweetener and oil into 1 cup of water, with having on hand that extra 1/4 cup water as needed to thin dough. Aquafaba is a great substitute as well — 1 cup’s worth.
- For the afikomen ceremony, roll out three of the balls extra thin and extra large to ensure at least one of them bakes out crispy enough to break in half.
I’ve discussed the home seder previously in Brick, in “Notta Lotta Matzo.”
