Simple Homemade Matzo
Matzo — the traditional Jewish unleavened flatbread! This flatbread comes from Jewish cooking; it's baked for Passover and eaten in place of bread throughout the Passover week. Even though it takes just a couple of ingredients and very little time, it's tasty and crisp, and it goes well alongside any dish. The trick to getting it right is working quickly — the whole process should take no more than 18 minutes, or the dough will start to ferment and turn sour. Wheat flour works best, though you can use any kind.
Cooking method
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Step 1:
Gather your ingredients. These unleavened flatbreads need only flour and water. Sift the flour well — a couple of times is best — to aerate it. You can use any flour: oat, barley, or spelt, but wheat is the most common.
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Step 2:
Gradually pour the water into the bowl of flour and mix to form a dough. Once it comes together into a uniform mass, turn it out onto the counter and keep kneading until you have a firm dough — but work fast: the whole process shouldn't take more than 18 minutes, so the dough doesn't ferment. Divide the dough into equal pieces of the size you want and roll each into a ball.
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Step 3:
First flatten the balls into rounds with your hands, then roll them out into thin flatbreads. It's best to do this without any flour, but gently, so the dough doesn't tear. If it sticks badly, dust the counter with a little flour.
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Step 4:
Prick each flatbread all over with a fork. Make plenty of holes so the breads don't puff up and the dough doesn't burst. Bake them in a dry skillet until lightly golden on both sides (they won't brown much, given what's in them). Heat the skillet and cook the flatbreads one at a time — each takes no more than two minutes.
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Step 5:
You can serve matzo simply with vegetables, or alongside salads, grains, soups, or a main course. Though it's an unleavened, seemingly plain flatbread — baked without eggs, yeast, or even oil — it complements any dish beautifully. Matzo is also a good choice if you're watching your weight. But above all, it's a traditional Jewish dish made for a religious holiday. Enjoy!
Caloric content of the products possible in the composition of the dish
- Water - 0 kcal/100g
- Wheat flour - 325 kcal/100g
