My kiddos and I have made matza several times – for parshat Bo and demonstrating for Passover (although we never actually made it for Passover!). This is a great hands-on activity for kids. Knowing the theory and then actually doing it are two different things!
We had a fun time making it, but can definitely appreciate buying it for Passover instead of having to make it ourselves with so much pressure. We managed to make it in 18 minutes in small batches, but we didn’t make it with a larger batch. I had a hard time finding a good recipe online, let alone anything with pictures, so here I am going to post it all for you!
Notes: this matza probably won’t be cracker thin like the kind you buy on Passover (unless you have older kids). It has to be rolled really, really thinly for that. So it’s a little chewy, but still worth the effort at least once.
Here is the recipe (makes about 2 baking sheets worth of matza):
- 3 Cups flour
- 1.25 – 1.5 Cups water
- sprinkle of salt (optional, but makes the matza taste much better!)
Lay out everything you’ll need: timer, bowl, mixing spoon, ingredients, lightly greased or floured baking sheets (or aluminum foil), rolling pin, and forks. Preheat your oven to 500F.
Put the flour into the bowl, start the timer, and then add the water. Mix and knead until the dough is soft, adding a little more flour or water if needed.
Then quickly break up the dough and form balls.
Flatten the balls into discs and then with the rolling pin or your hands, roll it out as thinly as possible. (Do this on the foil or pan so you can just scoop it up to bake–we learned this the hard way!) Or if you’re 2 years old, it will look like this:
That one tasted a little funny–very bland! But he sure was proud. For the regular matzas…
Prick all over with the fork. (This minimizes the air bubbles.)
Sprinkle with salt, if desired, and bake 7-10 minutes (depending on size) until golden brown and crispy.
Cool on a rack. Serve with soup, hummus, or make into matza pizza – whatever you like to do with matza. My boys chose honey.
For Passover, this would all have to be done in 18 minutes or less. And the clean-up would involve sanding down the table or rolling pin before the next batch as well as washing and thoroughly drying everything!
Here is a video for the kids touring a machine- made matza factory and another showing how handmade matza is made.
I’m so grateful we have the option to buy our matzah. But this sure is a fun adventure!
