Making matza with kids (and recipe)

Today we made matza (unleavened bread) for parshat Bo and Shabbat meals this week. 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.

Start by preheating the oven all the way up, like 500F or 550F. (It’s several hundred degrees hotter than that for “real” Pesach matzah making.) The goal is to bake it quickly so it doesn’t have time to rise, so make it hot and be sure the oven is ready before you get anything going.

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. Be sure your oven is preheated to 500F (or hotter).

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–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.

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!

I’m so grateful we have the option to buy our matzah. But this sure was a fun adventure!

Permanent link to this article: https://organizedjewishhome.com/2012/01/26/making-matza-with-kids-and-recipe/

4 comments

Skip to comment form

    • Janis Knight on March 26, 2012 at 11:19 am

    Thanks for sharing this – can’t wait to do it with the kindergarten!

      • Amital on March 26, 2012 at 9:19 pm
        Author

      It’s lots of fun, and good learning, too. Enjoy!

      -Amital

    • revi on March 17, 2015 at 10:55 pm

    what temperature in the oven?

      • Amital on March 19, 2015 at 7:40 am
        Author

      As hot as you can – I think I did around 500F. In the “real” Pesach Matzah factories, it’s several hundred more than that! The goal is quick, and since it doesn’t need to rise, it can be zapped with high heat.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.

CommentLuv badge