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Matzah is a thin unleavened flatbread. This is the only kind of bread that is allowed to the Jews all year round, including on Pesach (the central Jewish holiday). The product is prepared in the form of thin long sheets. They are carefully broken or sawn in the shape of a perforation so as not to damage the structure.

What you need to know about a bakery product, how to cook it and what to eat with?

General product characteristics

Matzah is a flatbread made from dough that has not gone through the fermentation process. The name of the product is translated as “devoid of moisture” or “squeezed out”. Cakes are made with just 2 ingredients: wheat flour and water. The main thing in the process of making matzo is speed. It is important to knead the dough and place it in the oven before fermentation begins, otherwise the dish will lose its value.

Usually the cakes are given a round or rectangular shape. Before going to the oven, small perforations are made on the sheets. It is very convenient to break the product along them and divide it into uniform parts before serving.

Matzah is the most important component of the Jewish ritual meal “Seder”. The product is used in several of her episodes and is considered a must. Yeast-free cakes are eaten raw or various dishes are prepared on their basis. For example, Matsebrai is a snack made from soaked unleavened bread, milk and eggs. Sometimes the product is sprinkled with sugar/cinnamon/honey and served as a dessert.

Unleavened cake is crushed into small crumbs to get flour from it. The properties of such flour are similar to ordinary wheat flour of the 1st grade. The main difference lies in the taste palette – it is more saturated and bright, and the cooking time – it is much less than that of other products.

Product Varieties

There are only 2 varieties of matzo: industrial and home-made. Until the middle of the XNUMXth century, yeast-free cakes were made exclusively by hand. The appearance of the first machine for creating Jewish bread caused a flurry of criticism and controversy. A real split occurred within Jewish society – some were against the soulless preparation of sacred bread, others saw progress and a benefactor in this.

It was believed that industrially made matzah did not comply with Jewish law, since a person could not control every stage of production. One of the strongest arguments against technology is fermentation. The machine has a colossal number of parts and places where the dough can stick, ferment and violate the very sacred concept.

But not all Jews refused to mechanize the process. Some believed that industrial matzah was prepared much better and faster than manual matzah. The dough simply doesn’t have time to start the fermentation process as the machine runs fast and spits out new batches of unleavened bread at lightning speed. As a result, industrial matzah was still allowed, but not everyone buys it. The most responsible and religious believers still make daily cakes on Pesach with their own hands.

Most Jews eat regular matzo during Passover. But Orthodox Jews only eat shmura. Ordinary unleavened cakes are made from wheat, which was protected from contact with any liquids after grinding into flour. This was necessary in order not to start the fermentation process. Shmura is made from wheat, which was protected from contact with water even before the harvest.

Interesting facts about the product

Unleavened bread has dozens of different names, from matzot or matzo to misfortune bread or poor bread.

The cooking time for the unleavened flatbread is exactly 18 minutes. During this time, wheat, dough and moisture do not have time to ferment. If the product was cooked longer, then it is called chametz – a flour dish, in the dough of which a fermentation process took place.

In 1838, the Frenchman Isaac Singer invented the first automated machine for the production of unleavened flatbread. Not everyone appreciated Singer’s invention on the positive side, but industrial cakes were nevertheless recognized and allowed to be eaten during Jewish holidays.

In 1888, the first industrial factory for the production of unleavened bread was established. The production was located in Ohio (USA), and its creator was the Lithuanian emigrant Dov Ber. Earlier, Dov decided to change his surname to Manishevich and named the factory after himself.

In 2011, a world record was set. Manishevich prepared the largest unleavened cake, the length of which was 7,5 meters, weight – more than 11 kilograms.

There is hard and soft matzah. Soft is prepared only at home, adding more water, milk or vegetable oils to the dough.

Religious component

Judaism

The use of unleavened bread by the Jews is associated with the biblical episode about the Exodus of the Jews from Egypt. It is believed that on the eve of the Exodus, the people of Israel simply could not wait for the end of the fermentation of bread. They sent the dough, which had not yet risen, to the oven – and this is how matzah turned out.

Jews celebrate Passover every year on the night of the Exodus. On this night, it is forbidden to consume leavened products – flour, which has undergone a fermentation process. Moreover, God commanded that matzah be included in the obligatory traditional meal on the occasion of Passover. Also, the commandment to eat a bakery product is described in the Torah, the Jewish religious law.

Matzah became an essential part of the Jewish family ritual meal after the Passover sacrifice became impossible. But among the Jews themselves disagreements arose regarding the rules for its use.

Some believe that there is a need to eat cakes only on the first evening of the central holiday. On the remaining 6 days, you can refuse matzo, but the ban on leavened products, at the same time, cannot be violated. Some interpreters call for the obligatory use of cakes on all days of Passover. Since no one can give a clear answer on this matter, the decision remains with each Jew.

Христианство

In Christianity, an analogue of matzah is used – the host. These are unleavened cakes that are eaten during rituals. Most often they are prepared in special forms, the imprint of which leaves religious plots on bread. Bread and wine must be consecrated during a special ceremony, and then eaten. Catholics and Protestants who use such rituals believe that unleavened bread symbolizes the sinless body of Christ, and leaven represents sin.

In the Orthodox Church, things are different. During the rituals, it is leavened bread that is used, since it symbolizes the human origin of Christ.

How to cook a traditional unleavened flatbread

We need:

• wheat flour – 250 grams;
• filtered cold water – 100 milliliters.

This amount of ingredients will make 6 servings of unsweetened unsweetened matzah. The recipe can be varied with spices or sweet ingredients to get a multi-component taste.

Preparation

Sift wheat flour into a deep bowl. Make a round hole in the middle of the hill of flour and pour ice water into it. Quickly knead a tight dough that will not stick to your hands and will take on a dense texture.

Divide the finished dough into 6 equal pieces. Roll each of them into a pancake or rectangular cake. The thickness of each sheet should not exceed 2-3 millimeters. Make holes in the rolled out dough. Run a fork all over the dough – you can choose the distance between the perforations yourself. Along the puncture line, you can gently break the matzah and eat it like chips or bread.

Transfer the wheat sheets to a dry baking sheet / foil / parchment, bake in a preheated oven to 180 ° C. Cooking time – 10-15 minutes. Remove the baking sheet after the dough has browned and slightly dried out.

Useful properties and possible harm of matzo

Matzo is an ideal food product from the point of view of nutrition. There is absolutely nothing superfluous in its composition, and the process of home cooking does not take much time and effort. Industrial matzah can also be safely bought in supermarkets. The main thing – pay attention to the composition. Some manufacturers are sophisticated and add completely unnecessary components to their products – sugar, sweeteners, flavor enhancers or preservatives. Refuse complex compositions, choose the most simple and nutritious cakes.

Useful properties of matzah are identical to ordinary bread and depend on the degree of grain processing. Whole-grain tortilla will perfectly satisfy hunger, fill the body with energy and even improve health. But cakes made from ordinary white flour of the 1st grade are best eaten only as an exception. Such a product will increase the level of sugar and cholesterol in the blood, make you feel terrible hunger already 10 minutes after the meal and will remain in the form of centimeters on the waist or legs.

The main advantage of bread is fiber. It is found in wheat grains and makes our body healthier, more energetic, more productive. Fiber relieves problems with the intestines, makes the skin cleaner, appetite is moderate, and the immune system is stronger. The substance gently envelops the internal organs, protects them from harmful microflora and stimulates functionality. Moreover, matzah also contains vitamins and minerals from wheat grains. The abundance of nutrients makes unleavened bread a valuable food product (especially in the cold season).

Contraindications to the use of yeast-free cakes are individual intolerance to wheat, celiac disease or hypersensitivity to gluten. The composition of the vast majority of industrial and homemade matzah includes gluten. Some manufacturers artificially de-gluten the culture or make bread with gluten-free flour. Gluten-free matzah is much more expensive than regular matzah. You can find it in eco-shops or order it in an online store.