Authentic Passover Bread Recipe - At Home During Pandemic

[Hazelelponi]

As we all know it is written: "where two or more are gathered together there I am in the midst of you" Matthew 18:20 So it doesn't take many to make a "church" gathering.

In these days where people may need to be home, I thought I'd share this recipe for Passover bread we can make at home. This recipe is thought to be the most authentic, so I thought to share.

The backstory for the recipe is interesting, so I encourage you to go to the link to read as well.

Biblical Emmer Wheat Passover Seder Rekik Matzah - רקיק מצה

Servings 3 Matzot:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups Emmer Wheat Flour Stone Ground
• 1/2 cup Water Room Temperature

Instructions

• Set aside a pitcher of room temperature water. The temperature of the water should be 68 - 77 degrees F (20-25 degrees C). The traditional method of getting the water to be the correct temperature is to put the water into a pitcher and let it sit in the room away from direct sunlight for at least 12 hours (usually over night) until the temperature reaches equilibrium. However, for the sake of saving time you can simply mix warm and cold water and measure the temperature with a thermometer until the correct temperature is reached.
• Place a ceramic pizza stone on the top shelf of the oven, which is right below the top heating element. Turn the oven to broil so that the upper heating element is on. If your oven does not have an upper heating element use the broiler. The Matzah must bake right next to the heating element or it will not fully bake quickly. Do not use the oven fans.
• Preheat a ceramic pizza stone in the oven for at least 1 hour at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Do not start mixing the ingredients until the pizza stone is complete heated through. Keep the oven on at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C), before mixing the ingredients with the hot pizza stone inside the oven.
• Place 1 1/2 cups of the Emmer Wheat flour into a large stainless steel bowl in which the dough will be kneaded.
• Set the timer for 18 minutes. This is the maximum allowable time that can pass between the mixing of the flour and water and all of the dough being fully baked, in order for the Matzah to be Kosher for Passover according to strict rules of Kashrut.
• Slowly add 1/2 cup of water to the flour in the bowl.
• Quickly knead the dough with your hands by folding it over and over. The dough will form into a nice firm ball after 2-3 minutes of kneading.
• Sprinkle a large wooden cutting board, which will be your rolling surface, with some flour to prevent sticking. Take the ball of dough from the bowl, place it onto the rolling surface and roll it with your hands into an even cylinder slightly shorter than the width of the cutting board.
• Cut the dough cylinder into 3 even pieces. Set 2 of the pieces aside on the cutting board and with your hands roll the remaining piece into a small ball.
• Take a wooden French rolling pin, rub some flour onto it with your hand, and begin rolling out the dough ball into a flat pancake. Keep rolling the dough into different directions so that the pancake comes out to be round. The final thickness of the pancake should be about 2-3 mm (0.08 - 0.12 in). This step should take no longer than 1 minute.
• If you would like a perfectly round shaped Matzah, after it has been fully rolled out, you may want to press a round 6 in (15 cm) or 8 in (20 cm) cookie cutter into the dough and remove the remainder of the dough around the cutter.
• Place the rolled out pancake onto a wooden pizza peel.
• Repeat steps 10-12 with 2 more pieces of dough that you set aside, until you have 3 dough pancakes placed on to the pizza peel, which should make it full.
• Insert the pizza peel into the oven and carefully shake off the 3 pancakes onto the pizza stone. You might want to slide out the shelf with the pizza stone from the oven so it is easier to place the pancakes on it without getting burnt. Close the oven door and stay next to the oven. Do not walk away.
• After 1 minute open the oven door and check if the Matzah started to become slightly brown and bubbles started forming on top of the dough. Once that happens flip all 3 Matzot onto the other side. Check the Matzah again after no more than 1 minute. The total baking process should take no longer than 2-3 minutes.
• Take out the Matzot from the oven using the wooden pizza peel and place them on a plate or a wooden board to rest.
• The whole process must be competed in under 18 minutes in order to be compliant with strict laws of Kashrut. This is easily achievable if all steps are done efficiently. Enjoy.

Notes
The Matzah should be soft, but firm, and might be crunchy especially around the edges. Emmer Wheat Matzah should taste similar to Whole Wheat Pita, but sweeter, with a slight crunch.

Emmer Flour (stone ground) can be purchased here online: Organic Whole Emmer Flour – Small Valley Milling but you can look online for more options.