Matzah Baking Fun!

Rachel and Stephany

A couple of years ago I asked the children at the end of the Hebrew school year what they liked most about the past year, and without hesitation they answered “Matzah baking.”

From then on, I try it every year. But honestly, I dread working with the ovens at BH and I have skipped a year sometimes. This time we were able to buy a little electric oven, and although it is small, it does the trick, and I do not have to worry about blowing up the building.

Now there is something very special about matzah baking. It is not the recipe, that couldn’t be simpler. Just 2 cups of flour and 1 cup of water is all you need. It is the timing that is essential.

To produce a kosher matzah, you have to make sure that the whole procedure - from the moment the water hits the flour until it comes out of the oven - doesn’t take more than 18 minutes. A serious challenge with a bunch of kids and of course it is all about the joy of kneading, rolling and baking. However, we did manage to produce matzah within the set time.

We made a lot of them this year, and Stephany, with us for the first time as a new teacher, spent most of her time baking the clutch of matzot in our new little electric oven. Thank you Stephany, and thank you Rachel, for helping to make it a great activity.

There were not many matzot left to take home, as they were eaten pretty much as soon as they came out of the oven! Some were left for the community to sample at kiddush.

Nada J