Passover Matzoh

Yes, inflation is a real thing.  I'm slowly stocking up whenever I see a deal and pretending the full-price items on my receipt don't exist.  However, when I saw the 5-pack of matzoh for $11.99 as the "special" price, I started researching how to make it as soon as I got home.  I'm not paying that much for something I don't like.  You only need three pieces for a Seder plate.

This is not strictly KLP because the flour has not been certified as such.  And for this post, I had not yet kashered the kitchen, so nothing I was making that day was KLP.  When I make them for the actual holiday, it will be after preparing the oven, cookware, and countertop.  It will also be using a new bag of flour that has not touched a non-kashered utensil.  I can't use the wooden board because I don't have a large enough pot to kasher it for Passover, but the kitchen counter is good enough for rolling fondant, so I knew these would work.  And the rolling pin does fit in the canner for boiling, so I don't have to go get a marble one.  I'm calling these preparations good enough for Reform Jews.  If you're more observant, probably not unless you actually can get a hold of Passover flour.

I actually made these in just over 17 minutes, and you're allowed 18.  That's with giving them almost two extra minutes in the oven because I wasn't convinced they were done.  Also, with scrubbing my hands at one point before taking a picture.  Not getting a new phone gummy.  This was only possible because I made a small batch for the test run.  If it was doubled, I never would have succeeded, so I don't plan to try.

If you're not making these for Passover, you don't have to set a timer.  The 18 minutes is what the rabbis decided was the time for natural yeasts to start fermenting wheat flour.  In real life, the time is considerably longer, but 18 is a lucky number in Hebrew and comes up a lot.  You can also add salt, olive oil, and herbs for non-KLP.  They're just crackers.  You can make them with GF flour if your household doesn't follow the kitniyot rules.

This is an extremely small batch, only four pieces.  That's what I decided I could make in the required time without any practice, and I was right.  Next week, I'll probably do two of these batches in rapid succession to make enough for Seder and Shabbat, rather than push my luck with a 1-cup batch and fail.  After that, I'll just knock out one whenever I run out until the holiday ends.  I won't have to deal with months of trying to eat up the five boxes before I will allow myself a loaf of proper bread.  Sure, I'll miss the matzoh brei and granola, but I'm willing to make the sacrifice.

1/2 C flour, plus more for rolling
1/4 C water, or as needed

1.  Preheat oven to 475º with two lined baking sheets in it.  You can line them with parchment, foil, or a kashered Silpat.  For parchment, don't preheat lined; the paper will become baked and brittle.  You'll put that on later.

2.  Put the flour in a small mixing bowl and set 1/3 cup of water next to it.  Have a separate bowl of dusting flour and the rolling pin ready.  Place a fork and knife on the counter; you'll need them later.  Take a deep breath, set a timer for 18 minutes, and go for it.

3.  Add 1/4 C of the water to the flour and stir to combine.  Knead quickly in the bowl for 30 seconds, adding more water if necessary to achieve a texture that can be rolled.

4.  Place dough on rolling surface and cut into 4 pieces.  Normally, I would weigh them, but no time for that here.  Generously flour the surface, tops of the dough balls, and the rolling pin.  Roll out very thin, one or two millimeters thick, because the unrested dough will snap back when you stop to the proper thickness.  This was the hardest and most time-consuming part of the whole process, taking almost ten minutes for the mere four pieces.  They stuck to the rolling pin pretty bad.  These can be round, square-ish, or "rustic".  An alternative is to roll out the whole thing and cut it after the fact, but you need a huge surface to get away with that.  I have no idea if a tortilla press would work on this dough.  If you have one, it's worth a try, with the dough between two pieces of parchment.  Place the finished piece to the side and start on another one.

5.  When all of the pieces are rolled out, check your timer to make sure you still have six minutes left.  Get the baking sheets from the oven and place the matzohs on them.  If using parchment, this is when you add it to the pans.  Quickly dock the pieces all over with the fork, like you're making a blind-bake pie crust.  Get them back in the oven and bake for 5 minutes, until baked and dried.  It's ok if the puffy parts look a bit burned.

6.  Remove matzohs to a cooling rack and give yourself a pat on the back if the timer has not gone off yet. If you didn't make it in time, consider it a practice run and season them however you like.

Makes 4 pieces, about 6" each

Difficulty rating :) if using a timer