Friday 3 April 2015

What about some soft matza?

Source: jewishboston.com
Although Sefer Shmot (12:18) mentions explicitly that 'all Jews should eat matza the first night of Pesach' there is no explanation about how to make it and the descriptions of how matza should look like are only a few. In Sever Dvarim (16:3) it is said that matza should be 'lehem oni', poor man's bread or the bread of affliction.
In the Shulhan Aruch (OC 459:2) we have some indications about the preparation time: from the moment the flour and water touch, if it is not continously worked, it takes the time of an average person to walk a mil from the dough and become chametz. Generally, this time was set in our modern time at 18 minutes. The batter should be as dry as possible, with an average of half kilo flour for half cup of water.
On Pesach, the different traditions abound and it touches upon the matza too. For the Askenazim, the matza should always look thin and hard, and this goes also for most of the Sephardim too. However, for the Yemeni, Syrian and also some Iraqi Jews, matza looks thick and soft. The Yemenite women are baking, almost daily, 3 thicker matzot of the thickness of an adult finger From the moment the flour and the water meet, it is continously baked either within 5-6 minutes or less than 3 minutes for some. When it is not made daily, they prepare in advance and freeze it. 
Modern Yemenites call their matza 'lechem' (bread). At the first sight, they may look the same, except that the recipe contains different ingredients, in the case of pita yeast, oil and various flavourings. 
Although I never had the chance to try one, and most probably will prefer to do it outside the chagim, one day I hope will be able not only to taste it, but also to learn how to bake it. 
As usual, if in doubt if you should use it - and you never had it before, because not tradition - ask your local orthodox rav for clarifications!

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