Mindful Meals: Petite Passover Matzo

Petite Passover Matzo

I love making food for people I love.  If it has a story or a mindful message behind it, that's even better.

This is the week of Jewish Passover, celebrating the release of the Jews from their slavery in Egypt. The story, in a nutshell, is that they left Egypt so quickly, they didn't even leave enough time for their bread to rise before their journey home.  Today, the Jewish celebrate by eating un-leavened bread, called Matzo.  The Matzo is made from flour that hasn't had contact with water for more than 18 minutes, after which time, the flour begins to rise.

My dear friend was kind enough to invite me to her Seder this year, and I immediately volunteered for the challenge of making my own matzo.  Rumor has it that the store bought crackers can taste a bit like cardboard, so I played around with the recipe, used different types of flour, and I'm sharing these CUTE little mini matzo that can be topped with anything and everything!

Petite Passover Matzo

Prep Time: 10 minutes / Cook Time: 6 minutes / Servings: 6-8 pieces

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup flour
• 2-3 tbsp. water
• Olive oil cooking spray
• Kosher salt

Steps:

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
2. In a mixing bowl, combine the flour and water, being mindful of the time you start.  Mix the flour and water with a spoon until the dough forms an egg-size ball and no-longer sticks to the side of the bowl.  Add a pinch more water or flour until the dough is the proper consistency.
3. Lay the ball of dough out onto a well-floured flat surface.  Roll the dough out with a floured rolling pin, until the dough is as flat and as thin as you can make it.
4. Using a biscuit cutter or a drinking glass, cut 6-8 rounds from the flattened dough and place them onto the cookie sheet.  Poke holes all over the dough rounds with a fork to prevent the dough from rising in the oven.
5. Briefly spray the dough rounds with olive oil spray and top each one with a pinch of kosher salt.
6. Place the cookie sheet in the oven and bake at 475 degrees for 6-7 minutes, until the edges are golden brown.  Remove from the oven and allow them to cool.  Store them in an air tight container until ready to serve.

Note:  I made about 30 matzo, using two cookie sheets and alternating each one, cooking 6-8 matzo at a time.  It should take no longer than 8-10 minutes to prepare the rounds and no more than 6-7 minutes to bake them.