Matzo baking

The weeks before Passover are also the time for the baking of the matzos which will be eaten during the holiday. In Orthodox Jewish communities, men traditionally gather in groups (chaburas) to bake a special version of handmade matzo called shmura matzo ("guarded matzo", referring to the fact that the wheat is guarded from contamination by chametz from the time it is cut in the summer until it is baked into matzos for the following Passover). Since the dough is rolled by hand, shmura matzos come out large and round. Chaburas also work together in machine-made matzo factories, which produce the typically square-shaped matzo sold in stores.


The baking process is a time-consuming job, as each batch of dough can only be worked on from start to finish (from mixing the flour and water to removing from the oven) for 18-22 minutes, depending on custom. Consequently, only a small amount of matzos can be baked at one time. The chabura members are enjoined to constantly work the dough so that it is not allowed to ferment and rise. A special cutting tool is run over the dough just before baking to create the familiar dotted holes in the matzo. After the 18-22 minutes are up and the matzos come out of the oven, the entire work area is scrubbed down and swept to make sure that no pieces of dough are left behind. By definition, any stray pieces of dough are now chametz, and can invalidate the next batch of matzo if they come in contact with it.

Matzo by-products, such as matzo farfel (broken bits of matzo) and matzo meal (finely-ground matzo) are used as flour substitutes in the baking of Passover cakes and cookies.