I was a lucky little girl.
I got to celebrate Hanukah and Christmas, Rosh Hashanah and Thanksgiving, Passover and Easter.
Always the food lover, most of my memories of these holidays are of the edible variety. Potato laktes, pirogies, veggie stuffing, hard-boiled egg hunts, and matzo.
Lots of matzo.
Perhaps matzo is one of those things that tastes better because of the memories associated with it, it’s really just the simplest cracker possible. In any case, I generally enjoy it and wasn’t going to let passover, er, pass-over without crunching through a few sheets.
But I really didn’t want to go the store when my noon matzo craving hit. What’s a lazy girl to do but make her own!
Homemade Whole Wheat Matzo and Port Charoset
I followed a recipe! Well, you know, mostly.
Adaped from Baked Bree.
- 2 c. white whole wheat flour (mine was so not Kosher)
- 1 c. water
- 1.5 tsp. sea salt
Baked Bree describes that in order to keep things Kosher you must only take 18 minutes from start to finish to make these crackers. While none of my ingredients were actually Kosher I thought it would be kind of fun to time myself anyway.
Pre-heat the oven to 450*
Prepare a baking sheet with parchment or cookie sheet liner
GO
After 5 minutes my dough was mixed and kneaded.
I used my new
food scale* to measure out nine 2 ounce balls.
Time to roll.
I rolled these out as thin as I could to ensure crispness (and quick baking!).
While the crackers baked I got to work on the
charoset.
- 20 grams chopped walnuts
- 1/4 cup port
- 1 medium grated Golden Delicious apple
- lots of cinnamon
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
Most Charoset uses honey and red wine but I thought that Port would be a nice stand-in for both.
Confession: I didn’t make the 18 minute deadline. I maybe could have if I’d skipped the pictures and the weighing. It was kind of fun to move fast and at least attempt it though!
Kosher or not, it’s pretty tasty!
One of the traditional ways to eat Matzo and Charoset is the make an open faced sandwich.
Spread on some ground horseradish (I prefer the kind without mayo).
Top generously with Charoset.
Chow down.
I’m off to move some more dirt.
* Thanks for all the great feedback on food scales. I ended up going with the cheap one from Bed, Bath, and Beyond (The Biggest Loser Taylor scale) because I had a coupon (of course, it’s B,B, and B) and because I am trying to avoid mail-ordering things (bigger carbon footprint + s &h fees). It’s so fun to have a scale!
Related
A little bit off topic but still: I’d love to ask you about the recipe for tofu marinade you shared on Kath’s blog. tnx a bunch!
I’d be happy to share, which one are you interested in?
I’ve never made my own matzo. I’ll bet yours was good. I get my Jewish food fix every April at the local temple when they have a wonderful Blintze Brunch. It’s also a heritage festival so there’s music and dancing. It’s one of my favorite events of the year.
The matzo did turn out good but I still have a craving for the mass produced stuff, I just wish they made a whole wheat egg and onion matzo!
The picture of you moving dirt makes me itch to just run out the door of work and go home to garden! Enjoy getting your hands dirty!
Right back at you! Garden on!
Green Goodness and Crackling Flatbread | Gracefulfitness
[…] on slices of baguette, corn chips, or Crackling Flatbread For these extra tall crackers I used the matzo recipe for inspiration but added corn meal and a few spices. Makes 8 big crackers or lots of small ones. […]
Is that the biggest loser food scale? Do you like it? I am going shopping for one today; I’ve been in “bread” baking mode & would really love to start baking by ratios & using a scale.
T’is and I love it. It’s super simple but since I’ve never used a scale I don’t really know what I’m missing in terms of fancy features. I chose it purely for it’s low price tag and it’s working great for me.
Thanks! The low price tag is what had me looking to, but I wanted feedback before trying my luck.