Baked Unleavened Bread is a flatbread with no leavening. This is how to make a quick, handmade, soft Matzo. Known within the Jewish community, it represents a meaningful feast in memorial of the Biblical event called Passover. This recipe for unleavened bread can be eaten for all seven days with no complaints! It’s a staple bread every year, especially for the Passover holiday (Pesach).

baked unleavened bread (handmade soft matzo)

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We can eat this homemade Matzo recipe any time of the year, not just Passover! It’s a staple at our home with these Grilled Chicken Kabobs. It’s so soft and chewy that this flatbread can quickly become a family favorite!

Unleavened Bread

Making Matzah flatbread is such a great way to observe the feast of Unleavened Bread!

The Lord’s Passover was a memorial feast kept as an everlasting ordinance for the Lord that was to take place for seven days in the first month of the year (the 14th of the first month in Hebrew from the evening to the 21st day of the month at evening.) On our American calendar, that would be April.

The Jewish nation was to eat roasted lamb, unleavened bread, and bitter herbs as a memorial of God’s deliverance from Egypt. Unleavened bread was to be eaten for seven days, and leaven was to be removed from their houses on the first to the seventh day.

“No manner of work shall be done on them: but that which everyone must eat-that only be prepared by you” Exodus 12:16. This Bible verse indicates that unleavened bread was to be made by hand in each family.

It’s interesting that Matza is commercially available nowadays in a crisp cracker-like style when it was commanded to be prepared.

Watch Alyona Make Unleavened Bread!

Matzo

It’s a time when you can not only read about a symbolic event that occurred in the Bible but also as a way to show family and children what it’s about.

If you are strictly following the Halakha (Jewish law) for Pesach (Passover) then Kosher flour such as wheat, (preferably a kind that doesn’t come into contact with water at any stage during its production) is recommended. Since the Bible does not indicate which flour the Hebrews used, I’ll leave it to the baker to decide.

That being said, our Passover is Christ: “For Christ, our Passover lamb, has been sacrificed” 1 Corinthians 5:7. However, that doesn’t mean we can’t look upon the scriptures of the Old Testament as examples of God’s redemption of His people.

It’s a wonderful experience for children to watch and observe this ordinance given to Israel by Moses. And since “the children of Israel baked unleavened cakes of the dough which they had brought out of Egypt” (Exodus 12:39), it is baked Unleavened Bread with no leavening and simple ingredients!

We love this soft Matzo bread; observing the events with our family is a family ritual!

Want a stove-top recipe for Matzah? Try our skillet Unleavened Bread Recipe. Many of our readers have commented on how they have used it for communion and other meaningful events!

Got leftovers? Turn it into a Matzo meal by drying it in the oven and then crushing it into crumbs for a Matzo Ball Soup!

FAQ:

Can I Use Whole Wheat Flour?

The all-purpose flour can be substituted with freshly milled hard white wheat. I often fresh mill half soft white wheat with half hard white wheat to make an all-purpose flour blend from whole grains.

My Dough Is Too Sticky?

Although cup-to-gram conversions can be handy, many of them are approximate measurements. However, I weighed the exact amount of flour I used in grams for this recipe in order for it to be precise.

What is Unleavened Bread?

Unleavened bread is a flatbread that contains no rising agents. Known as Matzah or Matzo within the Jewish community, it represents a symbolic element with great importance. This four-ingredient recipe is a great way to incorporate a Biblical approach to the Passover holiday.

There are many variations to making Unleavened bread. However, suppose you strictly want to follow the Halakha (Jewish law) for Pesach (Passover). In that case, Kosher flour such as wheat (preferably a kind that doesn’t come into contact with water at any stage during its production) is recommended by the suggestion of a Jewish Rabbi.

Furthermore, all the Biblical details of the Lord’s passover is given in Exodus chapter 12 and 13. The children of Israel baked unleavened cakes of the dough, (mentioned in Exodus 12:39.) This verse indicates that the bread was not leavened and that it was baked. However, the Bible does not indicate which flour they were to use, as every household probably had different flour.

What to Serve With Unleavened Bread?

The Scriptures indicate that unleavened bread was to be eaten with a lamb taken from a sheep or goat and with bitter herbs. Although the Bible doesn’t indicate the other dishes eaten with unleavened bread, I’ve noticed meat, fish, soup, grains, vegetables, and cookies on the Passover Recipes list.

Just make sure to use Kosher for Passover ingredients and no leaven. No leaven means no yeast, no baking soda, or baking powder.

Does Unleavened Bread have Oil?

Since the scriptures do not indicate whether the children of Israel were to use oil or other specific ingredients besides the order of no leaven (the dough was baked and had no leaven, Exodus 12:39.) Perhaps, each household prepared unleavened bread in their own way as long as they didn’t use any leaven. If you think about it, almost every cook bakes bread differently.

Tips:

Parchment paper prevents the dough from sticking to the surface and makes it easier to transfer over to the sheet pan.
Score the top.
Broil for pretty bread spotting.
Dry leftovers to make Matzo Meal for recipes like Matzo Ball Soup!

How To Make Baked Unleavened Bread (Soft Matzo):

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