American

Matzo-Inspired Everything Crackers

by:
March 11, 2021
3.5
4 Ratings
Matzo-Inspired Everything Crackers
Photo by Ty Mecham
  • Makes 16 crackers
Author Notes

Rabbinic law mandates that matzo, from mixing to baking, must be made in under 18 minutes. These unleavened crackers, inspired by matzo's crispy minimalism, were not developed for that rule—though you could pull off the recipe in under that time, if you hustle and have helpers. I'd advise halving the yield, rolling some crackers while baking others, and baking multiple crackers at a time (maybe 2, depending on the size of your pizza stone). If you’re only concerned with leavened versus unleavened (or not even concerned with that), let the dough rest to give the gluten a chance to relax. If you can’t find everything seasoning, mix your own by combining poppy and sesame seeds, dried onion and garlic, plus a fair amount of coarse salt, all to taste. These are best the day of, but they'll keep for a couple days in a tightly sealed container. —Emma Laperruque

Test Kitchen Notes

We've updated the title of this recipe from Everything Matzo to Matzo-Inspired Everything Crackers, to underscore the differences between this recipe and Kosher-for-Passover matzo. —The Editors

What You'll Need
Ingredients
  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1 cup whole-wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1/2 cup water, plus more as needed
  • 1 egg white, beaten with a fork
  • 1 cup everything seasoning, to sprinkle
Directions
  1. Add a pizza stone to the oven and preheat to 500° F.
  2. Combine the flours and salt in a food processor. Pulse a few times to blend. With the food processor running, drizzle in the oil, then the water. If a dough hasn’t formed by the time all the water is in, pulse a few more times. If this doesn’t work, add a tablespoon of water and pulse again. Err on the side of under- versus over-processing. It shouldn’t form one big blob, but rather a mealy mixture that holds together when poked or squeezed.
  3. Transfer the dough to a bowl, encourage into a sort of-ball by hand, and cover. Let rest for about 10 minutes—or don’t, if you’re trying to accomplish this is under 18 minutes.
  4. Divide into 16 pieces (they don’t have to be perfectly even).
  5. Roll and bake—a couple at a time, if your pizza stone has the space—while keeping the rest of the pieces covered with a towel, to prevent any drying out: Working on an un-floured work surface, roll each piece into a 6x6-inch square, or as thin as possible. Brush the egg white on top. Sprinkle generously with everything seasoning. Use your hands to press the seasoning into the dough (be firm, it can handle it). Gingerly pick up the square and lay on the hot pizza stone. Bake for 2 to 2 1/2 minutes. Remove to a cooling rack.
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  • Emma Laperruque
    Emma Laperruque
  • Burton
    Burton
Emma Laperruque
Emma was the food editor at Food52. She created the award-winning column, Big Little Recipes, and turned it into a cookbook in 2021. These days, she's a senior editor at Bon Appétit, leading digital cooking coverage. Say hello on Instagram at @emmalaperruque.

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2 Reviews

Burton
Burton March 11, 2021
This recipe sounds fine, I guess, but I am utterly baffled by your decision to call it "matzo". In addition to the 18 minute requirement, matzah also cannot contain oil, eggs, everything seasoning, or, in most traditions, even salt. With all of these flavor ingredients added, and with additional time for the dough to rest, these crackers will have *none* of the flavor profile of real matzah, not to mention the wrong texture, regardless of whether or not they are leavened. Moreover, matzah doesn't even need to be cracker-like – soft, pita-like matzah is completely traditional, if increasingly hard to come by. The only requirements which are true across the board for all Jewish communities are that matzah is made from dough which has been baked with essentially no time to rise or rest, and with no seasonings besides the flour itself and the water that is used to form it – and none of those requirements are met here. Forget the Jewish law perspective – from a culinary perspective, this just plain isn't matzah. It's isn't even close to matzah. Just call it an everything seasoning cracker – don't try and shoehorn the holiday of Passover into this recipe that has nothing to do with it.
 
Emma L.
Emma L. March 11, 2021
Hi Burton! Thanks for raising this. Totally see your point, and we've adjusted the title to reflect that.