Homemade Matzo
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Light, flaky, and crisp — homemade matzo is a world apart from store-bought.
To be honest, homemade matzo has never been at the top of my list of recipes to try, but when I braved the grocery store this week to get my Passover staples—brisket (for my go-to holiday brisket recipe), horseradish, matzo meal, etc.—there was no matzo to be had. It didn’t feel right to celebrate Passover without matzo, so I decided to attempt a homemade version. My first batch was rock-hard and tasted like cardboard (which you could argue sounds about right!). My second batch was tasty but so crisp and delicate that it shattered into a million crumbs when I took a bite. Finally, my third batch, an olive-oil enriched matzo adapted from Mark Bittman’s recipe in the New York Times, was flaky, tender, and perfectly crisp. I love this recipe! The dough is a pleasure to work with, and the matzos bake in just five minutes. (Note that homemade matzo is not kosher for Passover, so observant Jews might try this recipe outside of the Passover holiday.)
What you’ll need to make homemade matzo
You need four simple ingredients — all-purpose flour, salt, olive oil, and water.
How to make homemade matzo
To begin, combine the flour, salt and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade.
Once the food processor is on, add 1/2 cup water. Continue to run the food processor until dough forms a firm ball, rides around on the blade and is not at all sticky, about 2 minutes.
Place the dough on a clean spot on your kitchen counter.
Cut the dough into 12 small balls — this is easiest if you cut the ball in half, then in half again, then into thirds.
On a lightly-floured surface, flatten each ball into a 3-inch patty.
Use a rolling pin to roll each patty into a 6- to 8-inch circle. The shapes can be irregular, but the dough should be so thin you can almost see through it.
Put a few pieces of the rolled out dough on the prepared baking sheet. (I can usually fit about three.) Prick the dough all over with a fork.
Bake in a 500°F-oven for 2 to 4 minutes, keeping a very close eye on them, until they are golden and puffed in spots.
Flip the matzos and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more, until lightly golden all over.
Let the matzos cool and enjoy.
You may also like
- Chicken Soup with Matzo Balls
- Beef Tzimmes
- Moroccan Brisket with Dried Fruit and Capers
- Cauliflower Puree with Thyme
- Chicken Marbella
- Passover Rolls
Homemade Matzo
Light, flaky, and crisp — homemade matzo is a world apart from store-bought.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour, spooned into measuring cup and leveled-off
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- ⅓ cup olive oil
- ½ cup water
Instructions
- Heat oven to 500°F and set an oven rack in the middle position.
- Put the flour, salt and olive oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade. Once the food processor is on, add the water.
- Continue to run the food processor until dough forms a rough ball, rides around on the blade and is not at all sticky, about 90 seconds.
- Place the dough on a clean spot on your kitchen counter. Cut the dough into 12 small balls — this is easiest if you cut the ball in half, then in half again, then into thirds.
- On a lightly-floured surface, use your hand to flatten each ball into a 3-inch patty. Use a rolling pin to roll each patty into a 6- to 8-inch circle. The shapes can be irregular, but the dough should be so thin you can almost see through it. (It's good to turn the dough a few times as you roll to prevent sticking, but you don't need to worry about it too much as the dough is easy to peel of the counter.)
- Put a few pieces of the rolled out dough on a 13 x 18-inch baking sheet (I can usually fit 3). Prick the dough all over with a fork (this keeps it from puffing up too much).
- Bake for 2 to 4 minutes, keeping a very close eye on them, until they are golden and puffed in spots. Flip the matzos over and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more on the second side, until golden. Repeat with all the dough and let cool completely. Store in an air-tight container for up to 2 days.
- Note: Homemade matzo is not kosher for Passover, so observant Jews might try this recipe outside of the Passover holiday.
Nutrition Information
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- Serving size: 1 matzo
- Calories: 129
- Fat: 6 g
- Saturated fat: 1 g
- Carbohydrates: 16 g
- Sugar: 0 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 2 g
- Sodium: 85 mg
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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crackers turned out crisp and lovely, I experimented with it a bit .. made some small chips for easy dipping.. I used the toaster oven so I only cooked at 450* for 6-8 minutes ( we like them a lil darker than most folks) I added egg to a hunk of dough and a lil extra salt to make matzah balls for my broth and some chopped Lambs Quarters (greens) oh so good…
Thanks for sharing this recipe.
A really lovely recipe, I rolled mine into small balls and then out thinly, they were a hit. A versatile cracker to be used with a variety of dips and pates.
Thank You
This recipe produces the best matzoh that I have ever eaten. It is fast and easy. The dough is a joy to work with. Living on the south island of New Zealand where it is impossible to buy matzoh, I must make my own. But, given a choice of eating packaged matzoh or enjoying this, I would never buy matzoh again.
So easy to make. Delicious straight out of the oven. Thank you!
Question: Can this be made ahead or best served day of?
Yes, this can be made up to 2 days ahead of time. Hope you enjoy!
i made this today – just love it! The texture is nice and soft, not hard and cardboardy like regular matzoh. This is more like egg matzoh. I added garlic powder and dried dill for a little more flavour.
Please indicate more strongly that matzo made with anything other than flour and water is not matzo at all. It cannot be used for ritual purposes, as you did indicate. This recipe, because the flour is not Passover flour, cannot be kosher for Passover, but moreover, the addition of oil makes it something other than matzo. Like, flatbread.
Hi Ellen, Thanks for your feedback. I’ve added a note to the recipe. 🙂
So, if it is called “flatbread” and served outside of Passover, could it be considered kosher?
Hi Susan, it can be considered kosher but not kosher for Passover. Hope that clarifies!
We are an interfaith family. I like to say my Jewish husband hosts the best Christmas Eve Open House and this Christian Mama is pretty darn good at preparing a Passover Seder. When I saw Jenn’s recipe for matzos, I had to try them. Oh my! How fresh and delicious they tasted compared to the store-bought matzos in a box! Due to COVID, our usual 25-around-the-table Passover whittled down to only the 4 of us (we zoomed with the rest), but that made serving homemade matzos for both the Seder and to accompany my matzo ball soup much more manageable. We bake them year round to scoop up hummus, dip instead of chips, and serve with cheese instead of expensive water crackers. Good Job, Jenn!
Wow! I was thrilled to see this recipe. I grew up in Northern NJ where Jewish and Italian foods were ubiquitous. Matzos were a staple in my home; so much so that I took them for granted. Now I live in a rural area in another state in which matzos, even during Passover, are difficult to find and usually stale! So, I tried these, added some garlic and onion powder, and was so pleased with the results. I now have them on hand all the time. If I only could figure out how to replicate that egg and onion flavor….
I am eternally grateful for this recipe. It seems that matzo was as scarce as TP this year. It’s so traditional to have this for the holidays. Bless you
🙂 Happy Pesach!
Jenn, let me add my thanks for such a great recipe. It was so easy to make and was delicious—much, much better than store bought. My question: do you think I could use the extra matzoh for Matzoh Brei? I see below that you don’t recommend using it as matzoh meal for matzoh balls but I thought maybe? Thanks.
So glad you enjoyed it, JoAnna. I do think it’d work for matzo brei. Please LMK how it turns out. 🙂
It turned out perfectly! I pre-soaked the matzoh in hot tap water for 30 seconds before I poured off the water and added eggs. Thanks again, Jenn!
These were easy and delicious. Best matzoh I’ve eaten. Thank you!
because it isn’t matzo. Matzo is flour and water ONLY. No salt. Definitely no oil.
This recipe is excellent. I made it this morning with my 3 year old grandsons as part of their temporary home nursery school. We discussed Passover and its meaning and then made the matzo together. It was just the right length to keep them occupied.
I used white whole wheat flour and had to add extra water in order to form a dough ball.
Quite tasty but next time, probably later this week, I will various spices.
Thank you for such an easy and good recipe. Happy Passover!
This recipe is WONDERFUL. Thank you so much. Yesterday I made a batch of Kosher matzo in 18 minutes. It was thick and hard as a rock, perhaps similar to that made by our ancestors. Today I made your recipe, and it was exactly as you demonstrated. It baked up perfectly. It’s thin. It’s pretty. And it’s delicious!
I was SO excited to see this recipe-it was easy and delicious! 100x better than store bought-thank you and Chag Samaech!
Hi. Could you make the recipe to completion and then grind to powder or flakes, add eggs etc., to make your own matzo balls?
For the most predictable results, I wouldn’t recommend it. Sorry!
Hi Jen,
Can this be made with King Arthur’s gluten free flour?
Happy Passover!
Submitted this before Stefany’s same question. Will try and let you know how it comes out.
Your recipes are consistently excellent, btw, so I’m guessing this will be no different.
Happy Passover! I can’t wait to try this exactly as you’ve done it – but any thoughts on how to make egg matzoh? Maybe add egg yolk and use less oil or water? My family’s favorite is the ever-elusive Aviv brand egg and onion matzoh.
Hi Sheri, Yes I think it’d work to reduce the oil by 1.5 tablespoons and add one egg yolk. I’d love to know how it turns out if you try it!
The markets were all out of Gluten Free Matzoh. Do you know if you can use GF Flour? I know the brand/ingredients are all very different.
Hi Stefany, I do think it’d work here.
The recipe worked okay, but it didn’t taste as good as I thought it would..but I’m comparing it to the Yehuda gf Matzoh which I see contains honey, potato flakes and egg yolk.
A few notes:
I found it a little trickier to roll out dough thinly without it breaking 😕 was so much easier in the days I could eat gluten.
I needed extra water to get the gf flour dough to come together.
I used light olive oil. Next time I use extra virgin olive oil to impart more flavour.
Also will try adding a teaspoon of honey and just a tiny bit more salt as well.
Thanks for your recipe. It’s always tricky when you substitute things from original recipe. Just thought someone might appreciate my feedback.
Never mind about my question. I just made these without a food processor, adding the water a little bit at a time and they turned out great! So glad to have this recipe since our rural county doesn’t carry matzoh (or any Passover foods).
Ahhh, this came a day too late! Tried a different recipe for our Seder last night. Stowing this away for next year!
I am SO excited to make this! Store bough matzah just is kind of terrible. I can imagine adding some dried herbs to this to spice it up. Jenn – any adjustments to make if I use whole wheat flour?
Hi Elizabeth, I think this matzo would be wonderful with herbs or spices. I worry it will be dry and not as flaky with whole wheat flour; I’d use white whole wheat flour or sub just a fraction (1/4 to 1/2 cup) of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat.
I used white whole wheat flour and sprinkled Everything But the Bagel seasoning on it. Delicious for Shabbat tonight!
Can these be made without a food processor? If so, could you offer directions? Thanks!
Hi Lynn, It’s fine to mix in a bowl by hand or in a stand mixer; you’ll just need to knead the dough for 5 to 7 minutes. Hope that helps!