What is matzo, cooking technology, how to make unleavened cakes on your own. Composition and calorie content, benefits and harms to the human body. Use as a culinary ingredient, history.
Matzah or matzot is a food product of Israeli and Jewish cuisine, unfermented cakes made from unfermented dough. The name literally translates as "squeezed out" or "deprived of water." Shape - flat circle or rectangle, surface color - white, with yellowish, gray or brownish blotches; taste is neutral; smell - absent. In appearance, the product resembles soldier's biscuits, only thinner and larger in size.
How are unleavened matzo cakes made?
Unleavened cakes can be baked from different types of flour: rye, barley, oats and spelled. But most often, whole grain wheat grinding is used for the dough. There are special technological lines for the preparation of matzo.
Flour is fed into the kneading machine from a special hopper, from where the finished kneading is fed to the extruder via a conveyor. The required thickness is formed on the conveyor with the help of special rolls - 2-3 mm. While the dough tape is moving towards the cutting device, it is pierced with a special nozzle. This process stops the possible fermentation of the dough and allows you to remove all air bubbles that have arisen during kneading.
At present, devices have been developed, thanks to which it is possible to prepare matzo, as in manual processes - in the form of a circle. Previously, with automatic production, only unleavened rectangular or square cakes were produced. The billets are fed into a tunnel oven, where baking takes place at 180 ° C. Then, with the help of a conveyor, finished products enter the cooler, and from there for packaging.
If fermentation begins, the product is considered non-kosher and cannot be used for religious purposes. The whole cooking process is designed for 18 minutes. This time is enough to thoroughly knead the dough and prevent the onset of fermentation.
How to make matzo at home
- Well sifted flour is poured into a bowl and water is poured.
- Knead an elastic, fairly dense dough.
- A roller is rolled up, cut into small pieces and each of them is rolled into a layer 4-5 mm thick. Sprinkle flour on a board and rolling pin to avoid sticking.
- Pierce the surface with a fork on both sides. The holes should be spaced frequently so that the dough does not bubble when baking.
- Next, you should heat a non-stick frying pan and fry, or rather, dry the workpieces. The tortillas are turned over as soon as crispy specks appear.
- You can also use the oven for baking. It is heated to 200 ° C, the grate is taken out in advance. The blanks are laid out on a baking sheet covered with parchment and put in the oven for 3-5 minutes. The hot dough sheets are then cooled on a wire rack to ensure an even flow of air and to avoid cracking.
The proportions of products for a homemade matzo recipe: for 250-260 g flour - 100 ml of water. Salt, sugar, and other flavoring agents or seasonings are not used on Easter cakes. When preparing for daily use, the dough is kneaded with nuts, honey, eggs, and red wine is poured in instead of water. This product is called matza ashira. It is made specifically for people suffering from anemia, children, pregnant women and the elderly. During the Passover week, it is necessary to give up bread, and if a special supplement is not introduced into the diet, the health of the "weak" may deteriorate.
Composition and calorie content of matzo
In the photo, unleavened matzah cakes
Despite the fact that unleavened cakes are baked with only 2 ingredients, the chemical composition is rich. After all, the dough is kneaded on the basis of whole grain flour. Fermentation of the batch does not occur, heat treatment is minimal, and the complex of nutrients is preserved almost in full.
Calorie content of matzo - 334 kcal per 100 g, of which
- Proteins - 10, 8 g;
- Carbohydrates - 69, 9 g;
- Fats - 1, 3 g.
Vitamins per 100 g
- Vitamin B1 (thiamine) - 0.17 mg;
- Vitamin B2 (riboflavin) - 0.04 mg;
- Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) - 0.17 mg;
- Vitamin B9 (folic acid) - 27, 1 mcg;
- Vitamin E - 1.5 mg;
- Vitamin PP (niacin equivalent) - 3 mg;
- Choline - 52 mg;
- Vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) - 0.3 mg;
- Vitamin H (biotin) 2 mcg
Minerals in matzo per 100 g
- Sodium - 3.06 mg;
- Potassium - 122 mg;
- Phosphorus - 86 mg;
- Magnesium - 16, 06 mg;
- Calcium - 18, 28 mg;
- Sulfur - 70, 06 mg;
- Copper - 100, 04 mcg;
- Boron - 37 mcg;
- Silicon - 4 mg;
- Iodine - 1.5 mcg;
- Manganese - 0.57 mg;
- Chromium - 2, 2 mcg;
- Fluorine - 28, 25 mcg;
- Molybdenum - 12.5 mcg.
- Vanadium - 90 mcg;
- Cobalt - 1.6 mcg;
- Selenium - 6 mcg;
- Zinc - 0.7 mg;
- Iron - 1, 2 mg;
- Chlorine - 20, 09 mg.
Unleavened cakes have a very interesting property: when they are eaten by themselves, it is difficult to control portions, as is the case with seeds. But if you eat a small amount after a meal, then the feeling of hunger is blocked for a long time. That is why the food product is often included in the diet for weight loss. After the next meal, half a leaf is eaten (calorie content 45 kcal), and until the next meal it is possible to do without snacks.
Useful properties of matzo
From the point of view of nutritional science (the science of nutrition, which studies the composition of foods, the interaction of food ingredients and the effect on the body), unleavened cakes are an ideal component of the diet. The composition is absolutely natural, balanced vitamin and mineral complex.
Wholegrain Matzo Benefits
- Increases the tone of the body, satisfies hunger for a long time, restores strength.
- Increases immunity and suppresses the activity of harmful microflora.
- It accelerates peristalsis, helps to get rid of the accumulation of toxins and toxins, and has an antioxidant effect.
- Improves the quality of the skin, prevents the development of acne.
- Helps to avoid weight gain and inhibits the development of cellulite.
- Normalizes cholesterol and blood sugar levels.
- Stabilizes blood pressure.
If you have a history of celiac disease, you can buy Hebrew matzah made with gluten-free flour at health food stores or online. Such a product is more expensive than usual, but it can be consumed with gluten intolerance and used as the first feeding for young children, of course, after soaking it in liquid (if this is not done, the baby may choke on crumbs or be injured by the sharp edge of the cake).
Contraindications and harm to matzo
Before purchasing unleavened cakes for a diet, you need to pay attention to the composition. Some manufacturers add preservatives or sweeteners to their preparation. It is not known what effect they will have on the body.
If you are gluten intolerant, you should not eat unleavened whole grain tortillas. As already mentioned, a spelled product is made for people with a history of celiac disease.
Matzo can be harmful during exacerbation of peptic ulcer disease, gastritis, regardless of etiology, chronic pancreatitis, biliary dyskinesia and liver or gallbladder diseases. Due to the dehydration of the product, the load on the digestive organs increases.
To improve digestion, unleavened cakes should be washed down with plenty of liquid or eaten with vegetables or herbs to facilitate the passage of the food lump through the digestive tract and stimulate the production of enzymes necessary for the digestion of food. If the recommendation is disregarded, the development of stagnant processes in adults, and in children - intestinal obstruction is possible.
It is advisable to limit the use of unleavened cakes if wheat flour of the highest or first grade was used for kneading. Such a product increases the level of cholesterol and sugar in the blood, does not stop the feeling of hunger, and accelerates the formation of the fat layer.
Matzo recipes
Unleavened cakes are eaten by themselves, like bread, and are introduced as an ingredient in various culinary recipes. It is ground into flour and baked into breads, pies and buns.
The simplest dish is macebray. Eggs are beaten with milk, slightly salting, as for croutons. The cakes are soaked, fried until crisp in a frying pan, greased with oil. Served as a dessert with jam, honey, sprinkled with powdered sugar or cinnamon.
There are many recipes for matzo:
- Grandma … Knead the flat cakes into small pieces, but do not grind them. Pour in saturated warm chicken broth. Approximate proportions of products: 600-800 g for 2-3 cups. The matzo should completely absorb the liquid. Finely chopped onions, 2 heads, are fried in chicken fat until golden brown. Beat 3 eggs with a little salt. Combine all the ingredients, mix and put them again in a frying pan that has not been washed after frying. Cover with a lid and bake over low heat until the egg is completely set. Then remove the lid and leave for 2-3 minutes so that the grandmother becomes drier.
- Matzo pies … Half the onion is sautéed in sunflower oil and then twisted with beef or chicken fillet, 300 g, along with the rest of the raw onion. Salt and pepper. Unleavened cakes are soaked in boiled water so that they are easy to cut, but not crumble. Cut the sheets into 4-6 squares. Beat 3 eggs. A little matzo is ground into flour - for breading. Spread the minced meat between two blanks, press them together, dip them first into the eggs, and then roll them in breadcrumbs. Fry on both sides until the meat is cooked, like pasties.
- Imberlach … Crushed unleavened cakes, 500 g, into small pieces. Melt and bring to a boil 1 glass of honey. Add 1, 5 tbsp to it. l. olive oil, 2/3 tsp chopped ginger root, add matzo until it turns amber. Remove from heat, add a handful of grated walnuts (poppy seeds can be used). Knead and spread on a wooden chopping board moistened with water. The thickness of the layer is no more than 1-1, 2 cm. Cool to room temperature, put in the refrigerator, cut into squares and put into the refrigerator to cool the imberlach. The finished dish with matzo resembles kozinaki.
- Egg picnic salad … Hard eggs, slices of radish and fresh cucumber, leaves of green lettuce are mixed in a salad bowl. Salt, pepper, season with balsamic or ordinary vinegar. Beat eggs with salt, add finely chopped green onions and pour in unleavened cakes. When they become soft, lightly fry on one side in a pan so that the egg grabs, bend it in half and, holding it, fry a little harder. The shape of the blank should resemble the cover of a book. Put the salad inside before serving.
Interesting facts about matzo
The history of this product is quite ancient - it is one of the types of bread baked by the Jews. Many centuries ago, matzo was no different from bread and looked more like Armenian lavash. But when in the XIV century. BC NS. Jews in a hurry left Egypt, they had to be content with cakes made of dough, which did not have time to ferment. The exodus was described in the Torah (Old Testament). And since then, they began to bake matzo only from unleavened dough.
The thickness of the matzo changed gradually. At first, it looked like flat loaves, but due to concerns that the time allotted for cooking, according to religious traditions, the flatbreads would not have time to bake, standards were set. In the Jerusalem Talmud, it was recommended to limit the width of the palm (tefah), but later the dough was rolled out to the thickness of the finger, and then the thickness was reduced to a few millimeters. Modern matzo is more like a cracker.
Most mentions of matzah in the Torah - more than 50 times when describing the traditions of Passover and several times as a treat. As a dietary product, unleavened cakes were described by Hippocrates in a collection of diets for the treatment of acute diseases.
By the way, the property of unleavened bread for weight loss was first used by the keepers of the prisons of Ancient Greece, Egypt and Turkey. To reduce the ration of the prisoners, after meals they were given a sheet of matzo. This helped to avoid food riots, despite two meals a day. Unleavened cakes suppressed hunger for a long time.
Throughout Passover, religious Jews refuse yeast bread and switch to matzo. On the 8th day, various dishes begin to be prepared from it. But this does not mean that unleavened cakes are in demand only a few days a year - they are one of the main components of Israeli cuisine.
The mechanization of the matzah-making process has generated a lot of controversy between Orthodox and less religious Jews. Nevertheless, progress won out. Without it, it was impossible to meet the demand for this product. The first semi-automatic baking machine was invented by Rabbi Itzik Singer in 1838, and now many matzebakeries are equipped with production lines.
Interestingly, industrially made flatbreads go on sale no earlier than 1 month before Passover. At home, matzah can be baked at least every day and please your family with delicious, and most importantly, healthy dishes.
How matzah cakes are made - watch the video:
