Sesame Matzah – Recipe

After making this for my very first (and hopefully last) Passover under lockdown, I'm never going back to normal matzah again. First of all, it's ridiculously cheap and easy to make – it's essentially flour, water and oil. Second of all, my sesame twist makes it so darned delicious.

I spent some time researching matzah recipes, and most of them are pretty similar: just plain flour and water, sometimes a little oil, rolled very thinly and baked for just a few minutes at a very high heat. Lots of recipes called for oven temperatures of 275°C or even more... but mine only goes up to 250°C. But I found it still worked fine, even though I didn't get the distinct charred blisters of commercial matzah. I still ended up with a delightfully crisp, well, crispbread. This will be amazing with some cheese and relish.

Ready? Let's go.

Ingredients:

130g plain flour

1/4 tsp salt

40ml toasted sesame oil

50ml (approximately) water

1 tbsp sesame seeds

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 250°C and line a large baking tray with baking parchment.

2. Place the flour, salt and sesame oil in a mixing bowl. Gradually add the water, mixing with a spoon and then your hands as it comes together to form a dough (you may not need the full 50ml or you may need a few drops more – how much the flour decides to absorb seems to depend on the weather and atmosphere).

3. Divide the dough into four equal pieces. Dust your work surface with a little extra flour, and a pinch of sesame seeds, before rolling out a piece very thinly. Flip it over as you roll a few times so both sides pick up some sesame seeds.

4. Repeat with the other three dough pieces, and lay on your baking sheet. Prick all over with a fork and place in the oven. After 3–5 minutes (when it just begins to turn golden brown), flip them over and bake for a further 3–5 minutes. Keep an eye on them – how fast they cook and brown will depend on how thinly you rolled the dough.

5. Transfer onto a cooling rack to cool completely before serving.

Enjoy, and have fun.