Editing Matzah (section)

{{Short description|Unleavened flatbread in Jewish cuisine; an element of the Passover festival}}
{{Redirect|Matza}}
{{Infobox food
| name             = Matzah
| image            = Machine-made Shmura Matzo.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = Machine-made matzot from Jerusalem
| alternate_name   = Matzo, matza
| place_of_origin          = 
| region           =
| creator          =
| course           =
| type             = [[Flatbread]]
| served           =
| main_ingredient  =
| variations       =
| calories         =
| other            =
}}

[[File:Matzot_René_Neymann_Wasselonne_avril_2014.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Matzah plate with an inscription of the blessing over the matzah]]
[[File:Shmura_Matzo.jpg|right|thumb|250x250px|Handmade Shemurah Matzah]]
[[File:Matzah.jpg|thumb|250x250px|Matzah Shemurah worked with machine for Passover]]

'''Matzah''', '''matzo''', or '''maẓẓah'''<ref>{{cite book|last=Trachtenberg|first=Joshua|author-link=Joshua Trachtenberg|orig-date=Originally published 1939|chapter=Glossary of Hebrew Terms|chapter-url=https://www.sacred-texts.com/jud/jms/jms43.htm|title=Jewish Magic and Superstition|date=13 February 2004 |publication-place=Philadelphia|publisher=[[University of Pennsylvania Press]]|publication-date=2004|page=333|isbn=9780812218626|access-date=Feb 6, 2023|quote=''Maẓẓah''—unleavened bread.}}</ref> ({{langx|he|מַצָּה|translit=maṣṣā}}'','' {{plural form}}: '''matzot''' or [[Ashkenazi Hebrew|Ashk.]] '''matzos''') is an [[Unleavened bread|unleavened flatbread]] that is part of [[Jewish cuisine]] and forms an integral element of the [[Passover]] festival, during which ''[[chametz]]'' ([[leaven]] and five grains deemed by [[Jewish law]] to be self-leavening) is forbidden.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Eating Matza - Jewish Tradition |url=https://yahadut.org/en/shabbat-and-festivals/the-seder/eating-matza/ |access-date=2024-04-04 |website=yahadut.org |language=en}}</ref>

According to the [[Torah]], God commanded the [[Israelites]]<ref>Exodus 12:15</ref> (modernly, [[Jews]] and [[Samaritans]]) to eat only unleavened bread during the seven-day Passover festival. Matzah can be either soft like a [[pita]]<ref name= intime /> or a  crisp variety, widely produced commercially because of its long shelf life. The soft matzah only keeps for a day or so unless frozen; very limited commercial production, only in the period leading up to Passover, is available. Some versions of the crisp type are available all year.

Matzah meal and matzah cake meal is crisp matzah that has been ground. The cake meal has a very fine near flour-like consistency, useful in baking, while the standard matzah meal is somewhat coarser and used in cooking. Matzah meal is used to make matzah balls (kneidles/kneidlach), the principal ingredient of [[Matzah ball|kneydlach soup]] (often translated as "matzah ball soup"). Sephardic Jews typically cook with matzah itself rather than matzah meal.<ref name=":0" />

Matzah that is [[kosher]] for Passover is limited in [[Ashkenazi]] tradition to plain matzah made from flour and water. The flour may be made from [[Whole grain|whole]] or [[refined grain]], but must be made from one of [[Five species of grain|five grains]]: [[wheat]], [[spelt]], [[barley]], [[rye]], or [[oat]]. Some [[Sephardic]] communities allow matzah to be made with [[egg]]s or [[fruit juice]] to be used throughout the holiday, while Ashkenazi Jews do not use such matzah on Passover, except in special circumstances, as for the sick and elderly.<ref name="egg">{{cite web|title=Is Egg Matzah Kosher For Passover? |url=https://www.chabad.org/holidays/passover/pesach_cdo/aid/1163475/jewish/Is-Egg-Matzah-Kosher-For-Passover.htm|first=Menachem|last=Posner|work=Chabad.org|publisher=Lubavitch World Headquarters|access-date=3 April 2018}}</ref>