What Is Matzo?
Updated: May 25, 2024
What is matzo? Here's everything you need to know about this humble bread, which is most often served on the Jewish holiday of Passover.
As Passover approaches, you’ll see the shelves of your local stores lined with matzo. This bread is known by many names: matzo, matzah, matza. Whatever you call it, matzo is an essential part of the Passover Seder.
What is the meaning of matzo?
We spoke to Gloria Mezikofsky, a Taste of Home community member, who shared some background on what it means to celebrate Passover. “Passover celebrates the exodus of the Jewish people from slavery under Pharaoh in the land of Egypt to the land of Israel; a new beginning,” she says.
According to the Torah, when the Egyptian pharaoh finally agreed to free the enslaved Jews, they had to leave—fast. With not much time to prepare for their journey, Moses’ people couldn’t afford to wait for dough to rise, so they baked their bread unleavened.
Gloria adds, “Matzo is symbolic of their hurried exodus and a need to leave many treasured items behind. One staple item was flour.”
Today, Jews commemorate their ancestors’ flight to freedom by eating this same unleavened cracker-like flatbread. This is why Jews are forbidden to eat or keep chametz (leavened grain foods) in the home during Passover.
What is matzo made of?
Matzo is an unleavened bread made from flour and water. Speed is the name of the game if you’re whipping up a batch of homemade matzo. You have exactly 18 minutes from the moment you add water to the flour to mix, roll out and bake the flatbread. After 18 minutes, dough begins to rise, making it unsuitable for eating during Passover.
Is matzo gluten-free?
No, matzo is typically made with wheat flour. Though you can buy gluten-free matzo from familiar brands like Manischewitz, it’s not suitable to use for the Passover Seder. Seder matzo should only be made from grains that have the potential to leaven, or rise—wheat, rye, barley, spelt or oats—but most gluten-free matzos are made with tapioca and potato starch.
Different types of matzo
The most popular matzo is plain matzo. But there are almost as many types of matzos as there are types of bread! There are specialty matzos, like those made from whole wheat flour or spelt flour, and of course, gluten-free and organic matzos. There is round matzo, which has a beautiful and rustic look, and the classic square matzo. You can even find matzo with seasoning, such as everything bagel, garlic, egg or onion matzo.
And there’s a place for all of those matzos. For something like cream cheese and jam, you might want to stick to egg or plain matzo. But for other dishes, like matzo brei, any of the more savory flavors will do.
Not all matzo is kosher for Passover, so if you keep kosher, check for the kashrut symbol on the box.
What does matzo taste like?
It tastes like a cracker. Because matzo is an unleavened bread, there’s no rising that occurs. The result is a light cracker that takes on the flavor of whatever you’re putting on it. It also tends to be pretty dry, so it’s the perfect vessel for toppings like charoset, butter, jam, tuna salad or whatever you’re in the mood for.
What is matzo used for?
For starters, there are different types of matzo products you can buy:
- Matzo meal, or ground matzo, is used to make matzo balls for matzo ball soup. You’ll see it in plenty of other recipes, too, like Passover rolls or matzo meal pancakes. Some people include matzo meal in latkes.
- Matzo farfel is crumbled matzo. While matzo meal’s texture is similar to breadcrumbs, farfel is essentially a roughly crumbled cracker. It’s fantastic if you’re looking to make a crunchy topping, like for a kugel.
- Matzo cake meal is even more finely ground than matzo meal. It’s used in baking.
Though matzo is a must for Passover Seder recipes, you can eat it all year round. There’s a reason my grandma always kept a box tucked away in a cupboard—it’s a handy ingredient to add to a variety of dishes. You can use store-bought matzo to make pizzas, top it with cream cheese in lieu of your morning bagel and even make sweets like matzo toffee.
Matzo meal works as a substitute for bread crumbs in falafel, fried chicken or fish cakes. You can even get creative and use matzo crackers to make nachos!
Minas (Matzo Pies)
Matzo pies, known as minas, are a traditional Passover dish for many Sephardic Jews in places like Turkey, Greece, Spain and parts of Africa. This vegan spinach and potato matzo recipe from Nava Atlas of The Vegan Atlas blog is based on traditional minas recipes and uses a creamy blend of cashews and avocados instead of cheese.
Learn more about Passover traditions from around the world. 
Passover Baklava Bimuelos
Bimuelos are doughy fried balls that are often considered a Hanukkah food, but you can make them with matzo for Passover. Food writer and cookbook author Samantha Ferraro makes her mother's baklava bimuelos for Passover. Made with crushed matzo, eggs and spices, they're fried and covered in rose water syrup and a layer of ground pistachios.
Originally Published: April 05, 2022
