Prepping for Passover: ‘Matzah Bake-Off’ prepares for upcoming holiday

Jewish families from the Northwest Suburbs gained hands-on experience Sunday making the food that is at the center of the Passover celebration.

They made matzo from scratch at “The Great Matzah Bake-Off,” hosted by the Chabad Jewish Center of Arlington Heights at the Arlington Heights Historical Museum.

One of the major Jewish holidays, Passover celebrates the Jews’ escape from slavery in Egypt. This year, the festival runs April 12 through April 20. During that time, Jews refrain from eating leavened bread.

“The tradition tells us that as our ancestors were leaving Egypt, they were in such a rush to leave, they didn't want to stay for even an extra day,” explained the Chabad center’s rabbi, Yaakov Kotlarsky.

In their haste, they left with their dough hanging over their shoulders, baking in the sun, he said.

“There was no time for the dough to rise, and they ate these matzo crackers,” he said

The recipe used Sunday called for 10 cups of flour and 2⅟₂ cups of water, enough for 20 children each to make their own matzo.

The group created their own flour out of wheat stalks, grinding the kernels in a mill and then mixing the flour with water and kneading the dough. Children then used rolling pins to flatten the dough before it was placed in an oven.

Among those participating was someone with a professional background, Arlington Heights resident Eduard Goldstein, who once worked at a matzo factory in Skokie. He was passing on his experience to his son Elan, 9, and daughter Bella, 12.

Goldstein said the event offered a rare chance to make their own matzo.

“Where else are they going to have this opportunity?” he said. “We’re not going to make it at home, because you have to buy special flour. You need to know how much flour versus water.”

The finished matzo was round, in the style of Shmura matzo, unlike the square matzo you might find in the store.

“Shmura means guarded,” Kotlarsky explained. From the moment the wheat stalks are harvested, they are watched over to ensure they don’t come into contact with water. If the water hits the kernels, it could lead to leavening.

Kotlarsky said there is a spiritual significance to the matzo.

“Matzo is flat and represents humility, which is such an important character trait,” he said, whereas leavened bread is inflated and represents ego.