Unleavened Bread

Ask someone what they think of when they hear the word "Passover" and they'll probably say "It's a Jewish holiday around Easter." Technically they are correct, but more and more Christian families are starting to observe the Feast of Unleavened Breads as a way to delve deeper into their faith's history.
Others participate in Passover because their beliefs dictate that they live the Bible a little more literally. No matter what you believe, making your own unleavened bread is a fun, easy, and delicious activity that no one should miss out on.


I'm making mine because my family observes Passover (and my Mother-in-Law brought some over last year and it was positively addictive!). Because we aren't Jewish, I don't have to adhere to the strict timing rules,or invite a rabbi to oversee me, amongst other things in order to make it "Kosher for Passover."


Let's begin, shall we? The recipe will be written below.

Here we have our whole wheat flour (I used King Arthur brand), milk, egg yolk, honey, vegetable oil, and (you'll really get to know this little salt cellar) kosher salt.

First, you won't be silly and put your flour into an unreasonably small bowl. You'll use a big bowl. And make less dishes. Maybe.

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*blop*

In your silly small bowl, combine the honey, oil, and egg yolk. Mix until thoroughly combined.

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Woo, photo temperature change...

 Pour in the milk because it looks cool when it goes in.  Again, mix to combine.

Add the liquids into the flour and salt mixture and stir until it looks approximately like this:

At this point, I recommend that you just knead it with your hand a few times until it comes together. If there are any little bits left at the bottom of the bowl, feel free to add a tablespoon of milk and re-knead.

Split the dough into three even balls. These will become your loaves.

Here is the revelation I've been waiting to tell you all about! Instead of turning this out onto a floured surface,  you're going to roll it out in between two pieces of waxed paper. No flour is added to the dough, so the scraps won't toughen up after being re-rolled! It's also much easier to roll dough thinner, and clean-up is a breeze! I use this technique for pie crusts, other pastry dough, and cut sugar cookies, and it has yet to disappoint.

Roll the dough between your magical waxed paper until it can fit an 8" plate on it (my dough ended up being between 1/4" and 1/2" thick).

Peel off the top layer of waxed paper and reserve for the next ball. Lay the plate (or whatever) on top of the dough and cut around it with a butter knife, reserving the scraps.

Remove the plate and place a smaller bowl in the center of the dough. My bowl was 6". Push it down so it makes a deep indent in the dough, but doesn't cut through. The deeper the indent, the more pronounced the scoring when the bread is baked.

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Ah, push it - push it good. Ah, push it - push it real good.

OK. Remove the bowl and check out your handiwork. For the last circle, I used a wide shot glass - approximately 2". Repeat with the shot glass, centered. Sing "Push it" by Salt-N-Pepa.

Get caught. Deny everything.

Alright, at this point you are ready to score the outer two circles with the back of the blade of a butter knife.  Deeply press the knife into the dough without cutting through. I made my circles into 8 sections a piece, alternating the scoring.  

With a toothpick, pierce each section of dough three times to let out the steam while baking. Peel the dough circle off of the bottom layer of waxed paper and place -correct side up- on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes, depending on how soft or firm you want it to be. Carefully remove the bread from the baking sheet when slightly cooled. While the previous loaf bakes, you should be able to complete the next round for baking.

Unless you have a life and you are interrupted multiple times. I once heard that some people don't have interruptions or other responsibilities, but I don't believe those lies.

This bread is best eaten within a few days. Store in a zip-top bag once it is fully cooled to preserve the moisture of the bread. We like to eat this with butter and honey, but you could eat it plain, with jam, or in the place of crackers with soup.

 Originally I thought this would be sweet and soft, but since it -is- unleavened, it's more dense and chewy. I wouldn't make sandwiches with it, but it makes a filling, nutritious snack.

Here's the recipe. I haven't learned how to do printables yet, but I promise, I will.

Unleavened Bread

(Adapted from Chef Shadows' recipe on www.food.com)

Yields 3 8" flat loaves

3 1/2 c whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/3 + 2 TBsp honey

1/2 c vegetable oil

1 egg yolk

1 c milk

Mix honey, oil and egg in a small bowl. Add milk. Mix until throrughly combined. Add liquid mixture gradually to the flour/salt in a large bowl. Knead until dough comes together fully. Divide dough into three equal pieces.

Working with one piece at a time, roll out (1/4"-1/2") to approximately 9" round between two pieces of waxed paper .

Score dough using a salad plate, then a bowl, and finally a shot glass for the center (or whatever works to make approximately equal outer circles). Score spokes out from the center circle and middle circle, creating 8 segments in each. Prick each segment a few times with a toothpick to prevent bubbles. 

Bake on cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes at 350 degrees.

Store in refrigerator or freezer in air-tight bag or container.