the.com/matzah
Bread that refused to rise because the Israelites refused to wait.
means A flat, unleavened bread made only from flour and water, baked quickly without allowing it to rise, traditionally eaten during Passover.
from From Hebrew 'matzah' (מַצָּה), rooted in the verb meaning 'to drain out' or 'to squeeze,' hinting at bread drained of moisture and leavening alike. The word traveled into Yiddish and English largely unchanged, carried by the Passover story itself — the Israelites fled Egypt so quickly their dough had no time to rise, so they baked it flat in the desert sun. That tale isn't folk etymology layered on afterward; it's the Exodus narrative baked right into the word's traditional meaning.
- bake time
- must be made in under 18 minutes flat
- ingredients
- only flour and water, nothing else allowed
- nickname
- called the bread of affliction, still eaten yearly
- texture irony
- cracker-dry, yet central to a feast