Unleavened Bread
When Dita and I (Dougie) first married we attended a small Church of Christ congregation in Bryan, Texas. In that congregation the only communion bread that was acceptable was that made by Grandma Parsons. According to her family, the recipe came right out of the Bible. I have never been able to identify the book, chapter, and verse for the recipe, but I can tell you it was pretty awful - pasty and oily.
Since then, we have assembled in many different congregations and in some we used commercial matzo, but almost as many times someone in the congregation made the communion bread, and often it was us. There is something deeply spiritual about the process of making the bread for such a significant occasion.
True matzo requires some special tools, an extremely hot oven, and to be completely Kosher, must be supervised and bless by a Rabbi. But for this recipe, no Rabbi is required. And as a side note, the resulting product is good for meals other than a formal communion. Serve with hummus, baba ghanoush or any other dip-able creation.
Yield: about 8 tortilla shaped loafs (see notes below)
Time: 15 mins to mix, 30 mins to rest, 3-4 mins to bake or fry
Special equipment: a pizza stone is nice if you want to bake, a heavy skillet if you choose to griddle
500° F if baking (convection is good, but adjust the time), medium high if using a skillet
Ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour (plus some for flouring the rolling surface)
2 cups whole wheat flour (see notes below)
1 ½ cup warm water (from tap is fine)
2 tsp salt in the dough, a little more to sprinkle on the formed loaf if desired
2 tsp oil (olive would be authentic, but whatever you have around will work)
Instructions
1. In a large bowl add the flour, salt, and oil, mix well
2. Gradually add water while mixing/kneading
3. Kneed until you have a soft but not sticky dough, about 3 minutes or so
4. Cover the dough in the bowl with Saran or a slightly damp kitchen towel
5. Let the dough rest for 15 minutes
6. Preheat the oven to 500°F if baking (or the maximum temperature you can get)
7. Divide the dough into suitable size balls – 4 to 8 is a good start – and brush with oil
8. Cover again and let rest another 15 minutes (I usually omit this step)
9. Now is a good time to heat the griddle or skillet if using
10. Roll, press or sheet the dough as thin as you can. A little cornmeal sprinkled on the dough can help it not to stick too much)
11. Optional: dock the dough using a fork or similar device and/or sprinkle a little Kosher salt on the surface
12. Bake for 3-4 minutes. A little char on the surface of the bubbles is OK, but watch carefully
13. Or cook on the skillet/griddle for about 2 minutes on the first side, turn over and cook for another minute.
Notes:
This makes a lot of communion bread – about 16 or so loaves. It holds well in the freezer, but will stale and mold if stored in the refrigerator on at room temperature. The amounts can be decreased as long as you keep the ratios constant.
Whole wheat flour makes the loaves look more rustic. It can be omitted and just double the all-purpose flour used