[Avodah] Hard Matza, Most Mehudar Soft Matza

[Meir Rabi]

Akiva Miller wrote
I can testify that when I was part of my yeshiva's chabura making hand
matzos, they were NOT baked until they were hard.

Rather, they were baked until they were "done", as in "fit to eat".When they
came out of the oven, they were still soft, pliable, and moist.

However, about a minute or so after being removed from the oven, the matza
would dry out and become hard. But this was a separate step, which occurs
*after* the matza is done baking.

If any posek considers this to be a requirement, custom, or whatever (as RMR
is searching for), I predict it will be difficult to find, as it would be
phrased in terms of "the matza is baked until such time as it will become
hard after it is removed from the oven."

Rather, I suspect that no such requirement exists according to anyone, and
that all poskim of all stripes merely require that the matza be fully baked,
and that the hardness is merely a result of thinness of the matza, which
*is* something that the poskim mention. Making a thin wafer-like dough *is*
mentioned as a way to insure that the matza can be baked quickly, easily,
and fully. The resulting hardness is not required - maybe not even desired -
but is merely an inevitable side-effect.

Perhaps someday, someone will figure out a way to make matzos which are
cracker-thin and fully-baked, yet still soft. But if that does happen, I
predict that a machlokes will arise over the definition of "fully baked",
and some will claim that the softness is evidence that it is *not* fully
baked.
end quote

I accept your observations. Matzos, as do biscuits, become hard and crisp as
they cool and their moisture evaporates. I use the word 'bake' loosely to
include this, out of the oven stage.

The ShO defines baking as when no stringy doughy threads stretch between the
two pieces of Matza that is torn apart.
The MBerura adds that this test can be performed only when the Matza is
still warm out of the oven. I dont understand this. Is the MB suggesting
that if the Matza was not fully baked when it came out of the oven, i.e.
there would have been stringy doughy threads, then after it has cooled it
will longer have such threads?

Also, the thin Matza mentioned in ShO, is the Ramo who speaks of Rekikin.
However, the BHeitev says this refers to Matza 10 - 12 mm thick. Thin is a
relative term, not absolute. Compared to matza that is Kosher if only
slightly less than one Tefach thick, one finger thickness is quite thin.

Furthermore, the MB adds a second test, poking the Matza with a finger (or a
skewer) to see if any dough sticks, again limited to being tested whilst
still warm from the oven.

I think this all points towards the Matza being soft even after it has
cooled. I would have thought that the MB would say in discussing these
matters, something along the lines of, these days the custom is to bake
Matza until hard and crisp, which he apparently does not.

In Halacha, bread dough that has been baked hard and crisp is no longer
bread but Mezonos. It is therefore V difficult to imagine that matza is made
crisp and hard is the preferred style Matza of Halacha.

I have produced last year and will PG produce next year soft matza that is
less than 1 mm thick, machine made, produced in less than 40 seconds, whose
dough is idle in total for not more than 5 seconds, the oven conveyor belt
is constantly being cleaned and kashered on its return journey and in view
of these considerations, I think is probably the most Mehudar Matza
available in the world today.
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