Sunday, February 02, 2025

Chaburah Hand Matzos some pointers

  Chaburah Matzos 5785

1-      Room cleaned out completely from any dough pieces, flour dust etc. “a chometz free environment”.

2-      Only Yoshon wheat [sometimes they add spring wheat to add gluten]. More whole wheat in mix, less water. Note: a dry crumbly dough could handle a hot oven 1000F +. The dough must be worked out very well to become very pliable, so the velgerers can easily roll out a thin large matzo. We’ll use the flour with added “Rozoveh” that works best with the least amount of water. 40% water ratio to flour

3-      Without Finners, it’s very hard to work out the dough be very pliable, unless they use more water which causes many other problems.

4-      Another Finner table, so the finning will be longer and a more pliable dough. The knetter & Finner are the first ones finished by the 18-minute break, so they should start earlier, same in the morning at first “ma’irah”. All finning tables to be used, smaller mairos. Too often matzo dough piles up by the reddler table- corrective solution needs to be implemented??

5-      Change bowl & gloves between every mayrah-even first 3.

6-      Change water cup every time. (the one that pours water into flour) as it may splash flour onto the cup.

7-      Plastic sleeve on vacuum, by the “knetter”.

8-      Finning tables & finning bars should be wiped with a dry towel in between every dough. [by a chabura person]

9-      By the finning-always go down to bottom with the finner bar, to prevent folds, hand roll into a log.

10-   The aluminum dough divider, must be changed after every dough, wiped clean (not over table) & checked.

11-   They should be cut equal size.

12-   We’ll have people to work the dough pieces after it’s cut.

13-   The edges should be the same thickness as the rest not a thicker rim.

14-   Matzo dough should have a moisture percentage of 18% +-

15-   Rolling pins should not be kept under the arm. Rolling pins should not leave room.

16-   Sufficient number of sticks that take the matzos to the oven, so we don’t have to reuse any during the 18 minutes.

17-   Burn out the redlers & the bowls the night before or that morning early.

18-   Reddler paper to move a bit quicker.

19-   No waiting at the redling table, straight into oven -1-2 or 3 matzos- prefer sets of 2 matzos at a time, there will be less burned ones

20-   9-10- to the pound

21-   Even steel will b end when hot, therefore if the matzo bends does not necessarily mean it’s not baked well, chech the moisture percentage if it’s in the range of 2%, it’s fully baked.

22-   If need be, lower the oven temp, unless water or other adjustments can be made. [water 40% +-]

23-   No matzo is to be moved around from place to place in the oven; once it’s picked up it should be removed completely.

24-   The matzo shouldn’t be kept at the oven door after baking, to dry out.

25-   Clean boards by oven to put matzos on when removing from oven.

26-   Reddler table should be moved further from oven room door, if need be.

27-   No outsiders at any time during our baking time. No room & it’s a shter to the chaburah.

28-   We can check at packing for burnt matzos, kefulos & remove them.

29-   Silica gel packs supplied by customer, to be put into each box inside the plastic bag.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

How about showing one halachic source for any of this?

Anonymous said...

# 10
The aluminum divider should be cleaned after each cut no waiting until the whole dough is cut.

Anonymous said...

#4
Sure hope the kneaded and the dinner finish way WAY before 18min.

Anonymous said...

All of the pointers was not necessarily a Halacha or minhag, but from 40 + years of practical experience.

Anonymous said...

Many in the know consider the writer a Mumcha, in Chaburah Matzos.

Anonymous said...

40 years of “I do it, you don’t” equals “idiyd” chaburah crackers.
The Chaburos I’m familiar with apply chumrahs that most chaburah seem to think are actual chumrahs. As certain reshonim require then even though it’s not quoted l’halacha.
But to make sure there is no chametz in the bakery ain’t no chaburah chumrahs.
However, to make sure the matzos are made leshaim mitzvous matzah along each and every step of the baking process, to make sure there absolutely no pauses during the dough to oven process is a light chumrahs. To use flour milled by hand not a machine is a legit chumrah which some chaburahs use.
The water issues etc. are legit
So follow your own chacurah and adding some of these “I do it you don’t” is a waste of energy and money hard earned money.

Was the ג' בשלח segula a mistake said...

https://blog.torahmatzav.com/2025/02/he-never-said.html

ab said...

No kashrus/chometz concern with the silica gel? How can they use vacuum pack for those that are makpid not to reheat matzos?

Anon said...

Who decided 9 - 10 matzos per pound? Just because you go to the PZ place does not mean that's the standard.
Who decided not to move matzos IN oven, Where the is no Chametz crumbs at all with over 1000 Degrees heat.
Who decided not to let matzos DRY aqt door ? OK at the metal part of door MAYBE but further in, why not ?

Anon said...

Can't check for "wet" matzos at packing> I you do that you might as well buy your matzos off the Shelf.

Anonymous said...

Yudell is very right, if you start off with an 18% moisture dough, and you finished matzo right out of the oven is 2%, you have a completely baked matzo regardless if it feels soft due to the heat, just like steel will also bend because of the heat.

Anonymous said...

What moisture do the Sattmar bakeries dough , 25-30% moisture and the finished matzo out of the oven moisture is 5-7+ %.

Anonymous said...

Like the Ramah says certain thing you can't learn from the Seforim only from a Mumcha. Others like to learn from their mistakes, so they are very educated.

Anonymous said...

Please bring your moisture meters to the baking so you can measure the moisture at every step and tell the bakery to add water or not, to add flour or not, to keep in oven longer or not, How much wood to add, how much coal to add and then reject at least 20 to 25% of matzahs (Otherwise you not a chaburah). Come home with nothing left in the bank or credit line and eat the matzah with special kavanah.

Oh. Don't forget the gel packs (not to be confused with Gelatin packs which of course are stam treif.

Anonymous said...

you will find surprisingly at the Bobov Bakery, you don't have adjust any water, you don't have to burn the matzohs, and you could take them all.

Anonymous said...

What’s about the moisture meter ??
At Bobev too.

Anonymous said...

AT BOBOV IT WAS CHECKED WITH A MOISTURE METER, 18%-+ DOUGH, 1-2% OUT OF THE OVEN, NOBODY COMES CLOSE TO THAT- GET YOUR REJECTORS AWAY FROM THE OVEN- ABOUT TIME, INLESS YOU WANT TO WEAR AN APRON AND LOOK LIKE A ROSH YESHIVA AT MATZO BAKING-IT WON'T GET YOU A SHTELLAR.

Anonymous said...

https://nypost.com/2025/02/09/us-news/musk-suggests-federal-judges-who-stop-doge-should-be-impeached/

Judge Engelmayer is a Conservative Jew, father of lowlife Juda Engelmayer who is a tool of the OU while working at 5WPR owned by Ronn Torrossian, the combative personality Open Schmorthodox groupie of Avi Weiss in Riverdale. Juda once said in an interview that although he is not a maamin, he takes his kids to a Modern Orthodox shul to give them a taam of tradition. When he was the owner of the famous Lower East Side bialy bakery he was publicly attacking R’ Dovid Feinstein for poskening against an eruv because an eruv would bring more area residents to buy his bialys. Satmar was coming under heavy criticism for giving Engelmayer hashgocho until one day they quietly had Hisachdus drop the bakery. Juda Engelmayer was the spokesman for Le Marais restaurant when the OU was trying to help the shkotzim owners cover up the treif scandal caught by the whistleblower mashgiach & to sue the mashgiach for “slander”. Then when 5WPR was hired by Rubashkin while still trying to salvage the scam known as Agriprocessors, Juda was proven to be & outed as the internet troll who was impersonating critics of Rubashkin’s kashrus & ethics to make a mockery of them. One of the impersonated victims cornered Engelmayer & Torrossian with lawyers, threatening them with arrest on Federal charges unless they apologize. The weasels “apologized” one late Friday afternoon of a holiday weekend so that the fewest people possible would notice the “apology”. What a bunch of hypocrites as Avi Weiss is supposedly the lead in criticizing Rubashkin ethics but then his biggest chassidim profit from protecting Rubashkin

Anonymous said...

Vus bill ehr der mechaber fin dayeh comment? Ehr iz debt zelbeh Shaigatz azoi vee deh judge mitten zeen.

BIG BEATLES said...

It really gets you bent out of shape, doesn't it, that the OU is being exposed again for the attempted cover ups on Rubashkin & the Shkutzim at Le Marais - both the ownership AND the 'special moving croutons' in the salad!

Anonymous said...

Who is Rubashkin?
He is ABC. That’s all we all know.
If LaMais is not in Lakewood then they are no good anyway for not giving the bnai Tayrah the opportunity to Taste LaMaris.