The St. Johns herald., 1891-07-16
UNLEAVENED BREAD.
Hebrew Bakers Are Three Months Pre-
 pairing for the Passover.

Over three thousand years ago the [sraelites made their exodus from bond age under Egyptian rulers, and ever since that time the week following the fifteenth day of the first Hebrew month, the month of Nison, has been set aside for commemoration of their departure. It was on the night of the fourteenth of Nison that the Hebrews, now number ing three million, were led to freedom by Moses. In chapters twelve and thir- teen of Genesis the manner of celebra- ton on the first night of the feast i partly told, and there it is commanded that unleavened bread be eaten on tho first night and no leaven be kept in tho house at any time during the week This is in remembrance of the fact tha: ! the Jews in their hurry to leave Egypt were forced to take along unleavenet bread, which they had to bake in the sun. A great many 1sraelites have ( separate set of dishes to be used once |; year during this week only, and those who have not an extra set of diShe: SCOUT out their dishes thoroughly. II Europe, when they happen to have any bread or other sort of leaven in tho house the housewife locks the pantr.- and hands over the key to some ol; Christian friend of hers to keep till tn, feast is over.
 The making of these unleavened cake called matzos has come to be quite 8, industry in this country, says the Times Star of Cincinnati. For three month before the feast of passover the matzo bakers are busy, and nearly eight mil lion matzos are baked in this city iron the middle of January to the middle O. April. This represents about four hun dred and forty-fve thousand dollars.
 Said the head baker at a large bakery We make about eight thousand matzo: a day, for which we use four barrels o1 four"
 s'Do you use the ordinary four?"
 "Yes, but it is the finest quality, and has to be examined by Hebrew, who judges whether it is satisfactory. We buy ours in this city. Then the water used must be put into a vessel before sundown and remain to settle for tho whole night. This bakery is for baking unleavened bread only, and every thing is especially got for this bakery, even to the rags we use."
 "How do you prepare the hour?"
 'We take, say, fifteen pounds of flour, and, mixing it with water, we put it into copper kettle, where it is thor oughly mixed. Then this man, the kneader, takes it, and on this block by means of pressing on this heavy beam. he kneads the dough to the proper CO hesiveness." The reporter saw block. on top of which was beam four feet long, fastened by a spring at the back ot the block; and there was a man jump ing on and off the beam, so as to make a sort of artificial kneader, the beam rising when the man jumped off.
 ''It is then taken to the next roOm,' said the baker, "and about a third of t at time is passed seven times through these rollers, which, you see, are ar ranged like clothes-wringer's rollers. only these are iron. Having been SC pressed, it is of the proper thickness Care has to be taken here that whil one piece of dough is being pressed tho other pieces should not become too hard therefore a man is continually beating them. The piece of dough, now strir ten inches wide by ten feet long, is put under the hands of man who uses 2 roller much like the ordinary dough roller, except that there are sharp pro- jections sticking out all around to make little holes in the cakes. Next to him is a man with sharpened wheel which he uses to cut the strip into pieces, each the length of cake. These pieces arc put into an oven, and in two minutes they are done."
 And the gentleman handed the re- porter matzo, which was almost tasteless except for the slight browning it had received.
 ''Are these cakes made the same way in Europe?"
 ''No; abroad there is more hard work. Women knead the dough by hand, and the cakes are thicker than we make them here.
 s'Matzos cost about ten cents pound. and the meal which we make by grind ing broken matzos costs eleven cents pound. We make one hundred pounds of meal day"