The Borough Park Hand Matzo Bakery

Passover matzo is a thin, flat, cracker-like bread that is made with only flour and water.

In the Borough Park Matzo Bakery, matzo is produced completely by hand in assembly-line fashion. After flour and water are mixed, the resulting dough is kneaded and put into an oven that approaches 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Within eleven seconds, the fully baked matzo is removed from the oven. The entire process takes 3-4 minutes.

There is a tradition handed down that if dough sits for eighteen minutes it begins to rise and is not kosher for Passover. Therefore, production stops every eighteen minutes for cleaning. During the break, rolling pins are sanded down, counters wiped clean, counter paper is replaced, and all employees wash their hands.

The bakery has 25 full-time employees and produces 75 pounds of matzo an hour, each pound having 8-9 matzos. They are open from mid-December until Passover and ship the matzo nationwide.