Ashkenazi

Matzah brei

Name: Matzah brei
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2
Cuisine: Ashkenazi
Ingredients: 4 pcs Matzah; 4 pcs Egg; 60 ml Milk; 30 g Butter; 1 pinch Salt; Ground cinnamon; Sugar

Awaiting expert review

Soaked matzah fried with eggs in butter: a quick Passover breakfast, sweet or savory.

Servings: 2 servings
Prep: 5 min
Cook: 10 min
Difficulty: easy

Kashrut · dairy

Passover

Ingredients

2

servings

4 pcs Matzah, for Passover, with Passover certificationKashrut: For Passover, Passover certification is required (free of chametz). For the seder matzah, many use hand-baked *shmurah matzah*. Ashkenazi practice generally does not eat ordinary "matzah" made with eggs or fruit juice (*matzah ashirah*) on Passover.
4 pcs EggKashrut: Parve. In traditional practice eggs are cracked one at a time, and eggs with a blood spot are discarded.
60 ml MilkKashrut: Dairy (milchig). Some Orthodox Jews drink only *chalav Yisrael* (milk under Jewish supervision during milking).
30 g ButterKashrut: Dairy (milchig). In traditional practice it is bought with kosher certification.
1 pinch Salt
Ground cinnamon – to taste, sweet versionKashrut: Ground spices are bought with certification; for Passover, with Passover certification.
Sugar – to taste, sweet version

Method

Step 1: Break the matzah into pieces about 3 cm in size and rinse them in a colander under warm water for 30 seconds, until softened but not falling apart. Let drain.
Step 2: In a bowl beat the eggs with the milk and salt.
Step 3: Add the matzah and mix; let it soak for 2 minutes.
Step 4: Melt the butter in a frying pan, pour in the mixture and let it set over medium heat for 2–3 minutes.
Step 5: Either flip the mixture whole like an omelet, or break it up with a wooden spoon and stir until the eggs are set and the matzah is crisp at the edges (5–7 minutes in total).
Step 6: Serve immediately: sweet with cinnamon and sugar, or savory with pepper and chives.

History and origins

HistoryAshkenazimDiaspora⁂ To verify

Matzah brei (Yiddish brei, "mash, mixture") is a simple Ashkenazi dish from the period when matzah began to be produced industrially and was available in large quantities; it became especially widespread in America.¹

HalakhahAshkenazim⁂ To verify

The dispute over gebrokts (soaking matzah) stems from the concern that unbaked flour in the matzah could leaven on contact with water; the custom is widespread mainly in Hasidic communities.

Regional variations

Folk customAshkenazim

There are two main "camps": sweet matzah brei with cinnamon, sugar or maple syrup, and savory with onion, pepper and sometimes smoked salmon. Depending on the texture, it is made whole like an omelet or as a crumbled scramble.

Sources

Secondary literature

1Gil Marks, Encyclopedia of Jewish Food