what ingredients did god tell the israelites to use to make bread

The Bible does not tell us what was the recipe for Matzah that the Israelites baked when they were leaving Egypt. However, there are plenty clues in the Bible that I was able to reconstruct it. In the story of the Exodus Matzah is only called Matzah without any extra descriptions. The only description of Matzah given in the narrative of the Exodus itself is in the volume of Exodus 12:39:

And they baked the dough that they took out of Egypt, cakes of Matzah, considering it did not rise, because they were driven out of Egypt and the could not filibuster …

וַיֹּאפוּ אֶת-הַבָּצֵק אֲשֶׁר הוֹצִיאוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם, עֻגֹת מַצּוֹת, כִּי לֹא חָמֵץ כִּי-גֹרְשׁוּ מִמִּצְרַיִם, וְלֹא יָכְלוּ לְהִתְמַהְמֵהַּ …

Here Matzah is called עגות מצות, cakes of Matzah. This description is some what vague, because the but thing that is implied past the word "cake" is that it is circular. It does not describe the type of flour, how information technology was baked or what other ingredients were added to it. However, in Exodus 29:ii in the story of how the original priests were dedicated for the service in the tabernacle nosotros get a very detailed description of the Matzah recipe that was made equally function of the sacrificial rite. The verse says:

And Matzah bread, and Matzah loaves fried in oil, and wafers (Rekikim) of Matzah, annointed with oil, our of fine wheat flour, you should make them.

וְלֶחֶם מַצּוֹת, וְחַלֹּת מַצֹּת בְּלוּלֹת בַּשֶּׁמֶן, וּרְקִיקֵי מַצּוֹת, מְשֻׁחִים בַּשָּׁמֶן, סֹלֶת חִטִּים, תַּעֲשֶׂה אֹתָם.

Hither we are told that Matzah is made out of fine wheat flour, it can be either fried (Matzah loaves fried in oil) or baked (Matzah bread), and that information technology is a apartment wafer (Rekikim of Matzah). The fact that the verse had to explicitly say to add oil to it is telling us that the original Egyptian recipe did not have oil, and Moses was adding it here to go far fancier.

The fact that Matzah is called a רקיק (Rekik) is key to figuring out the Biblical recipe. Today, in Egypt, the modern Egyptians broil a very simple flat staff of life called a Raqaq, which is the same as the Hebrew word Rekik. Information technology is baked in traditional clay ovens and is conspicuously a very ancient recipe. The recipe has been documented in the book Magda Mehdawy and Amr Hussein,The Pharaoh'southward Kitchen: Recipes from Ancient Egypt'south Enduring Food Traditions. American University in Cairo Press, 2010, page 36. It contains just flour and water, 3 cups of wheat flour to 1 cup of h2o, and in the modern times it has added salt for taste, which for sure was not present in the ancient times as table salt was a very rare commodity, especially in Arab republic of egypt. It is baked for two-v minutes depending on whether you want it to be soft or crunchy. This recipe is traditionally broiled in the Egyptian city of Asyut, the capital of the Thirteenth Nome of Upper Egypt. Roman author Diodorus Siculus (The Library of History, Book I, 88:8) tells a legend of why the city of Asyut was called in GreekLycopolites (The City of Wolves). He says,

Just some say that one time, when the Ethiopians had marched confronting Egypt, a great number of bands of wolves (lykoi) gathered together and drove the invaders out of the country, pursuing them beyond the metropolis named Elephantine; and therefore that nome was given the name Lycopolite and these animals were granted the honor in question.

Coincidentally, there is a story of Moses, preserved in Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews, Book II, Chapter 10, How Moses made war with the Ethiopians), leading an Egyptian army to repel an Ethiopian invasion. At that place is not enough data in these stories to brand a consummate connexion that both Diodorus Siculus and Josephus are talking near the same Ethiopian invasion, notwithstanding it is somewhat plausible that information technology is one and the same story. Josephus says (Antiquities of the Jews, Volume II, Affiliate 10:2)

Only Moses prevented the enemies, and took and led his army before those enemies were apprized of his attacking them. For he did non march past the river, but by land; where he gave a wonderful demonstration of his sagacity. For when the footing was difficult to be passed over, because of the multitude of serpents, which information technology produces in vast numbers; and indeed is singular in some of those productions, which other countries do not breed; and notwithstanding such as are worse than others in power and mischief, and an unusual fierceness of sight: some of which ascend out of the footing unseen, and also fly in the air, then come upon men at unawares, and do them a mischief; Moses invented a wonderful stratagem to preserve the army prophylactic, and without injure. For he made baskets, like unto arks of sedge, and filled them with Ibes, and carried them along with them: which animal is the greatest enemy to serpents imaginable; for they fly from them, when they come near them, and as they wing they are caught and devoured by them; as if information technology were done by the harts. But the Ibes are tame creatures, and only enemies to the serpentine kind. But about these Ibes I say no more at present, since the Greeks are not themselves unacquainted with this sort of bird. As soon therefore as Moses was come to the land which was the breeder of these serpents, he let loose the Ibes; and by their means repelled the serpentine kind, and used them for his assistants earlier the regular army came upon that ground. When he had therefore proceeded thus on his journey, he came upon the Ethiopians, before they expected him; and joining battel with them, he beat out them, and deprived them of the hopes they had of success against the Egyptians: and went on in overthrowing their cities, and indeed made a great slaughter of these Ethiopians.

It is peculiar that in both stories it is animals that save the twenty-four hour period. In one story information technology is wolves and the other it is Ibes. The Egyptian words for Ibis and for wolf are very similar. Ibis in Ancient Egyptian is chosen Hib and wolf in Egyptian Standard arabic dialect is called Dib (ديب). Information technology is possible that the two words were confused, most probably by the Greeks, at some indicate and the original story that had Ibes in information technology was inverse to accept wolves. In Asyut, the Ancient Egyptians worshipped a god called Wepwawet, who was represented every bit a wolf and they sacrificed many wolves there which were turned into mummies. Wolf mummies were discovered virtually Asyut in the grand tomb, by a French Archaeologist, Pierre Lacau, in 1922. Run across Lacau, Pierre. "Rapport sur les travaux du service des Antiquité de l'Égypte en 1921-1922." Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres 66, no. v (1922): 372-380.

Assuming that when Moses was on this campaign he was stationed in the city of Asyut and it is in that location where he learned to make Matzah according to the local recipe. Not but did he introduce this recipe every bit the recipe of victory of the Israelites over the Egyptians, just like in his younger days it was the recipe of victory of his Egyptian regular army over the Ethiopians, but he besides preserved its local Egyptian proper name – Raqaq, which made it into the Torah as Rekik. The reason given in the Bible in Exodus in 12:39 for why the Israelites broiled Matzah and not regular breadstuff, being that they did not take enough to wait for the dough to rise, seems to be a gloss of a afterward editor who tried to explicate it. It is very obvious from the narrative that the Israelites had enough of time, because they spent that nighttime collecting gold, silvery and clothing from the Egyptians equally described in Exodus 12:35. Also the commandment to eat Matzah that evening was given prior to the Exodus beginning and prior to the tenth plague of striking the first born, as conspicuously stated in Exodus 12:15-20. Finally, in Exodus 12:34 we are told that the Israelites took out of Egypt raw dough which they intended to bake afterwards in the night, for which it would have been impossible to remain unleavened had they waited for hours to broil it, which proves again that they had plenty of fourth dimension to look for information technology to rise. Information technology becomes quite obvious that Moses had in mind all forth to control the Israelites to consume Matzah on the night of the Exodus and on Passover for generations to come as a symbol of their victory and it had zippo to do with them non having enough time to bake regular bread.

The only other detail that needed to be worked out was what kind of wheat flour did the ancient Egyptians use to bake their bread. In that location were only two types of wheat in the ancient Mediterranean globe: Emmer (Triticum dicoccoides) and Einkorn (Triticum monococcum). In Egypt, Emmer was used virtually exclusively and Einkorn was rare. Encounter Nesbitt, K., and D. Samuel. "From staple crop to extinction? The archaeology and history of the hulled wheats." Hulled wheats 4 (1996): 41-100, p. 76. This wheat was lost to history until in 1906, a Jewish agronomist, Aaron Aaronsohn, discovered wild Emmer growing in Rosh Pina, Israel and publicized information technology as the original wheat used in the ancient Near East and the predecessor of all modern wheat species. For more than details on this discovery, encounter his book, Aaron Aaronsohn. Agricultural and botanical explorations in Palestine. No. 180. US Regime Printing Office, 1910.

I have recreated this recipe using Emmer Wheat and the same basic recipe every bit the Egyptian Raqaq, which I believe is the original Biblical Matzah recipe.

In case you are curious if my Matzah looks like the original Egyptian Matza, y'all tin can compare it with bodily loaves of unleavened breadstuff excavated from Thebes, Egypt that are kept in the British Museum.

Dish of woven palm leafage, with two loaves of unleavened bread. One piece of bread has hand imprints on both sides of the loaf, probably left by the baker. From Thebes, Egypt. British Museum, EA5341.

Front of Loaf of Unleavened Bread from Thebes, Egypt. British Museum, EA5341.

Biblical Emmer Wheat Passover Seder Rekik Matzah Recipe - רקיק מצה

Biblical Emmer Wheat Passover Seder Rekik Matzah is made with aboriginal Emmer Wheat and water only. Information technology is Kosher for Passover according to strict rules of Kashrut and can exist used to fulfill the commandment of eating Matzah during the Passover Seder. This recipe has been recreated based on an ancient Egyptian recipe for a flat breadstuff chosen Raqaq, which is identical to the Biblical Matzah made during the Exodus, and called Rekik Matzah mentioned in Exodus 29:2 and Numbers half-dozen:fifteen.

Course Bread

Cuisine Biblical, Egyptian

Prep Time 6 minutes

Cook Time 3 minutes

Total Time ane hour 9 minutes

Servings iii Matzot

• ane 1/2 cups Emmer Wheat Flour Rock Ground
• 1/2 loving cup Water Room Temperature

• Set bated a pitcher of room temperature water. The temperature of the h2o should be 68 - 77 degrees F (twenty-25 degrees C). The traditional method of getting the water to be the correct temperature is to put the water into a pitcher and permit information technology sit in the room away from directly sunlight for at least 12 hours (normally over dark) until the temperature reaches equilibrium. Yet, for the sake of saving time you lot can only mix warm and cold water and measure the temperature with a thermometer until the right temperature is reached.

• Place a ceramic pizza stone on the top shelf of the oven, which is right beneath the top heating element. Turn the oven to broil then that the upper heating element is on. If your oven does not have an upper heating element use the broiler. The Matzah must bake right next to the heating element or it will non fully bake quickly. Do not use the oven fans.

• Preheat a ceramic pizza stone in the oven for at least 1 hour at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C). Do non start mixing the ingredients until the pizza rock is complete heated through. Keep the oven on at 500 degrees F (260 degrees C), before mixing the ingredients with the hot pizza stone within the oven.

• Identify ane ane/ii cups of the Emmer Wheat flour into a large stainless steel bowl in which the dough will be kneaded.

• Ready the timer for 18 minutes. This is the maximum allowable time that can laissez passer betwixt the mixing of the flour and water and all of the dough existence fully baked, in society for the Matzah to exist Kosher for Passover according to strict rules of Kashrut.

• Slowly add 1/ii cup of water to the flour in the bowl.

• Speedily knead the dough with your hands past folding it over and over. The dough will form into a overnice business firm ball after 2-3 minutes of kneading.

• Sprinkle a large wooden cut board, which volition be your rolling surface, with some flour to forbid sticking. Have the ball of dough from the basin, place information technology onto the rolling surface and roll it with your hands into an even cylinder slightly shorter than the width of the cutting board.

• Cut the dough cylinder into 3 even pieces. Prepare two of the pieces aside on the cutting board and with your hands coil the remaining slice into a small ball.

• Accept a wooden French rolling pin, rub some flour onto it with your paw, and begin rolling out the dough ball into a apartment pancake. Keep rolling the dough into unlike directions then that the pancake comes out to be round. The terminal thickness of the pancake should exist nearly ii-3 mm (0.08 - 0.12 in). This step should accept no longer than 1 infinitesimal.

• If y'all would like a perfectly round shaped Matzah, after information technology has been fully rolled out, you may want to press a round 6 in (fifteen cm) or 8 in (xx cm) cookie cutter into the dough and remove the remainder of the dough around the cutter.

• Place the rolled out pancake onto a wooden pizza peel.

• Repeat steps ten-12 with 2 more pieces of dough that you set bated, until yous have 3 dough pancakes placed on to the pizza peel, which should get in full.

• Insert the pizza skin into the oven and carefully shake off the 3 pancakes onto the pizza stone. Yous might want to slide out the shelf with the pizza stone from the oven then information technology is easier to identify the pancakes on information technology without getting burnt. Close the oven door and stay next to the oven. Do non walk away.

• After ane minute open the oven door and check if the Matzah started to become slightly brown and bubbles started forming on tiptop of the dough. Once that happens flip all 3 Matzot onto the other side. Bank check the Matzah again after no more than 1 minute. The total baking process should take no longer than 2-3 minutes.

• Take out the Matzot from the oven using the wooden pizza pare and place them on a plate or a wooden board to residue.

• The whole process must be competed in under eighteen minutes in order to be compliant with strict laws of Kashrut. This is hands achievable if all steps are washed efficiently. Savor.

The Matzah should be soft, but firm, and might exist crunchy especially effectually the edges. Emmer Wheat Matzah should taste similar to Whole Wheat Pita, but sweeter, with a slight crisis.

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Source: https://www.ancientrecipes.org/biblical-emmer-wheat-matzah/

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