DIY Whole Wheat Matzo Meal and Cake Meal

Homemade WW cake meal (left) and WW matzo meal (right)

Why Bother?

Years ago, I needed just a little more matzo meal for a brownie recipe but I was all out. In desperation, I ground up a matzo in my food processor or maybe it was a blender since I may not have owned a processor back in those days. At any rate, the processor works better for me and I've stopped using a blender.

I like to eat as much fiber during Pesach as I do the rest of the year, so I gradually switched to eating whole wheat matzos and using only whole wheat for all my Passover recipes – everything from matzo balls to latkes to cakes and brownies.

Sometimes I'm lucky enough to find whole wheat matzo meal at the store, others not. Forget about whole wheat cake flour; no one makes it. So, I started to experiment. Now that I know what I'm doing this recipe is quick and simple.

Works with All My Recipes

Thus far, none of my Passover recipes require any adjustment for this ingredient change. I suspect matzo is so dry it behaves the same no matter which flour is used to make it. By the way, I was most concerned my matzo balls would look dingy, but they look just fine.

How Much Does This Recipe Make?

This year, from a 10.5 ounce box of Yehuda Whole Wheat Matzos, I got nearly 1½ cups each of cake meal and matzo meal – 1-1/3 cups, to be exact. If I had whirled it a shorter time, I would have had a little more matzo meal and a little less cake meal. I'm guessing results will vary with the brand of matzo and the power of your food processor.

Equipment: Mixing Bowl, Spoon and . . .

• Food processor A blender might work; you will have to experiment.
• Large wire strainer A small wire strainer could be used but a big one will make the job  faster and reduce spills.
• Large funnel (optional) helps get the cake meal and matzo meal into jars.

I would love to hear if anyone tries this and how it works for you!

• Start with one box of whole wheat matzo (any brand). Break 4 matzos (about 1/3 of the box) into big pieces and put into your food processor. Whirl 30-90 seconds. The timing may vary with your processor model or matzo brand.
• Place a large wire strainer over a mixing bowl. Pour the crumbs into the wire strainer. Stir with a spoon. The crumbs that fall into the mixing bowl are the cake meal. The rest is matzo meal. If the pieces look too big, run the matzo meal again. 
• Run two more batches. 
• Sometimes, at the end I run all the matzo meal one more time, but if you want more matzo meal than cake meal, skip this step.
• Use the funnel to pour the matzo meal into one container and the cake meal into another.