matozh crunch

[McDuff]

I have to make mass quantities of matzoh crunch at work and have never like the stuff. It always seems to crystallize. Can't put corn syrup into it, though someone mentioned brown rice syrup. It's basically just butter and brown sugar boiled for three minutes, poured over matzoh, then baked for 12 minutes after which chocolate is glided on to it. Marcie Goldman claims to have invented it, but I doubt it. And her web site is now for hire only.

[artisanbaker]

the invert sugar in honey may help

[Gifted Gourmet]

Marcie Goldman claims to have invented it, but I doubt it. And her web site is now for hire only.

While this is true, there are a bazillion of the exact same recipes out there and readily available ...

Would chilling and tightly wrapping the cold matzoh crunch possibly eliminate the crystalline formation? Does room temperature and humidity play a part in making this happen (like making meringues)?

[challah-baker]

There is an excellent recipe in a Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking. I can't remember the author. I have made lots and never had it crystalize. I hand wrote the recipe from the book and can post it if you like.

[Gifted Gourmet]

http://www.cyber-kitchen.com/ubbs/archive/...zoh_Crunch.html

[JFLinLA]

I've got a recipe that's just matzah, butter/margarine, brown sugar and pecans. Never had a problem with it.

[McDuff]

All the recipes seem to be just that, but I don't know why the brown sugar gets grainy. I would like for it to stay nice and smooth, but it doesn't. That's what I want to fix.

[clothier]

This brings up an interesting question.

How come my recipe file is always at home when I read questions like this at work?

[Dave the Cook]

OK, I'm not a baker or a candy maker, so I might be off base here. But I wince when I see confectionery instructions like "boil for three minutes." If just water were involved, it might not be so complicated, but when you add sugar to the equation, it's a recipe for frustration.

It seems to me that what's being attempted here is to ensure that the sugar reaches a certain temperature. That's because sugar that has been heated and then cooled can exhibit a variety of results, depending on how hot it got. For the author, three minutes does it, and that's a nice round number, so there's no need to be more specific. But the only way to guarantee consistent results is to use a thermometer. Most likely, the three-minute thing works for the person that wrote the recipe. But cooks, stoves, altitude, humidity and moisture content of the sugar are all variable (not to mention: just when is the mixture boiling -- does a simmer count? does it have to roll before you start the timer?), and it might not work for you.

The great thing is that this is predictable. Crack open a book of candy recipes, or even a good general-pupose book, and you'll find a table that lists the temperatures and the effects. Here's one on line: Candy Chart

[clothier]

wow. a real thought out answer.

that's probably what you were looking for in the first place, right?

[McDuff]

Yeah that about sums up what I think about recipes that say boil for three minutes and not boil to xxx degrees. Huh? So what do we think? 240 or 300?

Edited March 3, 2004 by McDuff (log)

[clothier]

i can tell you what my mom would say:

boil it till it looks right.

big help, huh?

[Dave the Cook]

I'm not familiar with the finished product (although I must say it sounds good), so I'm not sure what to tell you. 300 is peanut brittle temperature -- glassy and hard. 240 is more like what you use for buttercream, I think, and that seems too soft for something with "crunch" in the name, though crunch must also come from the nuts and matzoh. There's too much other stuff in the recipe for me to make an accurate prediction.

Here's what I'd do: make small batches, using temperatures ten degrees apart, from 250 to 300, and evaluate. But then, I'm not in a production situation, and maybe you don't have time to do that. If I had to put a stake in the ground, I'd say 255 -- mid-hard ball stage.

Good luck and keep us up to date on your progress, please.

[Rhea_S]

Here's a link to Marcy Goldman's recipe from A Treasury of Jewish Holiday Baking as adapted by David Lebovitz:

http://www.davidlebovitz.com/recipes/matzoh_crunch.html

[McDuff]

That's the one. Somebody make it, and tell me if the brown sugar doesn't get grainy. I'll try it tomorrow in a smaller batch than the 8.8 lb of brown sugar the one I'm supposed to use calls for. Speaking of Msss. Goldman..I use her Moist and Majestic New Year's Honey Cake and complained to her website link that it was perhaps too overleavened, as it collapses. I snuck the baking powder out of it and it worked better. I got a fairly snippy reply from her personally, but you know what I think is a riot? Look at the cover of her book, and there is a collapsed honey cake in the picture.

[McDuff]

Try this on for size

6.4 oz brown sugar 1 cup

7.4 oz white sugar or Florida crystals 1 cup

4 tb water

1 tb honey

bring to a boil stirring constantly till sugar is dissolved.

add 10.5 oz unsalted butter

cook stirring most of the time to 270 and pour over matzoh crackers which have been laid into a sprayed paperlined half sheet pan. Bake at 325 for 10 minor until bubbly all over.

Sprinkle on 12 oz chocolate chips, allow to soften, then skate it all around with an offset.

This came out nice and shiny and clear and the chocolate didn't pull off like it usually does.

[Sandra Levine]

I made the regular Marcy recipe last year and the brown sugar did not crystallize. I used "Brownulated" sugar and that may have made the difference.