Title: Donuts, waffles, wafers, pancakes, matzoh and challah kugel, French toast, matzoh brei,
Author: Yirmiyohu Kaganoff

French Toast, English Muffins, and Kishka – What Do They Have in Common?
By Rabbi Yirmiyohu Kaganoff

Question: I eat matzoh brei for lunch all year round. Although I have been making the brachos of mezonos and al hamichyah on it, someone told me that I should wash and make hamotzi on some bread instead. Is this true?

Question: The chef in our yeshiva stuffs the meatloaf with huge pieces of leftover challah. Do we need to wash netilas yadayim and make hamotzi before eating it?

Question: I have been told that the bracha on licorice is shehakol, even though the first ingredient listed on the label is flour. Why is this?

In a previous article, we discussed the unusual halachic category called pas haba’ah bikisnin, and found that crackers, pretzels, and certain pastry-type items require the bracha of mezonos before eating them and al hamichyah afterwards, unless they are eaten as a meal, in which case they require netilas yadayim, hamotzi, and benching. (Please refer to that article for details of this complicated halacha.) However, there are numerous other foods prepared from flour that are not typical bread. In order to explore what bracha one recites on these foods, we will start our discussion with items made from cooked, or fried bread.

FRENCH TOAST

Although the words “French Toast” were unknown in the times of Chazal, the Gemara (Brachos 37b) discusses what bracha to recite on chavitza, a dish that contains cooked pieces of bread. The Gemara rules that if the pieces are the size of a kizayis (the volume of an olive, - about one fluid ounce), the bracha is hamotzi and requires full benching afterwards. This is because a large piece of bread does not lose its significance even if it is cooked or fried. However, if all of the pieces are smaller than a kizayis, the bracha is mezonos and al hamichyah afterwards. If some of the pieces are larger than a kizayis and others smaller, then one recites hamotzi as long as one piece is at least the size of a kizayis (Mishnah Berurah 168:53).

Based on this Gemara, we conclude that one must wash netilas yadayim and recite hamotzi before eating French toast, and bench afterwards, since the pieces are always at least a kizayis (Shulchan Aruch, Orach Chayim 168:10). 

WHAT BRACHA DOES ONE MAKE ON KNEIDELACH?

Kneidelach are made from ground matzoh that is kneaded into new dough and cooked. Most poskim rule that since the matzoh is ground into small pieces before it is cooked, the bracha is mezonos and al hamichyah even if one eats a very large amount. Another opinion contends that if the pieces of matzoh meal are kneaded together into balls larger than a kizayis before they are cooked, their bracha is hamotzi (Magen Avraham 168:28). The accepted psak is to make a mezonos and al hamichyah on kneidelach (Mishnah Berurah 168:59).

This leads us to an unusual shaylah I was once asked:

YESHIVA MEATLOAF DELUXE

A yeshiva bachur once asked me whether one should make hamotzi on the meatloaf served at his yeshiva. I thought he was attempting to draw attention to the quality of the cuisine, but indeed he was asking a serious shaylah. It turned out that the cook in his yeshiva stuffed large pieces of leftover challah into the meatloaf. 

This is an unusual situation. Many people include matzoh meal or bread crumbs in their meatloaf, but they lose their importance in the finished product. However, the Yeshiva Meatloaf Deluxe included kizayis-sized pieces of challah. As we mentioned above, pieces of bread this size do not lose their status as bread. Thus, as strange as it might seem, one is required to wash al netilas yadayim before eating this meatloaf, and its correct brachos are hamotzi and full benching.

This situation was very unusual because typically people soak challah or bread until it falls apart before adding it to kugel or meatloaf. However, Yeshiva Meatloaf Deluxe calls for bread that is only moistened before being adding to the meatloaf, but does not fall apart.

BAKING AND SAUTÉING (frying in a small amount of oil)

On Pesach, my wife makes an item she refers to as “matzoh rolls,” which involve taking matzoh meal, and making dough together with oil and eggs, and baking them. Although this is prepared from small pieces of matzoh, the bracha on these items is hamotzi since the dough is subsequently baked rather than cooked. 

Similarly, if someone made matzoh rolls by sautéing the dough with a little oil (merely enough so that the dough does not burn) the completed product should be treated as bread for all halachos (Mishnah Berurah 168:69). Thus, a matzoh kugel made on the top of the stove would be hamotzi, even if the pieces are smaller than a kizayis.

FRYING VS. COOKING – THE MATZOH BREI SAGA

Thus far we have learned that one recites hamotzi on large pieces of bread even if they were subsequently cooked or fried, and that small pieces lose their status as bread when they are cooked. However, some poskim contend that frying small pieces of bread does not change their status and they still require netilas yadayim and hamotzi (Magen Avraham 168:39). According to this opinion, matzoh brei requires netilas yadayim, hamotzi, and full benching. Other poskim disagree, contending that fried small pieces of bread lose their status as bread just like cooked pieces (see Mishnah Berurah 168:56). These poskim contend that one recites mezonos and al hamichyah on matzoh brei unless one of the pieces is the size of a kizayis. The Mishnah Berurah concludes that the halacha is uncertain and one should avoid this problem by eating these items within a meal. Thus, an Ashkenazi should not eat matzoh brei without washing and making hamotzi on a piece of bread first.

Sefardim recite mezonos before matzoh, except on Pesach, unless they eat more than four kibeitzim of matzoh. Therefore, they would recite mezonos on matzoh brei and al hamichyah afterwards and need not be concerned about eating it within a meal. However, a Sefardi who ate four kibeitzim of matzoh brei would be faced with the same concern mentioned above and should wash netilas yadayim and make hamotzi on some bread. 

According to all opinions, deep frying small pieces of bread or matzoh is the same as cooking since the oil completely covers the food. Thus, the correct bracha on chremzelach (deep-fried matzoh latkas) is mezonos and al hamichyah (Mishnah Berurah 168:59). 

CROUTONS

Commercial croutons are produced by either frying or toasting small pieces of seasoned bread. If they are deep fried, then the bracha is mezonos and al hamichyah. If they are fried or toasted, then they are pas haba’ah bikisnin. 

Home-made croutons toasted from leftover bread are hamotzi. Deep-fried, they are mezonos, and fried they are subject to the same shaylah mentioned before as to whether they are hamotzi or mezonos and should be eaten after making hamotzi on bread.

CHALLAH KUGEL

Most people make challah kugel (or matzoh kugel) by soaking the challah or matzoh before mixing it with other ingredients and baking it. When the challah or matzoh disintegrates into a mush before it is mixed with the other ingredients, the resulting kugel has the halachic status of pas haba’ah bikisnin, which means that its bracha is mezonos when eaten as a snack and hamotzi when eaten as a meal.

Sometimes the challah remains in small pieces and this is often the case when making a matzoh kugel. When this is the case, the resulting kugel must be treated as bread, requiring netilas yadayim and hamotzi, as we pointed out earlier concerning baked goods. Since the halacha here depends on some complicated halachic details, it is better in this case to make hamotzi on a piece of bread first.

MATZOH LASAGNA

While I was writing this article, I was asked the following shaylah. A guest arrived at someone’s house and was served a portion of matzoh lasagna. In this particular recipe, the matzoh was soaked, mixed with meat and other ingredients, and baked. 

I now ask you, the reader. Must they wash netilas yadayim and what bracha should they recite?

We cannot answer this question without first ascertaining whether there are noticeable pieces of matzoh in the lasagna. If there are noticeable pieces, even if they are small, the guest should wash netilas yadayim and make hamotzi on bread before eating the lasagna kugel. If the matzoh all turned to mush, it should probably be treated as pas haba’ah bikisnin and require borei minei mezonos on a snack size, but would be hamotzi and require benching if eaten as a meal. The exact definition of a meal for these purposes will be discussed in our article on pas haba’ah bikisnin.

PANCAKES, BLINTZES AND CREPES

These items are all made from a batter rather than dough and then baked in a pan, form, or griddle. Since they never have a bread-like appearance, they are always mezonos and al hamichyah. This is true even if one eats a large amount, since they are not considered bread or pas haba’ah bikisnin. Thus, one can have an entire, very satiating meal of pancakes or blintzes without washing netilas yadayim and one recites the bracha of al hamichyah afterwards.

WAFFLES, WAFERS, ICE CREAM CONES

These items are also made from a batter, but in this case the batter is poured into a mold or waffle iron that bakes it into its final shape. Although these items have a slightly more bread-like appearance than pancakes and blintzes, without the mold, these items would never have a bread-like shape, they do not have a tzuras hapas (bread-like appearance) even after baked. Therefore, they are not considered pas haba’ah bikisnin but regular mezonos. As a result, they do not require netilas yadayim, and the brachos are mezonos and al hamichyah even if one made a full meal out of them. Thus, one can enjoy as many wafers as one wants and recite an al hamichyah when complete.

ENGLISH MUFFINS

Most English muffins have a consistency noticeably different from regular bread, and therefore are pas haba’ah bikisnin. However, an English muffin whose inside tastes like bread should be treated as bread.

KISHKA AND LICORICE

Although these are two very different foods, the halachic discussion that involves them is similar.

The Gemara (Berachos 37b and 36b) discusses a food called rihata which was made of flour, oil, and honey that were cooked or stirred together in a pot until they hardened. The Gemara cites a dispute whether the bracha is mezonos, because of the general halachic importance of flour; or shehakol, because the main taste comes from the honey. We rule that the bracha is mezonos because flour is usually considered the main ingredient of a food unless the flour is there only to hold it together. Whenever the flour is added to provide taste, the bracha is mezonos, even if the main taste comes from the honey. 

Kishka has the same halacha as rihata. Although the main taste comes from the other ingredients, the flour certainly adds taste as well. 

Although licorice contains a significant amount of flour, the flour is added only to give licorice its shape, and not to add anything to the taste or to make it more filling. Therefore, the bracha on licorice is shehakol (Shulchan Aruch 208:2 and Mishnah Berurah ad loc.).

According to the Gemara (Bava Kamma 30a), someone who desires to become a chassid (exemplary in his behavior) should toil in understanding the halachos of brachos. By investing energy into understanding the details of how we praise Hashem, we realize the importance of each aspect of that praise and how we must recognize that everything we have is a gift from Hashem. Furthermore, when reciting the proper bracha, one is acquiring the item from Hashem in the proper way. Pas haba’ah bikisnin functions in two different ways, sometimes as our main sustenance and most of the time as a pleasant snack. Reciting the correct bracha focuses on our understanding the appropriate praise for Hashem at the correct moment.