{"id":12191,"date":"2026-07-11T00:10:51","date_gmt":"2026-07-10T21:10:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/?p=12191"},"modified":"2026-09-02T13:30:07","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T10:30:07","slug":"17-11-10","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ph.yhb.org.il\/en\/17-11-10\/","title":{"rendered":"10. DOUGH FOR BAKED GRAIN PRODUCTS"},"content":{"rendered":"
As we have learned, the mitzva of \u1e25alla<\/em> applies to dough intended for baking bread, as the Torah states: \u201cWhen you eat of the bread of the land\u2026 from the first of your doughs you shall give a gift to the Lord throughout your generations\u201d (Bamidbar 15:19\u201321). In this context, \u201cbread\u201d includes all grain-based baked goods: cakes, crackers, biscuits, pastries filled with meat, cheese, or vegetables, pretzels, breadsticks, and baklava.<\/p>\n There is, however, an important difference between ordinary bread and other baked grain products. Bread is the food on which people normally establish a meal, and therefore one always recites ha-motzi<\/em> and Birkat Ha-mazon over it. Other baked goods are generally eaten casually. Therefore, when one establishes a meal on them, he recites ha-motzi<\/em> and Birkat Ha-mazon; but when he eats them in their usual manner, as a snack, he recites mezonot<\/em> and al<\/em> ha-mi\u1e25ya<\/em>. Cooked grain dishes, however, always remain in the category of cooked foods rather than bread. Therefore, even if one establishes a meal on them, he still recites mezonot<\/em> and al<\/em> ha-mi\u1e25ya<\/em>.<\/p>\n This is the general rule: baked grain products are considered bread for purposes of \u1e25alla<\/em>, and one must separate \u1e25alla<\/em> from them. Cooked grain dishes are not considered bread, and no \u1e25alla<\/em> is separated from them. This is the view of most poskim, as explained in the next section.<\/p>\n The distinction between baking and cooking is therefore crucial. Both use heat, but cooking takes place in boiling liquid, while baking occurs when the dough is heated without being immersed in liquid. A baked good may contain liquid \u2013 indeed, that moisture allows it to bake properly rather than burn \u2013 but during baking it is not sitting in liquid. Baking is usually done in an oven, but it can also be done in a frying pan or pot placed over a fire. Even if a small amount of oil is added to the bottom of the pan or pot to prevent sticking or to add flavor, the food is still considered baked, since the dough is surrounded by only a minimal amount of liquid. Therefore, one separates \u1e25alla<\/em> with a berakha from foods such as malawa\u1e25<\/em> and mufleta<\/em>, which are baked in a pan, and kubaneh<\/em> and ja\u1e25nun<\/em>, which are baked in a pot. If one establishes a meal on them, he recites ha-motzi<\/em> and Birkat Ha-mazon.[11]<\/a><\/sup><\/p>\n