Question 1

What makes bread kosher?

Accepted Answer

Bread is kosher when it is made from one of the five grains (wheat, barley, spelt, oats, rye), contains only kosher-certified ingredients, is pareve or dairy (never meat), has hafrashat challah performed when the dough exceeds approximately 1,250g of flour, and is baked with Jewish involvement (Pas Yisroel) for Shabbat.

Question 2

What bracha do you make on a bagel?

Accepted Answer

Hamotzi. Bagels are boiled then baked, but the baking is the final and defining stage — making them halachic pat (bread). The boiling does not change the bracha.

Question 3

What bracha do you make on hamantaschen?

Accepted Answer

Mezonot. Hamantaschen are a sweet, filled wheat-dough pastry — pat haba'ah b'kisnin. The after-bracha is al hamichya. If eaten in a quantity that constitutes a full meal (kevi'at se'udah), hamotzi applies instead.

Question 4

What is hafrashat challah?

Accepted Answer

Hafrashat challah is the Torah mitzvah of separating a small piece of dough before baking. It applies when your dough uses at least approximately 1,250g of flour from one of the five grains. Below that, no separation is needed. Above approximately 1,666g, a bracha is recited. The separated piece must be burned.

Question 5

What is the difference between challah and brioche?

Accepted Answer

Both are enriched yeasted breads, but challah uses oil and is pareve — it can be served at any meal including meat. Brioche uses butter and is dairy. Challah is the Shabbat bread; brioche cannot substitute at a meat Shabbat table.

Question 6

Can you freeze challah?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Freeze fully baked and cooled, wrapped in two layers. Keeps up to three months. Reheat at 175°C (350°F) for 15 minutes still wrapped, then 3 minutes unwrapped to refresh the crust.

Question 7

Is sourdough challah valid for Shabbat lechem mishneh?

Accepted Answer

Yes — fully and halachically. The leavening agent has no bearing on the status. Same mitzvot, same brachot, same hafrashat challah obligation as commercial-yeast challah.

Question 8

What is babka?

Accepted Answer

Babka is a rich, yeasted Eastern European Jewish bread — enriched dough spread with chocolate or poppy seed filling, rolled, twisted, and baked as a loaf. The word means 'grandmother' in Slavic languages. It originated in Jewish communities of the Pale of Settlement and became an international phenomenon via New York Jewish bakeries.

Question 9

What is the difference between laffa and pita?

Accepted Answer

Pita is smaller (15–22cm) and forms an interior pocket during baking — you stuff it. Laffa is larger (35–45cm), has no pocket, and is used as a wrap. Laffa is associated with Iraqi Jewish and Israeli street food culture; pita is broadly Levantine.

Question 10

What is malawach?

Accepted Answer

Malawach is a Yemenite Jewish flaky flatbread — laminated dough cooked in a hot pan until the layers crisp and separate. The word means 'to smear' (the fat between layers). It is one of three great Yemenite breads alongside kubaneh and jachnun, brought to Israel by the Jewish community after 1948.

Question 11

What is pumpernickel bread?

Accepted Answer

Pumpernickel is a traditional German rye bread — 100% whole rye, naturally leavened, baked at low temperature (100–120°C) for 16–24 hours. Its dark color comes from Maillard reactions during the long bake, not from molasses. It is pareve and kosher.

Question 12

Is Auntie Anne's kosher?

Accepted Answer

Most Auntie Anne's locations are not kosher certified. A small number of franchise locations in high-Jewish-population areas carry local certification. Always look for a posted certificate from a recognized agency — do not rely on staff assurances. The standard pretzel is dairy (brushed with butter).

Kosher Baking FAQ