What Blessing Do You Say on Tortillas, Croutons, and Malawach?

Two daily halachot from the book Halacha Lemaaseh by Rabbi Yaron Ashkenazi, based on the rulings of Maran Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, of blessed memory.

What Blessing Is Recited Over Toast, Tortillas, and Croutons?

Toast prepared at home retains the blessing of Hamotzi Lechem Min Ha’aretz. However, the type of crisp toast sold commercially is baked from the outset with the intention that the finished product will be dry and crunchy. Therefore, its blessing is Borei Minei Mezonot.

Factory-produced croutons are also Mezonot, because they are made from the outset with the intention of becoming hard and crunchy.

Croutons prepared at home from ordinary bread are different, and the blessing depends on how they are prepared. If pieces of bread are coated with olive oil and spices and then baked again in the oven, they retain their original blessing of Hamotzi.

However, if the bread is cut into small pieces, each smaller than a kezayit, and then deep-fried in oil, the blessing is Mezonot.

Most tortillas commonly sold today require the blessing of Hamotzi. However, if a tortilla is made with orange juice, or contains enough sugar for its sweetness to be noticeably tasted, its blessing is Mezonot.

What Blessing Is Recited Over Malawach?

If a person makes a meal out of malawach fried in only a small amount of oil, should Hamotzi be recited followed by Birkat Hamazon, or should the blessings be Mezonot and Al Hamichya?

Malawach that is deep-fried in oil requires the blessing of Mezonot, even when a person eats an amount that would ordinarily constitute a meal.

Malawach prepared with only a small amount of oil is different. If a person eats an amount considered keviut seudah (establishing it as a meal), the blessing is Hamotzi, followed by Birkat Hamazon. If less than that amount is eaten, the blessing is Mezonot.