Is a Tortillah considered lechem (bread), pas habab'knisin (cake/cracker/pie which assumes the status of bread AIUI when one "makes it a seudah"), or is it a stam mezunos? I haven't seen it explicitly mentioned on the various b'rachos lists.
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related (slightly): judaism.stackexchange.com/questions/15210/…– MenachemJul 26, 2012 at 0:34
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Does it matter that lafa and pita are baked whilst tortillas are fried?– user6922Aug 26, 2014 at 0:17
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@flatbread tortillas are not fried. They are baked on a dry heated surface.– Double AA ♦Aug 26, 2014 at 3:21
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2 Answers
Are you asking about wheat or corn flour tortillahs?
Wheat flour tortillas are essentially a flat bread, a bit thinner than pitas. ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flour_tortilla ) . I see no reason that their bracha should be anything other than HaMotzi as they do not fit into any of the definitions of Pas HaBa'ah B'Kisanin.
Corn flour tortillas are made with corn meal ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corn_tortilla ) and like anything made with corn meal (such as corn chips or tortilla chips) their bracha is Shehakol.
I do not have written sources for you on these exact items, but based on basic Hilchos Berachos" these are the correct berachos for these two items.
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1I guess I was thinking more of flour tortillas, but corn tortillas often contain wheat flour as well which it seems to me would complicate things. There is a makloches, as I understand it, between Ashkenazi poskim and Sefardic poskim about the status of matzah (excluding Pesach) so it strikes me at least as plausible that this would effect the status of wheat tortillas ( perhaps even for Ashkenazim?) Just speculating. May 17, 2010 at 5:10
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1(Modern day) Matzah is a brittle cracker and for the majority of the year is considered by the Sefaradim to be Pas HaBaah Bikisanin. Wheat tortillas are soft and foldable and are no different than a Lafah or Pita. Someone may disagree and I would love to hear why.– YahuMay 17, 2010 at 18:43
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1And if it is a corn tortilla made with wheat flour, one must determine the purpose of the wheat flour to decide what bracha to make.– YahuMay 17, 2010 at 18:47
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My Sephardi rabbi suggested to me that soft matzah (like you can get from softmatza.com) might be Hamotzi year round.– ChanochMay 21, 2010 at 14:13
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2Might be? If I'm not mistaken the discussion of mezonos on matzah is only discussed regarding hard matzos.– YahuMay 21, 2010 at 16:34
Concerning corn tortillas, it is also possible for the brachah to be ha-adamah. If the nixtamalized corn is directly made to tortilla rather than processed to flour, the corn kernels would still be recognizable.
As noted on the OU site:
"Say borei pri ha’eitz or borei pri ha’adama for foods made of identifiable pieces of fruit or vegetables.
Note: Even if you know the ingredients in a prepared food–such as grated apples–you must see identifiable pieces in order to say a specific blessing (borei pri ha’eitz, borei pri ha’adama…). If no ingredients are visually identifiable, you must say she’hakol (or possibly borei minei mezonot)." OU.org
See also Kitzur Shulchan Aruch 52:16 And (if I am correct) Seder Birkat Hanehenin 7:23 by the Ba'al HaTanya
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1Welcome to Mi Yodeya Menachem! Consider editing in sources regarding the halakhot you reference.– mevaqeshDec 9, 2016 at 5:26
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@mevaqesh I can't find where I noted it, but found another source. Dec 9, 2016 at 22:06
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Excellent. You could further improve it, with a link to the OU website.– mevaqeshDec 10, 2016 at 23:02
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+1 Very good. Consider also clarifying what the Kitzur and the other sefer say.– mevaqeshDec 11, 2016 at 4:16