Q&A: Saying HaMotzi over Croutons Before a Meal
Saying HaMotzi over Croutons Before a Meal
Question
Dear Rabbi Michael Abraham, hello,
I usually eat at a restaurant that hands out bread croutons, like small toasted bread cubes. I usually take some of them together with a meal that does not include bread.
What is the proper order of the blessings?
Should I make the blessing over the croutons before or after the rice / couscous, vegetables, and patties (not meat, Heaven forbid. I’m vegan 🙂 )?
And does saying HaMotzi over a small amount of croutons exempt the other blessings?
Seemingly, they are not there to accompany the croutons, but the opposite.
And what is the law if I want to eat some of the croutons while waiting at the register before the meal?
Many thanks and best regards,
Ophir
Answer
Hello.
Industrial croutons are fried, and therefore their blessing is Mezonot. Croutons that are made by baking pieces of bread (at home or in a restaurant) require HaMotzi.
When eating them together with something else, it depends on the usual laws of blessings and precedence. Indeed, nothing is there to accompany the croutons, and therefore one should also make a blessing over what is eaten with them. In soup, usually there are not many croutons, so one should make a separate blessing over each item. If there are many croutons, their blessing exempts the soup.