What Bracha does one make on Babka made with homemade Challah dough?
Question:
If I make Challah dough (with oil, eggs, and water) and then use the dough to make babka by adding a spread, cinnamon sugar mixture, chocolate or date paste, what Bracha do I say on the babka?
Answer:
In order for this dough to revert to be considered Mezonos according to all opinions, the dough needs to be filled with sweets on the inside like fruits or chocolates. The filling must be the primary ingredient and the dough secondary, so that the main intention is not to satiate but for pleasure. Seder Birchas Hanenin 2:8.
Sometimes the dough itself can be a Mezonos dough, but usually this isn’t the case with an ordinary Challah dough. If you can still change the makeup of the dough then it would be possible. This is through having the primary liquid of the dough anything else but water. Nonetheless, a בעל נפש should wash on bread before eating this.
For it be Mezonos even for a בעל נפש, use a sweet ingredient like honey instead of water and the honey would need to be larger than the amount of flour. The primary purpose of this food would be for pleasure and not to satisfy. See Seder Birchas Hanenin 2:9.
This can be accomplished even with sugar and cinnamon etc., but these would need to be the majority compared to the flour. Some maintain that in the ratio of sweet ingredients compared to the flour, one may include the eggs, oil and margarine too (Ketzos Hashulchan, in Badei Hashulchan 48:14).
However, in all of these cases, if one would eat more than Kvias Seudah, they should wash. For the definition of Kvius Seudah, see Seder Birchas Hanenin 2:2-3.
See also:
#1883
#2141
