What Blessing Do You Make on Pizza?

One of the more common—and surprisingly complex—questions people ask is: What brachah do you make on pizza? Is it Mezonot, like cake or crackers, or Hamotzi, like regular bread?

As with many halachic questions, the answer depends not only on the ingredients, but also on how and why the food is being eaten.

Let’s take a closer look.

Bread or Not Bread?

To understand the blessing on pizza, we first need to understand a halachic category known as pat haba b’kisnin. This refers to baked goods made from the five grains (wheat, barley, oats, spelt and rye) that resemble bread but are not typically eaten as the main part of a meal.

Halachah recognizes three kinds of pat haba b’kisnin:1

1. Sweetened dough—where the liquid used in the dough is primarily fruit juice or includes significant amounts of sugar, oil or eggs.
   
2. Filled dough—pastries filled with sweets like jam or chocolate.
   
3. Crackers or cookies that are typically eaten as snacks, not as the basis of a meal.2

The common denominator of these categories is that they are generally eaten as snacks or treats. So the blessing made on them is Mezonot—unless you eat enough for it to be considered a meal. In that case, they are treated as bread and require Hamotzi and Birkat Hamazon.

So Where Does Pizza Fit In?

The first question you need to ask is: How much am I planning on eating?

Meal or not a Meal?

According to the Seder Birchat Hanehenin,3 if you plan to eat the volume of six eggs (beitzim) worth (approximately 336 grams4) of the snack bread, you need to recite Hamotzi.5

Even if you eat less—four beitzim (about 230 grams)—but will feel full (including side dishes), you should still say Hamotzi on the snack bread.

If you feel full from even less than that, you should recite Hamotzi over a small amount (kezayit) of regular bread, and then eat your fill of this snack-bread.

So, what does this mean practically?

• If you’re eating more than 336 grams (approximately 1½ slices of New York-style pizza6), then according to all opinions, you would make Hamotzi, regardless of how full you’ll feel.
• If you eat at least 230 grams but less than 336 grams (between 1 and 1½ slices) and you know you’ll feel full, make Hamotzi. (If you said Mezonot and then realized that you feel full, you should still say Birkat Hamazon afterward.)
• If you’re eating less than one slice (230 grams), even if you know you’ll feel full, you should ideally wash on some other bread beforehand.

So the question about the proper blessing for pizza only applies when you eat less than one and a half slices (230 grams).

Now that we have that figured out, we can get to the heart of the question.

How is the Pizza Made?

Pizza complicates matters. Aside from the differences of opinion, not all pizzas are made the same, and not everyone eats them the same way.

Pizza Made From Regular Dough and Baked, Like Bread

If the dough is plain, made primarily with water like regular bread, then why would it be Mezonot? Do the toppings of cheese and sauce render it pat haba b’kisnin according to the second category mentioned above (filled dough)?

According to some halachic authorities, only if the filling or topping is sweet—such as fruit or jam—can it be considered pat haba b’kisnin, which would make the brachah Mezonot (unless eaten as a meal). If, however, it is filled (or has a topping of) meat, fish or cheese, the brachah remains Hamotzi, because these fillings do not change its status as bread.7

Others rule that even savory fillings like meat or cheese can change the brachah to Mezonot, unless you eat enough for a full meal (keviut seudah), in which case the brachah would be Hamotzi. So, for communities that follow this ruling, whether you make Mezonot on less than a slice and a half would depend on how much you ate and if you’re eating it as a snack.8

Rabbi Schneur Zalman of Liadi, in his final ruling in Seder Birchat Hanehenin, rules according to the first opinion that if the filling or topping is meat or cheese, it would always be Hamotzi, since that’s considered a meal.9 Accordingly, pizza would not be included in the second category of pat haba b’kisnin.

There is, however, another possible mitigating factor.

Pizza Made With Milk or Fruit Juice

According to Rabbi Schneur Zalman, you can rely on the opinion that if the dough is sweetened or enriched and has a cake-like taste or texture, it falls under the first category of pat haba b’kisnin. In such cases, you could make a Mezonot blessing following the guidelines above regarding the amount of pizza you ate and how satiated you are.10

That said, Rabbi Schneur Zalman adds that “a meticulous person should be stringent and wash their hands and recite the blessing of Hamotzi on other ordinary bread beforehand.”11

What If You Change Your Mind Midway?

Let’s say you intended to eat just a small slice—enough for Mezonot—but halfway through, you decide to make a meal of it. What now?

In that case, you should first recite the after-blessing (Al Hamichya) for the initial amount, wait a short while, then wash your hands and recite Hamotzi before continuing. If you now plan to eat enough to be considered a meal, you don’t need to add regular bread; the pizza itself suffices.12

Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s Opinion on the Bracha for Pizza

Summary of the Rabbi Schneur Zalman’s rulings on which blessing to recite over pizza, based on type, amount, and manner of consumption.