Pizza dough is traditionally made with grain-flour and water as a thick bread dough. Even though the dough is baked with a ‘filling’ of cheese, sauce and vegetables, since the ‘filling’ is of a type that is eaten in a meal, it is not considered Pas Habaah Bekisnin according to both the Alter Rebbe and Mishna Berura. One would need to wash and say Hamotzi even when eating a small amount. If one were to eat a Kzayis one would need to Bentch.
According to those who follow the lenient opinion of the Ta”z, a filling of cheese or vegetables is also considered Pas Habaah Bekisnin and the Bracha will be Mezonos - unless one eats Kdei Kvias Seuda. Even according to this opinion, if the pizza base was previously baked separately by itself and then baked again with the topping (such as frozen ready-made-bases), the pizza would be Hamotzi.
For the ‘perceived’ convenience of customers who adopt the stricter opinion above, many kosher pizza stores will make the pizza dough with fruit juice, in order to make the pizza Mezonos. If the taste of the juice is discernible, these pizzas will be Mezonos and the after blessing will be Al Hamichya, unless one is eating Kdei Kevias Seuda, in which case they would be required to wash, recite Hamotzi and Birkas Hamazon.
Based on the ruling of the Alter Rebbe, even when eating a lesser amount of such pizza, a Baal Nefesh should be Machmir to wash and eat a Kzayis of something that is certainly Hamotzi, before eating the Mezonos pizza. Note that one cannot be “stringent” by washing and saying Hamotzi over such a pizza unless they will eating Kdei Kevias Seuda, since one will then be saying the incorrect Bracha. Further, the Brachos over washing and the Bentching will be a Bracha Levatala.
What if the dough is cooked instead of baked?
Our discussion until now focused on dough or pastry that is baked. The Halachos are different if the dough is cooked in liquid instead.
Dough that is cooked in liquid will remain Mezonos, even if it is made of grain-flour and water as a thick dough and the pieces are large. This is because through cooking, the product loses its status of bread, since bread is baked not cooked. Even if one were to eat more than the volume of Kdei Kvias Seuda, and even to the point of Kdei Sevia, one would say Mezonos and Al Hamichya. An obvious example of this would be pasta. Even though pasta is made of wheat and water dough, since it is cooked by boiling, it will be Mezonos. Kreplach are subject to the same rule as the dough is cooked through boiling. The Bracha on Kreplach will be Mezonos.
Baked after cooking
If the cooked dough is subsequently baked, the baking reinstates the status of bread and it will be considered Hamotzi even when eating a small quantity. Birkas Hamazon will be required when eating a Kzayis. An example of this would be a boiled bagel. Even though the dough is first boiled, the subsequent baking renders it Hamotzi.
What about Lasagne?
Lasagne is a baked dish where sheets of pasta are layered with a filling (which could be meat, vegetables or cheese) and sauce. Lasagne can be made with fresh pasta sheets or instant/dried lasagne sheets. Either type is made with flour and water as a pasta dough that is subsequently cooked through boiling. The only difference is that the dried lasagne sheets have been subsequently dehydrated for long-term storage and packaging.
Even though cooked pasta is Mezonos, based on the discussion above, the subsequent baking in the oven should make it Hamotzi. Even though the pasta is baked with a filling, since the filling is the type of food served in a meal, it will be Hamotzi according to the Alter Rebbe and Mishna Berura. According to the lenient view of the Ta”z that the cheese, meat or vegetable filling does qualify as Pas Habaah Bekisnin, the Bracha would be Mezonos. However, if one were to eat Kdei Kevias Seuda, Hamotzi would be required.
Nonetheless, common practise is to say Mezonos over lasagne. Some Acharonim justify this practise because flat lasagne pasta sheets do not have the form of bread. However, according to the Alter Rebbe, the form of the bread is irrelevant when discussing something that is made from a thick dough, especially where it is in large pieces. Accordingly, one should recite Hamotzi when eating lasagne. Alternatively, one could avoid the issue by only eating lasagne in the course of a meal where one will wash and eat bread.
If the lasagne is baked with a large amount of sauce, so that after removing the pasta a large amount of sauce would remain in the pan, one...
