Passover “Bread”

Question

Our local kosher supermarkets sell ‘Passover bread.’ It is made from potato and/or tapioca starch and looks no different from any other common bread. It is certified for use on Passover and year round by a common reliable hechsher. Is this really permitted?

0

Answers

  1. The Just Ask! - AskTheRabbi.org Team

    If it has a reliable certification, it is permissible to eat it on Passover as both potato starch and tapioca flour are not leaven. I know that it probably looks somewhat incongruous to eat them, but they are Kosher for Passover.

    Bread on Passover is defined by its ingredients, the way that it was prepared and the amount of time that it took to make it. This means that it is possible to have a product that looks like bread but is actually Kosher for Passover as it is not leavened and it is supervised and certified as Kosher for Passover. But such “bread” cannot be used for the Seder and it also cannot be used for making HaMotzi over – but it can be eaten. The correct blessing to recite over such “bread” is “Shehakol.”

    In the same way that it is possible to have Kosher for Passover “bread,” so too is it possible that Matzah might not be Kosher for Passover. This is because the Matzah was not made in a Kosher for Passover environment, or the amount of time that each batch was baked in was longer than the amount of time allowed to make is usable on Passover. That is why all Matzah for Passover use must state clearly that it is Kosher for Passover. If it does not state that clearly on the box, it cannot be used on Passover and it should be sold with your chametz.

    Best wishes from the AskTheRabbi.org Team