Mezonos rolls

Is there really such a thing as a mezonos roll? And how does that work if usually eating a roll means you are eating a meal - isnt eating a roll called being Koveah Seudah and then it should always be hamotzi?

Shalom!

Thank you for your question.

The Talmud rules that the blessing to be recited before eating “pat haba b’kisnin” is borei minei mezonot. It is actually unclear, however, exactly which foods qualify as pat haba b’kisnin. Nevertheless, common custom is to accept as pat haba b’kisnin any foods within the bread family that are normally eaten as a snack such as cake, cookies, and pie. Indeed, all authorities agree that when eating a small amount of these items one is to recite “borei minei mezonot”. 

The main difference between bread dough (“hamotzi”) and cake dough (“mezonot”) is that the latter is sweeter and enjoyed far more often as a snack rather than as a meal. According to some authorities, as long as the sweetness of the dough is merely discernable it is sufficient to render the product a “mezonot” item. Other authorities, however, require that the sweet taste be the most dominant feature of the product. 

The taste, texture, and content of mezonot rolls place them at the center of this dispute. They look like any other type of roll and usually taste pretty much the same (they may be slightly sweeter than most other breads). Nevertheless, this level of sweetness does not change the item from its “hamotzi” status to a “mezonot” one. 

Not only is the sweetness level of these rolls important, but the manner in which they are eaten is significant, as well.  One does not generally eat egg, tuna, salami or other bread-type fillings with cookies or other mezonos foods! Indeed, it is actually unappetizing to do so. It follows, therefore, that one who eats meal type foods with a “mezonot roll” is essentially demonstrating that one considers the product to be bread! 

The reverse is also true. One who makes an entire meal out of baked mzeonos foods (or otherwise eats an especially large quantity of such items) is required to perform netilat yadayim, recite Hamotzi on the food(s), and recite the Birkat Hamazon at the end of such a meal. This is because eating “mezonot” foods in this manner demonstrates that they are essentially serving as one’s meal, which is a bread-like feature. 

Therefore, one should always wash, make “Hamotzi,” and recite Birkat Hamazon when eating “mezonot rolls”. 

OC 168:6,7 and commentaries