Question:
What brocho do you make on rice cakes 60% whole wheat
Answer:
According to most poskim the bracha is hoadomo, even though it is mostly from wheat. The reason is because we only make a mezonos on wheat when it has been cooked or ground, ( when the kernels are not longer whole). Otherwise, if they are whole the bracha on them is hoadomo. Rice and wheat cakes are produced by heating the dry wheat or rice kernels in a small hot compartment until they “pop” and the wheat kernels then stick together. Since they weren’t cooked the bracha remains hoadomo.
Sources:
Birkas Nehenin pg. 147, and pg. 191 in the name of R’ S. Z. Auerbach zt”l that it is hoadomo. V’zos Habracha pg. 256 says that this is also the opinion of R’ Scheinberg zt”l, Oth L’tzion (14-21) and YBCHL”CH R’ M. Shternbuch shlit”a. Sharei Habracha 16 ftnt. 26 in the name of R’ Vozner zt”l, that it is hoadomo. However it is brought in the name of R’ Eliyashiv zt”l (Vzos Habracha ibid) to make mezonos on it. His reasoning is that anything that is processed would be mezonon even if it wasn’t cooked.
