We will start with a brief view of the contemporary machloket regarding “Mezonot rolls,” about which so much has been said and written.
The gemara[1] discusses pat haba’ah b’kisnin, a baked grain-based food that shares some qualities with bread but in some ways is different from normal bread. The gemara says that whether one recites HaMotzi or Mezonot on such a food depends on whether one is kovei’a seuda (sets a meal) on it. The Shulchan Aruch writes that when one is kovei’a seuda on pat haba’ah b’kisnin, the other halachot of bread also apply to it – namely, one has to do netilat yadayim before eating it[2] and recite Birkat HaMazon after eating it.[3]
What are the characteristics that make a baked product of flour from the five main grains pat haba’ah b’kisnin instead of bread? The Shulchan Aruch[4] cites three opinions: 1) It has a pocket of sweet filling. 2) Its dough contains significant amounts of ingredients such as sugar and oil (in addition to flour and often water). 3) It is thin and crispy. It is not altogether clear whether we treat a food that has some but not all of these characteristics as definite pat haba’ah b’kisnin or as possible bread, and the practical ruling may depend on the specific halachic ramification that is being considered.[5]
The idea of “Mezonot rolls” is to make it pat haba’ah b’kisnin by kneading the flour with juices and with little or no water. But does this succeed in creating the desired halachic status? There are three main claims against this application, although each one is debatable.
One claim is that these rolls are usually served on the airplane in a manner such that they constitute the main part of the meal; i.e., one is kovei’a seuda on the roll. We have written elsewhere[6] our belief that pizza should be treated as bread no matter how much of it one eats because it is normally eaten as the main part of the meal. Similarly, one can argue that airline rolls should be viewed as bread. On the other hand, the prevalent minhag is to treat only a large amount of pizza as bread, and one is not served that much of the Mezonot rolls on the plane. Furthermore, the rolls are less central to meals than a slice or two of pizza is.
Another claim is that nowadays, when people normally eat only a little bread at a meal, even a relatively small amount of pat haba’ah b’kisnin should be treated as bread when it is eaten as part of a full meal.[7] However, according to that logic, one should make HaMotzi, wash, and bentch even for borekas and some kugels during a meal, and that certainly is not the accepted minhag.
A third claim is that this roll greatly resembles a regular roll, and we are more interested in the way the food looks and tastes than in its actual ingredients. However, one can deflect this claim as well. One can easily tell that a Mezonot roll is not a regular roll, and the airline food chefs and the travelers are willing to use it as a roll mainly to save them from the problem of netilat yadayim on a plane.
Our opinion, based on the combination of the above factors, is that one should wash, recite HaMotzi, and bentch on most Mezonot rolls, although we do not discount the ruling that treats them like pat haba’ah b’kisnin.
If you bring real bread with you on the plane, you will be able to solve the netilat yadayim issue and also obviate any doubt as to which berachot to make on these questionable rolls.[8] Before the stewardesses start giving out the food (special orders, including kosher, are usually served first), go to do netilat yadayim and make HaMotzi on the bread. (It is best to use a permanent cup. Also, if you wash in the sink of the little kitchenette, you will be able to recite the beracha right away. If necessary, you can wash in the bathroom, but dry your hands and make the beracha outside of it.) Then continue the meal with what they bring you later, with or without the Mezonot roll. If you do not have a chance to wash when the aisles are clear, you can first eat the meal without the bread and roll and make the appropriate berachot acharonot. Some time later (right away would raise problems of unnecessary berachot), when the aisle traffic eases, wash and have the bread and/or roll[9].
It is important to emphasize that while we do not want to compromise halachic requirements while on a plane, we also do not want to make a chillul Hashem or unfairly inconvenience others (i.e., by going into aisles that are full with food carts). It is legitimate to be lenient, and it is praiseworthy to inconvenience ourselves but eat in the most halachically sound manner, when one is under less than ideal conditions.