Whether you're baking bread for Shabbat or cookies and cakes to share with friends, there are some important halachic considerations to keep in mind. These include separating challah, thinking about what the baked goods will be eaten with (e.g., dairy or meat), and the nature of the oven. Let’s explore these factors in detail.

Separating Challah

We often use the word "challah" to refer to the two loaves used at the Shabbat meal. In Halachic terminology, “challah” actually refers to a small piece of dough that we remove before baking bread. This piece of dough is subsequently burned.

In Temple times, this dough was given to a kohen (priest), and we’ll return to this practice in the Messianic era. Today, since we’re all in a state of ritual impurity, we burn this separated piece of challah dough.

This mitzvah reminds us that what we receive isn’t just for us; it should be dedicated to a higher purpose. While the mitzvah applies to all Jews, it is traditionally entrusted to women, who elevate the home both physically and spiritually.

What You Need to Know:

  • Type of Flour: Challah is separated when the dough contains wheat, rye, barley, oats or spelt.1
  • Liquid in the Dough: Any liquid, such as water, oil, juice or eggs, can trigger the obligation to separate challah. To ensure the blessing can be recited, include some water in the mix, even if the recipe doesn’t call for it.2
  • Amount of Flour:
    • Less than 43 ounces (approx 8.6 cups): Challah is not separated.
    • Between 43 and 59 oz. (approx 8.6 - 12.3 cups): Challah is separated but no blessing is said.
    • More than 59 oz. (approx 12.3 cups): Challah is separated with a blessing.3
  • Consistency of Dough: Challah is not separated from some looser batters(as opposed to a heavy batter/dough, like that of bread or babka). If you’re baking cakes and pastries in quantities large enough to warrant challah being taken, consult a rabbi.4

For more about separating challah, see our section Taking Challah.

Baked By Jews

The sages decreed that we can only eat baked goods baked by Jews or those where a Jew participated in the baking process—like igniting the oven or adding fuel to the fire.5

This is called pat yisrael and was established to prevent excessive social assimilation, which could result from being hosted by non-Jews.

If you’re doing the baking yourself, there’s no issue. But if a non-Jew is baking for you—even if it’s in your home—make sure to light the fire or other very specific acts of participation (see footnote6), or you won’t be able to eat the bread.

(There’s an exception called pat palter—bread baked by non-Jewish commercial bakers—when no Jewish-baked bread is available. In a grocery store, pat palter bread may have a kosher symbol but does not specify that it’s pat yisroel. That said, many avoid pat palter entirely. Even those who are lenient customarily refrain from eating pat palter on Shabbat and Yom Tov7 as well as during the Ten Days of Repentance between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.8)

No Dairy or Meat Bread

The sages instituted that bread must always be pareve, meaning it cannot contain dairy or meat ingredients. They did this to prevent dairy bread from being accidentally consumed at a meat meal, and vice versa. (In fact, in most instances, even eating dairy or meat bread on its own is not allowed.)9

However, there are two exceptions:

  1. Baked in Small Quantities: Dairy or meaty bread can be baked in very small quantities, as it is assumed that a small amount will be consumed quickly and is unlikely to be mistakenly eaten with the wrong type of meal.10 There is, however, debate over what qualifies as "small." Some authorities hold that it’s an amount that can be eaten in one sitting, others say that it’s an amount that can be eaten in one day. Practically, Sephardim follow the opinion that it needs to be small enough to be eaten in one sitting, while Ashkenazim follow the opinion that it needs to be small enough to be eaten in one day.11
  2. Distinct Shape or Markings: Dairy or meaty bread can be made if it’s clearly marked, such as by shaping it into a distinct form that is significantly different from regular breads. (That’s why in Israel, kashrut organizations require that dairy breads, such as cheese bourekas, danishes and other pastries, be baked in a triangular shape.)12 Another option is to sprinkle cheese or meat on top to make its status obvious (e.g., you can make dairy dough for pizza since it’s baked with cheese on top).

Baking Pareve in Meat or Dairy Oven

Even if your bread is pareve, the oven it’s baked in can affect its status. There are three factors to consider:

  • Spillage and Contact: If meat or dairy spills and contacts bread, the bread becomes meaty or dairy and may not be eaten with the opposite type of food. Like other meaty or dairy breads, it can’t be eaten at all unless it’s baked in small quantities or with a distinct shape.
  • Smells: Initially (lechatchilah), it’s ruled that the smell of one food can transfer its taste to another. So if bread absorbs the smell of meat or cheese, it shouldn’t be eaten with the opposite type of food.13
  • Vapors: The vapor (zei’ah) of a food is considered equivalent to the food itself. So if the vapor of meat or cheese enters the bread, the bread can’t be eaten with the opposite type of food. Like other meaty or dairy breads, it can’t be eaten at all unless it’s baked in small quantities or with a distinct shape. Zei’ah is especially relevant with modern ovens, where the ceiling absorbs the vapor from the foods.

Based on the above, follow these halachic guidelines when baking:

Uncovered Baking: Don’t bake bread at the same time as uncovered meat or dairy, unless one of the conditions of shape or amount (mentioned above) is fulfilled. This applies even if the oven is wide and flat, and even if the meat/dairy and bread are on different surfaces. This applies to both modern and medieval ovens.14

If bread and meat/dairy were baked uncovered in the same oven, the bread can’t be eaten with the opposite food due to the vapor it absorbs. In this case, the bread follows the same rules as bread kneaded with meat or dairy, meaning it is forbidden unless it has a special shape or is a small quantity.15

Covered Baking: If the meat or dairy is covered, the oven is clean of any meat or dairy residue, the oven wasn’t used for meat\dairy in the last 24 hours (i.e., not bein yomo), and there is no concern of overflow onto the bread, then you can bake bread with the meat or dairy food. The bread remains pareve and may be eaten with the opposite type of food.

Even if the meat or dairy is covered, if the oven contains residue, the bread can’t be eaten with the opposite food due to the smell and vapor from the residue. To remove residue, preheat the oven to burn off leftover substances (more on this below).

How to Bake With One Oven

Cleaning the Oven:

Thoroughly clean your meat or dairy oven before baking bread by preheating the oven to a high temperature to burn off any residue (this is referred to as libun kal, a “lighter” form of kashering). Simply cleaning with a sponge and water is not sufficient.16

Ben Yomo:

Some authorities allow you to bake pareve bread in an oven that’s been preheated and cleansed of residue, even if the oven was used for meat or dairy within the past 24 hours (bein yomo).17 However, others rule that pareve bread shouldn’t be baked in an oven that is bein yomo from meat or dairy, and if done, the bread may not be eaten with the opposite type of food, but may be eaten before or after.18

Practically, wait 24 hours from the last meat/dairy use before baking bread. However, in cases of need, the oven can be “kashered” by heating it for 15 minutes, and then you can bake pareve bread.19

Cakes with Lettering

When baking cakes or cookies to be eaten on Shabbat, be cognizant that "erasing," one of the 39 prohibited melachot on Shabbat, includes defacing or breaking letters. You shouldn’t cut a cake or cookie on Shabbat that breaks letters. But you can remove the letters intact with some icing or cake. (You may have noticed that kosher bakeries often write lettering on a thin slab of chocolate that can easily be removed from the cake for this very reason.)

There is debate about whether this applies to pictures, so avoid breaking baked goods with letters or pictures on Shabbat, even if the design is carved into the dough. However, you can eat bread shaped into a design (aside from letters or numbers). For example, some have the custom of having a key-shaped challah on the Shabbat after Passover.

By following these halachot, you can ensure your baking is both delicious and mindful of Jewish law. Happy baking!