Pas Yisroel - Baking Without Fire

QUESTION: Are Panko bread crumbs, which are baked by sending an electric current through the dough, considered Pas palter?

ANSWER: The Minchas Yaakov (75:11) writes that bread that was baked in the sun (without fire) was never included in the requirements of Pas Yisroel. One can argue that the same should apply to bread that is baked by means of passing an electric current through the dough or in a microwave. Neither of these should be considered bishul akum or Pas akum.

However, this is not so clear. Contemporary poskim argue about whether the halachos of bishul akum apply to microwaves and other non-fire-based methods of cooking. Some argue that any normal method of cooking is included within bishul akum—only cooking in the sun is excluded because it is abnormal and produces inferior results. Presumably this disagreement would apply to bread as well. Furthermore, Panko is initially baked with electric current, but afterwards it is dried in a fire heated oven. Therefore, even more so, it would seem that it is considered Pas palter. Since there is not a clear answer to this question, the OU poskim have recommended that Panko be considered Pas palter unless it is baked with Jewish involvement. 

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The Gerald & Karin Feldhamer OU Kosher Halacha Yomis is dedicated to the memory of Rav Yisroel Belsky, zt"l, who served as halachic consultant for OU Kosher for more than 28 years; many of the responses in Halacha Yomis are based on the rulings of Rabbi Belsky. Subscribe to the Halacha Yomis daily email here.