Would dough baked in a wonder pot, סיר פלא, have the status of bread? TB Pesakhim 37

Starting the Mishna on daf TB Pesakhim 35a our attention has been focused on the laws of matzah. We learned that only the five grains mentioned in the Torah may be used to make matzah. Yesterday we discussed the disagreement over which liquids may be used to knead the dough. Today’s daf TB Pesakhim 37 discusses which baked goods have the status of bread. Of course we have to make sure that matzah has to have the status of bread because it is described as the “bread of affliction-lekhem oni, לֶחֶם עָנִי)

For a baked good to have the status of bread it needs to fill two crucial criteria. First of all we have to say the blessing “hamotzi lekhem min ha-aretz (הַמּֽוֹצִיא לֶֽחֶם מִן הָאָֽרֶץ)” and not “borai minai mezanot (בּוֹרֵא מִינֵי מְזוֹנוֹת). Secondly, ḥalla must be separated from the dough, (הפרשת חלה). When the Temple stood this separated dough was given to the kohanim, priests, who ate it in ritual readiness. Today since the Temple no longer stands and no kohan is ritually ready, we remove a portion of the dough and burn it saying the blessing, “לְהַפְרִישׁ חַלָּה מִין הָעִסּה.”

Everybody agrees that dough baked in an oven has the status of bread while dough baked by the sun doesn’t. But what about dough that is baked in a pot? To set up the argument the Gemara begins “The Sages taught: Sponge-like cakes, honey cakes, spiced cakes [eskeritin], pan-fried bread [ḥallat hamasret], and bread prepared from a mixture of permitted grain and teruma, their owners are all exempt from ḥalla. The Gemara clarifies these obscure terms. What is pan-fried bread? Rabbi Yehoshua ben Levi said: This is boiled bread baked by ordinary homeowners in a deep frying pan.” (Sefaria.org translation)

Now we have the disagreement between Reish Lakish and Rabbi Yoḥanan. “Reish Lakish said: These dishes are pot-boiled stew [ilpas], not bread. Since this food is prepared in a pot and not in an oven, it has been boiled rather than baked, and its owner is therefore exempt from ḥalla. And Rabbi Yoḥanan said: Even the owner of bread prepared like a pot-boiled stew is obligated in ḥalla, but the owners of these pan-fried breads and the other baked goods listed are exempt, as these breads were baked in the sun. Since they were not baked over a fire, they are not classified as bread with regard to the mitzva of ḥalla.

(Now the Gemara qualifies what Reish Lakish meant.-gg) “The Gemara raises an objection to the statement of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish statement from a baraita: With regard to sponge-cakes, honey cakes, or spiced cakes, if one prepared them in a pot, he is obligated to separate ḥalla. However, if he prepared them in the sun, he is exempt from this mitzva. This is a conclusive refutation of the opinion of Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish. Ulla said: Rabbi Shimon ben Lakish could have said to you: With what are we dealing here? We are dealing with a case where one heated the pot over the fire and afterward pasted the dough to the sides of the hot pot. This is considered like baking in an oven, and one is therefore obligated to separate ḥalla from the dough.” (Sefaria.org translation) In other words, if the pot is used like an oven, heated first and then the dough is placed on the side of the wall which was their method of making bread like pita, ḥalla must be separated. If the dough was placed on the walls of the pot and then the pot was heated, this dough does not have the status of bread and ḥalla doesn’t need to be separated.

The Shulkan Arukh poskins that one can fulfill his mitzvah of eating matzah with matzah that is baked in a heated pot (meaning the pot was heated first and then the dough was affixed to the side). However, a priori one should be careful and not affix the dough to the pot first and then heat the pot up. (Orekh Hayyim, 461:2)

This discussion reminded me of a wonder pot- סיר פלא, “sír péle, Hebrew pronunciation: [siʁ ˈpele]) is an Israeli invention for baking on top of a gas stove rather than in an oven. It consists of three parts: an aluminium pot shaped like a Bundt pan except smooth-sided rather than fluted, a hooded cover perforated with venting holes, and a thick, round, slightly domed metal disc with a center hole that is placed between the pot and the flame.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonder_Pot) Back in the early years of the State of Israel when many people did not have an oven, people use this wonder pot as their oven.

Although baking matzah in it seems to me an impossible task, if the wonder pot was first put on the stove to be heated, and then the dough was put in the pot, the baked good would have the status of bread. This is all rather theoretical today because “The Wonder Pot retained its popularity through the 1970s, especially among new immigrants who did not have ovens. During its heyday, the Wonder Pot spawned its own bestselling cookbook. The introduction of the microwave oven and a national desire to dissociate with the austerity mentality put an end to its widespread use.^[3] However, the Wonder Pot is still used by Israeli Haredi families for baking kugels, and it is also popular in this sector on the holiday of Passover for those who do not have a kosher-for-Passover oven.^[1][4]” (ibid.)