Hafrashas Challah - Flour Types

QUESTION: What types of flour are included in the mitzvah of hafrashas challah (separating from the formed dough a piece as challah)?

ANSWER: Shulchan Aruch (YD 324:1-2) lists five species of grain that require hafrashas challah when formed into dough: wheat, barley, spelt, oats and rye. In addition, if one eats bread made from these grains there is an obligation to recite Birkas Hamazon. Also, the mitzvah of Matzah at the seder can only be fulfilled with matzah that was created from these five grains. If dough was made exclusively from grains other than these five, there is no obligation of hafrashas challah.

There are various grains that are included in the wheat family. For example, Kamut (Khorasan wheat) and durum (semolina flour) are varieties of wheat. Buckwheat, in spite of its name, is neither a species of wheat nor one of the five grains. 

The mitzvah to separate challah only applies when the batter or dough is made with a specific shiur (requisite amount) of flour. The outer husk of the grain does not require separation of challah, and it does not count towards a shiur of flour that is required for the mitzvah. Bran (the outer layer of the grain) can be counted towards the shiur, so long as the bran was milled together with the rest of the grain and was not removed. However, if the bran was separated from the flour, even if it is later reintroduced back into the flour, it can no longer be counted towards the shiur of flour (Shulchan Aruch YD 324:3).

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