Dairy Pizza Crust

Q. I have noticed that some commercially sold pizza crusts (which are used to make pizza) contain milk. Is it permissible to eat a dairy pizza crust, or is it prohibited like dairy bread?

A. Chazal ruled that dairy bread made at home may be eaten if it has a unique shape that will alert the consumer that it is dairy. Nonetheless, the Maharit (YD 2:18) wrote that one may not sell dairy bread in a bakery, even if the bread has a unique shape, because a visitor might think that the shape is standard for bread of that city. One might assume that commercial dairy pizza crust is similar to dairy bakery bread which the Maharit prohibits, even if it has a unique shape. However, Rav Belsky zt”l explained that dairy bakery bread and dairy pizza crust are not comparable. Dairy pizza crust is universally recognizable, and everyone knows that it is intended for use with cheese. Since it will usually be eaten with cheese, it is reasonable to assume that the dough may be dairy. If for some reason a person would want to eat the crust at a meat meal, they would likely first check if the crust is pareve by making an inquiry or by checking the kosher symbol or ingredient panel. As such, the unique shape of pizza crust justifies its consumption as a kosher item.

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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.