Q. What is Horav Shlomo Miller’s opinion regarding bread croutons eaten with a salad. Do you have to wash hands and make Hamotzi?
A. Vesen Brocho (p. 36 – 466) rules to make mezonos on croutons. When mixed in a salad, the mezonos is recited first, followed by the haadama on the salad. On croutons made from left over slices of bread, the brocho changes to hamotzi,
Vezos Habrocho (p. 122) maintains that croutons made from regular flour and not fried the brocho is hamotzi. When fried or cooked it changes to mezonos. Pischei Halocho (p. 366) rules similarly.
Horav Shlomo Miller’s Shlit’a opinion is that if there is a significant amount of baked and non-fried croutons in the salad, (a kezais) one should wash hands and recite hamotzi.
Rabbi A. Bartfeld as revised by Horav Shlomo and Horav Aharon Miller Shlit’a