Question

I need to ask that in German bread one of the ingredients is alcohol (I don’t know it’s specifications), is it halal to eat it as lot of Muslim eat this bread on the pretext that alcohol is evaporated during baking making it halal to consume. Kindly guide

This question is raised by my daughter who lives in Berlin.

Answer

Bread will generally contain trace amounts of alcohol. This alcohol occurs naturally in the bread-making process when the yeast reacts with the sugars within the dough. This alcohol is in trace amounts and is unavoidable. In addition to this bread has been consumed historically even by the companions of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and give him peace). For these reasons, such trace amounts of alcohol will not render the bread unlawful.

If however, alcohol is being added as an additional ingredient to create certain flavours then this would be impermissible to consume.

Answered by:
Ifta Research Fellow

Checked & Approved by:
Mufti Abdul Rahman Mangera
Mufti Zubair Patel