Berachos Daf 39 ברכות דַף 39

Regarding the precedence in berachos, one should first make a berachah on food with a more specific berachah (e.g. ha’adamah) before making it on food with a less specific berachah (e.g. shehakol).

If both foods require the same berachah, then one should choose the one that he prefers (חביב).   

There is a machlokes regarding which bread a person should say hamotzi on when faced with a choice between a small whole loaf and a larger broken piece of the same grain:

Rav Huna holds that size takes precedence over wholeness, so one says hamotzi on the larger, broken piece.

- R’ Yochanan holds that completeness takes precedence over size, so one says hamotzi on the smaller, complete loaf.

- Rav Nachman bar Yitzchok holds that a ירא שמים should adopt the practice of placing the broken piece under the whole loaf and then either break off a piece from the whole loaf or from both of them.

On Shabbos, one makes hamotzi over two whole loaves of bread, commemorating the fact that on Fridays in the desert a double portion (לחם משנה) of manna would fall.

- Rav Kahana would recite the berachah on two loaves but would only break one. 

- R’ Zeira would break off a large piece for himself that would suffice for the whole meal.