Ingredients
Bread
- 500 gstale dark rye bread
- razowy or pumpernickel
- 4 litreswater
To ferment
- 150 gsugar
- 1/2 teaspoondried yeast
- a small amount
- a handful of raisins
Sometimes added
- a few mint leaves
- juice of 1 lemon
- 1 tablespoonhoney
- a strip of horseradish
Equipment
- a large clean bucket
- muslin or a cloth
- plastic bottles
- or bottles with loose caps
Directions
- Use plastic bottles or leave caps loose. Cold slows the fermentation right down. Wash all the equipment thoroughly. Rinse it all with boiling water. Cut the stale rye bread into slices. Lay them out on a baking tray. Heat the oven to one hundred and eighty degrees.
- Bake them for about twenty minutes. Judging the toast takes a look. Turn them halfway through baking. Put the toasted bread in a large bucket. Bring all the water to a full boil. Pour it over all of the bread. Stir it to wet everything through.
- Cover it and let it steep properly. Give it at least four full hours. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve. Line it with cloth for a clearer result. Press the bread to get all the liquid. Discard the spent bread afterwards. Do not press it down too hard. Press gently and accept the loss. Stir the sugar into the strained liquid.
- Let it dissolve completely into it. Let it cool to about room temperature. It must be below thirty degrees. Wait until it is comfortable to touch. Sprinkle the small amount of yeast over it. Stir it in gently and thoroughly.
- Cover the bucket loosely with a cloth. Gas must be able to escape freely. Leave it somewhere cool and dark. Give it about twenty-four hours.
- Warm rooms ferment it much faster. Cooler rooms take considerably longer. Put a few raisins in each bottle. Pour the kvass in very carefully. Leave the sediment behind in the bucket. Leave a good gap at the top of each bottle.
- Put the bottles in the refrigerator. Cold slows the yeast almost to a stop. Pour it into glasses carefully. Leave the last of the sediment behind. Add mint leaves or lemon if you like. It is drunk cold in hot weather. Check the bottles daily for pressure.
Technique
- This began as a way to use stale bread, which was too valuable to throw away, so soaking and fermenting it made a drink from nothing; the bread is toasted dark but never black first, since burnt bread makes the kvass permanently bitter.
- Fermentation produces carbon dioxide, and in a sealed bottle that builds pressure that can burst glass, which is genuinely dangerous. Use plastic bottles or leave caps loose, squeeze the side of a plastic bottle as a pressure gauge, and refrigerate as soon as it feels firm and tastes lightly fizzy.
- Do not press the soaked bread hard when straining, since that pushes sediment through and makes the kvass thick and muddy; press gently and accept the loss.
Substitutions
- Any dark rye bread works, and the darker the bread the darker the kvass.
- Honey in place of some of the sugar gives a rounder flavour.
Variations
- Mint leaves, lemon juice or a strip of horseradish are added in some households.
- Raisins in the bottle carry wild yeasts and give the light fizz.
- It is drunk cold and also used as the base for cold soups.
History
A Polish and wider Slavic summer drink brewed from stale rye bread with yeast and sugar.
Frequently asked questions
What is Kwas chlebowy?
Kwas chlebowy is a drink from Poland: lightly fermented rye bread drink, cloudy and faintly sour. A Polish and wider Slavic summer drink brewed from stale rye bread with yeast and sugar.
How long does Kwas chlebowy take to make?
Kwas chlebowy takes 20 minutes of preparation and 2 days fermenting of cooking. The recipe makes about 4 litres. It is rated medium to make.
What can I substitute in Kwas chlebowy?
Yes, within limits. Any dark rye bread works, and the darker the bread the darker the kvass. Honey in place of some of the sugar gives a rounder flavour.
What is the most important thing to get right in Kwas chlebowy?
Cover it and let it steep properly. Give it at least four full hours. Strain the liquid through a fine sieve. Line it with cloth for a clearer result. Press the bread to get all the liquid. Discard the spent bread afterwards. Do not press it down too hard. Press gently and accept the loss. Stir the sugar into the strained liquid.
