Homemade Russian bread kvass – a recipe for yeast and sourdough

“Russian kvass saved a lot of people” – this proverb fully reflects the importance of this drink for the Slavic peoples. Unfortunately, today’s drink, which is on the shelves in stores and is called kvass, can hardly be called the savior of the Russian people – it is often a mixture of preservatives and acids that are not very beneficial for the body. Fortunately, bread kvass is very easy to make at home.

Kvass is a unique drink. He never gets bored, quenches thirst well thanks to the acids contained in it, tones. Its healing properties are legendary. It is authentically known that kvass has a calming effect, has a beneficial effect on the cardiovascular system, improves metabolism and digestion. As a product of lactic fermentation, it is similar in effect to the body with kefir, curdled milk and koumiss – it regulates the functioning of the gastrointestinal tract, prevents the formation of pathogenic microflora, etc.

But all this can only be said about traditional double-fermented kvass. The fact is that now kvass is more often prepared according to the “beer” technology – most manufacturers carry out only incomplete alcoholic fermentation. The lack of lactic and other acids in such a drink is compensated by chemically synthesized acids. Real kvass is a product of double fermentation – fermented milk and alcohol. In such kvass, the acids necessary for the body are formed naturally, during the vital activity of yeast and lactic acid bacteria.

Recipe for homemade bread kvass with yeast

There are a lot of similar recipes on the web. You can’t call it bad, but traditional too. It is simple and this is perhaps its biggest advantage. However, this bread kvass is not much different from the one that gets on store shelves. However, it is real, prepared by one’s own hands, does not contain preservatives, still quenches thirst and has some nutritional value for the body. Such a drink in the old days could save lives.

Preparation:

1. Good wholemeal rye bread (in extreme cases, you can make black bread) cut into cubes of approximately 3×3 cm, and then brown it in the oven for 10-15 minutes at a temperature of about 180 ^оC. It is necessary to achieve a pleasant golden brown color, in no case do not burn it, otherwise the kvass will be excessively bitter.
2. Now you need to boil 5 liters of clean water and pour it over the browned croutons. Wait from 3 to 5 hours until it cools down, and then filter the kvass wort through a couple of layers of gauze and squeeze lightly. Before this, you need to ferment the yeast: in a small bowl, mix a tablespoon of sugar and a glass of warm water, stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and add the yeast. After 10-15 minutes, when foam appears, the yeast is ready to use.

Zest (from one fruit) and lemon juice (from half), raisins (50-60 g) and other similar additives can be added directly to the must after filtration. It is better to pre-brew spices and herbs in a glass of boiling water, filter and add a ready-made broth to the wort. Bread kvass goes well with cumin, coriander, rosemary – 1 tsp each, as well as with herbs such as lemon balm and mint – 1 tbsp.

3. Dissolve the desired amount of sugar in the filtered wort. To begin with, I recommend taking a small amount of sugar and sweetening the already prepared kvass from bread. Over time, you can choose its optimal amount to your taste. After that, you need to add yeast to the sweetened wort, cover the container in which the drink is prepared with gauze and leave it in a warm place for 12-15 hours.
4. Bread kvass is almost ready. Slightly fermented wort must be filtered again through cheesecloth and poured into plastic bottles. Before that, you can add 3 tbsp to kvass. sugar or divide this amount of sugar between bottles – it will be needed to carbonize kvass, this is done with homemade beer, for example. Close the bottles tightly and wait 5 to 10 hours.

Bottles should be filled no more than ¾ of their volume. It is necessary to choose a container made of dense plastic with well-fitting corks – a large amount of carbon dioxide accumulates during carbonization, which can break the bottle without any problems. That is why it is not recommended to use glass containers for these purposes.

5. Then kvass needs to be cooled to 10^оC (optional) to stop fermentation, and you can safely drink it, at least 3-4 days. Also, bottles can be left in a cool place, for example, in the basement, for up to 3-4 days, and then drunk. Such bread kvass is suitable for consumption up to four weeks. Tastes exceptionally chilled on a hot summer day!

Recipe for kvass from bread without yeast (on sourdough)

This recipe is a completely different story. It may not be 100% traditional, but a drink obtained in this way can be called kvass with full confidence. Everything is present in it: lactic acid, which is formed as a result of sour-milk fermentation – it is provided by rye sourdough, a small amount of acetic acid – it is formed as a result of alcoholic fermentation. Yeast is not added here, which greatly affects the taste and smell of kvass. However, wild yeast is present always and everywhere, and bread must is a very nutrient medium for them.

So, the preparation of bread kvass of double fermentation:

I won’t tell you how to cook rye sourdough, unfortunately, or maybe fortunately, I don’t understand baking at all. I only know that such a starter can be bought ready-made in some supermarkets, but it would be better to ask a friend of the hostess who bakes bread herself – in almost 100% of cases, she will have the right amount of starter in the refrigerator. After all, there are more than enough recipes for yeast-free rye sourdough on the Internet (Don Pomazan described the process of making rye sourdough in an article with real malt sourdough recipes).

In general, the process of making bread kvass at home without yeast does not differ much from the first recipe. Bread is also cut into cubes and browned. Pour boiling water over it, and then wait until the wort cools down to 30^оC (at a higher temperature, the lactic acid bacteria of the starter may die). Add the starter to the cooled wort, mix well and tie the neck of the container with gauze or a thick cloth. We leave the wort in a warm place for 2 days, and then filter it through several layers of gauze. Add 40 g of sugar and pour into plastic bottles.

Bottles should be sent for a day in a warm place for carbonization, and then put in the refrigerator or taken to the cellar. At this time, you can drink kvass, enjoy life and improve your health. By the way, the sediment remaining at the bottom of the bottles is a kind of starter for the same rye sourdough, so it can be used to prepare another batch of kvass.

Let me remind you that such kvass contains almost no alcohol (no more than 0,5%), it sometimes lacks the unpleasant smell of baker’s yeast, and it is the most authentic and healthy. More traditional kvass is made from barley and/or rye malt, but that’s another story, as they say.

If only bread and kvass, then everything is with us!