In the heat, real kvass perfectly quenches thirst, relieves fatigue and quickly restores strength. This delicious natural drink is also easy to prepare at home, following centuries-old technology. I bring to your attention two recipes for kvass from bread: one with yeast, the other without.
General tips:
- You can make kvass from any type of bread, but the best drinks are made from black rye loaves without caraway seeds, dill, etc.;
- use only glass, plastic or enamel containers;
- cook crackers for kvass without oil and spices;
- When fermenting in tightly closed containers, remember to monitor the level of carbon dioxide so that the high pressure does not burst the bottles.
Kvass from yeast bread
A simple classic.
Ingredients:
- rye bread – 0,5 kg;
- water – 5 liters;
- sugar – 250 gram;
- pressed yeast – 20 grams (or 5 grams of dry).
Those who like sugary drinks can increase the amount of sugar added in the eighth step by 2-3 times.
Recipe
1. Cut the bread into small pieces and fry in the oven until golden brown. The more dried the bread, the more bitterness is felt in kvass and the darker the color, but you should not overdry.
2. Boil water, then cool to room temperature and pour into a fermentation tank.
3. Add breadcrumbs, cover the neck of the container with gauze and put for 48 hours in a dark place at room temperature. If you want to make kvass quickly, you can boil the mixture for 20-30 minutes, then cool it to 25-30°C.
4. Dilute the yeast according to the instructions on the pack.
5. Filter the kvass wort through gauze, squeezing the crackers well.
6. Pour the filtered wort into a fermentation vessel, add 200 grams of sugar and diluted yeast, mix well.
7. Loosely cover the container with a lid so that carbon dioxide freely escapes, then put it in a dark place with a temperature of 14-16 ° C for 18-25 hours.
8. Pour kvass into a storage container, for example, plastic bottles or jars, add the remaining 50 grams of sugar, mix. If several bottles are used, evenly distribute the sugar, it is needed for carbon dioxide to appear in the drink.
9. Seal the containers tightly and place for 4-5 hours in a dark place at room temperature.
10. Cool homemade bread kvass to a temperature of 8-11°C by transferring the bottles to a refrigerator or cellar. This is necessary to stop the fermentation process. After 3-4 hours, you can start tasting. Shelf life – up to 3 days.
Yeast-free kvass
Natural drink without smell and taste of yeast. Raisins are used as starter.
Ingredients:
- black bread – 0,5 kg;
- sugar – 300 gram;
- water – 5 liters;
- unwashed raisins – 50 grams.
Recipe
1. Cut the bread into slices and dry in the oven, the main thing is that the crackers do not burn, otherwise the kvass will turn out bitter.
2. Boil water, add crackers and 250 grams of sugar, mix.
3. Cool the resulting wort to 22-25°C, then pour into a fermentation vessel, filling a maximum of 90% of the volume.
4. Add raisins, then mix again, cover the neck with gauze and transfer the jar to a dark place with a temperature of 18-25°C.
5. If the raisins are of high quality, fermentation will begin in 1-2 days, the crackers in the jar will move, then foam, hissing and a slight sour smell will appear on the surface.
6. Two days after the start of fermentation, filter home-made kvass through gauze, add 50 grams of sugar, mix, pour into bottles for storage, add 2-3 raisins to each and close tightly with lids.
7. Keep the drink for 8-12 hours in a dark, warm place to collect gas, then transfer to a refrigerator or cellar. After cooling the bread kvass to 8-11°C, you can proceed to the tasting. Shelf life up to 4 days.
