Step-by-step recipe for making kvass from rye bread at home

Greetings, our dear readers. Today we will learn how to make homemade kvass - a miracle drink from ancient times. Many people think that it is difficult to prepare. But after reading our recipes, you will find out that it is quite simple. Some recipes are generally quick to make and will allow you to quench your thirst quickly.

I haven’t delved much into history, but I know where the Russian expression “ferment” came from. We associate it with drinking - alcohol. The fact is that kvass used to be an alcoholic drink. And now it can be done like that. It turned out to be a kind of beer analogue. More precisely, beer is an analogue of kvass, so more precisely.

Well, over time it was made non-alcoholic, and thus it became much healthier. Its best advantage is that it perfectly removes thirst. All these sweet carbonated drinks, on the contrary, make you want to drink, drink and drink more. But kvass doesn’t - especially when it’s cold.

And also, it is used to make okroshka in the summer - another favorite summer dish and another topic for our blog.

Kvass at home can be different: kvass wort, rye bread, honey, fruit, berry...

The fastest and easiest way to prepare kvass is with ready-made wort. It usually consists of sugar, rye malt, yeast and ground crackers. It is desirable that the kvass concentrate contains no preservatives.

Kvass from black bread at home for 3 liters without yeast

Yes, this drink is prepared without baker’s yeast, but this does not mean that there is none at all; without it, kvass simply will not work. In this case, the fermentation process involves wild yeast, which is found on the skin of the raisins.

For this reason, you need to use unprocessed raisins and do not wash them before adding them, so as not to wash off the yeast.

Ingredients:

black bread crackers - 200 gr.
sugar - 1 tbsp. l. + 1 tsp.
raisins - 10 gr. + 10 g
water - 3 liters. + 0.5 liters

Important! Use bread with a short shelf life; as a rule, it does not contain artificial additives. Only in this case can you get truly healthy, aromatic and tasty kvass.

How to do:

Cut the dark bread into cubes, place on a baking sheet, dry and brown in the oven. The degree of roasting depends on what color of kvass you want to get, but do not overdo it, as burnt bread will worsen the taste of the drink.
First, let's prepare the starter. To do this, put 50 grams of crackers, 1 teaspoon of sugar, 10 grams in a liter jar. raisins and pour boiled water at room temperature. Cover the jar with gauze and place in a warm place.
The ideal temperature for the fermentation process to begin is 24 degrees or higher. If you decide to place it on a window, then cover the jar with a towel so that direct sunlight does not fall on it. If everything goes as it should, then after two days you should have a cloudy leaven with a sour smell.
Take a clean 3-liter jar, pour the prepared starter into it, add the remaining crackers, raisins, and a tablespoon of sugar. It may seem to you that there is not enough sugar, but at this stage our task is to make a good base for kvass and excess sugar is not needed yet. Some recipes do not add it at all at this stage.
Pour warm boiled water over everything. Pour water into the jar not to the edge, but to the shoulders; you need to leave room for the bread, which will swell and rise during the fermentation process. Leave the jar in a warm place. Fermentation processes will begin in it and after 2 days the kvass will be ready.
Strain the finished drink through a sieve or cheesecloth and pour into bottles.
If there is not enough sugar for your taste, you can add it directly to the bottle, mix well, and then put it in the refrigerator to stop the fermentation process and cool it.

Keep in mind that you may not like the first kvass. This is normal, since the starter has not yet gained strength. It will turn out delicious the next time.

If you plan to continue making kvass, then you don’t need to make any more starter. Just put the swollen bread with a little liquid in a half-liter jar and put it in the refrigerator. And when you want to make another batch, follow the recipe, skipping the stage of preparing the sourdough. True, you can put a little less crackers than the first time, and you can put 2-3 tablespoons of sugar, depending on your taste. So you can do it all summer.

If everything was done according to the recipe, but the kvass does not ferment, has become stringy, and mold has formed, then there could be three reasons: bread, raisins or temperature.

Sourdough recipe for kvass

This starter is perfect for a recipe for rye kvass without yeast.

To prepare it, you will need:

Water - 2 glasses
Rye bread - 1 piece
Sugar - 1 tsp

Boil water in a small saucepan, remove from heat and let cool to room temperature.

Pour a teaspoon of sugar into warm water and mix well until it completely dissolves. Mash a piece of rye bread and add to water with sugar. Pour the starter into a small glass container and place in a warm place for two days. When a pungent smell appears and the liquid becomes cloudy, you can use it to prepare wonderful kvass.

How to make homemade kvass from black bread with dry yeast

This method is often called classic because it is popular with many housewives. I liked it because culinary yeast significantly speeds up the process of making kvass. You can cook from fresh, stale bread, but if you want to get a richer color, it is better to use crackers.

Products for the recipe:

Borodino bread - 400 gr.
sugar - 1 glass
honey - 1 tbsp. l.
dry yeast - 1 tsp.
raisins - 25 gr.
water - 5 liters

Cooking method:

Cut the bread into slices, dry it in the oven until lightly burnt at a temperature of 180-200 degrees. Place it in a saucepan, add sugar, add raisins and set aside.
In a small bowl, mix honey with a small amount of warm water, stir to form honey water. Pour in dry yeast and let sit for 10 minutes for the yeast to disperse. Place them on the breadcrumbs.
Fill with water at room temperature, cover the pan with a cotton towel and leave in a warm place for a day or two, it all depends on the temperature in the room. Monitor the fermentation process, try the kvass in a day, it may be ready.
Then you need to put the starter into a liter jar for later preparation, pour the finished kvass into bottles, strain through cheesecloth.
Seal the bottles and refrigerate overnight. During this time, the sediment will sink to the bottom and the kvass will become transparent.

Don't worry if the first drink has a yeasty taste, it will go away with further preparation.

Rules for preparing homemade bread kvass

The yeast must be the freshest, and the bread for the wort must be rye.
Kvass is prepared in cooled boiled water.
It is recommended to store kvass in a cool place.
Ready kvass should be consumed within 2-3 days. If stored for a longer period of time, it loses its taste and becomes sour.
The container in which the wort is infused must be glass or enamel; kvass cannot be prepared in aluminum containers, as it oxidizes.
To prepare berry kvass, only ripe, selected, undamaged berries are used.

For those who want to get a healing and tasty drink, we advise you to prepare homemade bread kvass using the following recipes. We will be the first to publish a recipe for kvass without yeast.

Kvass without yeast

Sourdough for kvass without yeast

2 cups boiled water cooled to room temperature. 0.5 slices of rye bread. 1 tsp granulated sugar. For the starter, take a glass of lukewarm boiled water, 1 teaspoon of granulated sugar, and half a slice of rye bread. Place all ingredients in a 0.5 liter jar. At the same time, crush the bread. Cover the jar with the starter with a cloth and leave it to ferment in a warm place. Without yeast, sourdough fermentation takes a little longer: a day or two.

How to make bread kvass in 3 hours with raisins and coffee

If you want to make kvass even faster, pay attention to this recipe. In addition to yeast and bread, it contains citric acid and coffee. The kvass turns out to be a beautiful amber color, carbonated, with a strong taste.

Required Products:

water - 3 liters
crackers from Borodino or rye bread - 150 gr.
sugar - 150 gr.
instant coffee - 1 tbsp. l.
dry yeast - 7 gr.
citric acid – 1 tsp.
raisins - 15-20 pcs.

Prepare according to the recipe:

Rye bread croutons are prepared in advance; they can be dried in the oven or microwave; you can even allow the croutons to burn slightly, this will contribute to the coloring of the drink in a dark color.
Boil water, pour into the bowl where you will prepare the kvass and, without waiting for it to cool, put crackers in it, add sugar and coffee, stir. Cover with a lid and let cool to 35-37 degrees. When it cools, add citric acid, dry yeast, raisins, mix.
Cover with gauze, then wrap the dishes in a terry towel, blanket or place in a warm sunny place to speed up the fermentation process.
After 2.5 - 3 hours, try the kvass, if you are satisfied with the taste, then you need to strain it, pour it into a convenient container, cool it and you can drink it. But if it sits in the refrigerator overnight, its taste will become richer.

Kvass on rye sourdough

At home, you can make wonderful kvass without yeast using sourdough starter.

To do this you will need to take:

Sugar - 1 tbsp. l
Rye bread - 2 slices
Sourdough – 0.5 l
Water - 1.5 l

Pour the starter into a two-liter jar or enamel pan, add crushed bread and sugar. The recipe for sourdough starter is written below.

The liquid should have a strong odor and be quite cloudy. Stir sugar and bread into the starter, add clean water almost to the brim. Only boiled water should be taken and brought to room temperature. Rye sourdough kvass will be brighter and golden in color if you add some dried crackers to it. The drink should stand in a warm place for two days, after which it can be strained and poured into more convenient containers - cans or bottles. Carefully pour the kvass, leaving about one-third of the drink at the bottom - this liquid will serve as a starter for next time. Just pour a little water into it, add a piece of fresh bread and put it in a warm place. Secondary kvass is great for making cold soups.

Recipe for making a drink from dry kvass for a 3 liter jar

You can buy dry kvass in supermarkets. This is a ready-made concentrate that is used to prepare the drink and it comes in two types:

bread, the main components of which are malt and rye flour;
rusk, which is made from rye malt and crushed rye crackers.

Using a dry product, we no longer need black bread or crackers.

Products for a 3 liter jar:

dry kvass with malt - 5 tbsp. l.
sugar - 5 tbsp. l.
pressed yeast - 5 gr.
water

How to cook:

Put dry kvass, sugar, yeast into a clean 3-liter jar, fill with boiled water to the top, the water temperature should be slightly warmer than room temperature.
Cover with gauze or cotton napkin and leave at room temperature. After two days, strain the kvass and put it in the refrigerator.
The sediment that remains in the jar can be used again to prepare kvass without adding yeast. Add 1-2 tbsp to a new portion of kvass. l. dry product, add sugar to your taste from 2 to 5 tablespoons, you can add another 5-6 raisins, then fill everything with water. Repeated kvass will be ready in a day.

This starter can be used many times. Over time it will become a lot, so use only part.

Bread kvass without yeast

In the first portions of kvass according to the above recipe, the taste and smell of yeast are first felt. Many people don't like this very much. Therefore, I will give a recipe for kvass made from black rye bread without yeast.

To prepare bread kvass according to this recipe, also take rye bread, or sourdough bread, hop leaven.
Cut into small pieces and dry in the oven. For the first portion of kvass, take a little more bread. Pour the crackers into a three-liter jar (almost half the jar).
Boil water and dissolve sugar in it (10-15 tablespoons), cool and pour in crackers. For more intense fermentation, add a handful of raisins.
Cover the jar with gauze and leave to ferment. In a day or two, fermentation will begin. The crackers in the jar will begin to stir up and down, increasing in intensity every day. The first portion of bread kvass will be ready in 3–4 days.
Drain the finished kvass from the jar. There is no need to throw away all the crackers. Leave about half of the original volume. Add to them a handful of fresh dried crackers, 2-4 tablespoons of sugar, a few raisins, cover with gauze and leave to ferment. If you pour a new portion of kvass in the evening, it is usually ready in the morning. Next, we repeat the process until there is a desire to prepare kvass.

A lot of sugar is added to the first portion of kvass. This is necessary in order to trigger the fermentation process and prevent the kvass from turning sour. If there are no raisins, you can add more sugar. Next time, you can add sugar to your bread kvass to taste, 3-4 tablespoons.

A few small useful tips for making homemade kvass from rye bread.

You need to prepare kvass in containers that do not oxidize. If you cook kvass in a pan, it is better to take an enamel or stainless steel pan.
Add sugar to taste. If you like it sour, add less sugar. Sweeter - add sugar. Add a little more sugar to the first portion of kvass.
The richness of the color of kvass depends not only on the type of bread, but on the degree of frying of the crackers. But you still shouldn’t overcook the crackers; the kvass will contain both the taste and smell of burnt bread.
The intensity of fermentation, which means the readiness of bread kvass, depends on the temperature in the room. The higher the temperature, the fermentation will begin faster. Therefore, this point must be taken into account so that the kvass does not peroxide.
Raisins not only cause the fermentation process, but also give the kvass some sparkle and saturate the kvass with carbon dioxide.
If you do not immediately prepare a new portion of kvass, do not throw away the remaining softened crackers. Transfer them to a jar and place them in the refrigerator. Before cooking, take out the jar, heat it in the room, add sugar and the starter for a new portion of kvass is ready.

Yeast-free homemade kvass made from black bread and apples

Take note of this recipe too. This refreshing kvass with a pleasant apple aroma will not leave anyone indifferent. It will perfectly quench your thirst, allow you to cool down on a hot day, and will be useful for both adults and children.

Products for the recipe:

Borodino bread - 400 gr.
apples - 1 kg.
sugar - 1 glass
raisins - 20 pcs.
water - 5 l.

Step by step description:

Dry the bread, cut into pieces, in the oven at 200 degrees.
Wash the apples and grate them together with the peel on a coarse grater. Pour water into a saucepan, bring to a boil, add grated apples, sugar and boil for 5 minutes.
Cool the apple broth to 60 degrees, put crackers in it, let cool to 35 degrees and add raisins. Cover the pan with a towel and leave in a warm place. Depending on the temperature in the room, the fermentation process can take from 2 to 4 days.
Kvass will be ready when it has a sour smell and a film appears on the surface. The finished kvass should be strained through cheesecloth, poured into bottles, closed with lids and left at room temperature for 2-3 hours. Before putting in the refrigerator, open the lids slightly to release some of the formed gas. Cool well and you can enjoy a delicious aromatic drink.

You have read the recipes for making kvass at home from black bread. I hope the article turned out to be useful and that the homemade cooling drink will bring joy to you and your loved ones. After all, what is prepared at home with soul is always better than store-bought options.

Bon appetit!

Other options for making kvass

You already know how to quickly make bread kvass at home. Now try this wonderful, very tasty and aromatic beet kvass.
I also advise you to pay attention to oat kvass, it is not only healthy and tasty, but also has pronounced healing properties. In addition, oatmeal kvass is very easy to prepare and does not require culinary experience from the housewife.
I also suggest trying a homemade recipe for kvass without yeast. The main advantage of this magical drink is the complete absence of the characteristic yeast smell inherent in kvass made with yeast. At the same time, the drink turns out to be inimitably tasty and very satisfying.
In addition, be sure to take a closer look at kvass made from birch sap, a very unusual but incredibly aromatic drink. This version of kvass is relevant for any time of year, since for its preparation you can use not only fresh, but also canned birch sap.

Eat healthy and never get sick!

Write in the comments about your impressions regarding the above recipe. Also, be sure to share your own kvass recipes and tell us what ingredients you use to prepare this refreshing drink yourself. I look forward to your feedback, as well as new and interesting recipes!

Homemade bread kvass recipes

Since store-bought kvass can hardly be called useful, many people want to know how to make kvass at home. After all, homemade bread kvass is much tastier and healthier. In addition, preparing kvass at home is not difficult for experienced housewives.

Recipe for kvass from crackers

How to make homemade kvass from crackers: Rye crackers (1 kg) are fried in the oven until golden brown. Place in a saucepan, add warm water and leave in a warm place for a couple of hours, stirring occasionally. The infusion is drained. The remaining crackers are poured again with water, left for 1-2 hours and poured into the infusion that was obtained earlier. The resulting wort is cooled to 20 degrees. Add sugar (per 3 liters of water - 1.5 cups of sugar) and yeast (40 g), diluted with the same wort. Leave in a warm place for 12 hours. The finished kvass is poured into jars or bottles and stored in a cool place.

Boyarsky kvass recipe

How to make Boyarsky kvass at home Ingredients: 1 kg of stale rye bread, 5 liters of water, 1.3 sugar, 60 g of yeast, 1 tbsp of wheat flour, mint to taste. Prepare the starter. To do this, dilute the yeast with a glass of warm water and place in a warm place. Pour boiling water over dried mint and leave to infuse. Cut the bread into slices, pour boiling water over it and cool to 30-40 degrees. Add the starter, mint infusion and leave for a day, then strain, add sugar, stir until it is completely dissolved. Pour the kvass into bottles, seal them well and store in the cold.

Borodinsky kvass recipe

Making Borodinsky kvass at home Ingredients: 3 liters of water, 2 pieces of Borodinsky bread, 15 g of yeast, 1 teaspoon of flour, a handful of raisins How to make Borodinsky kvass. Cut the bread into slices and lightly dry in the oven. Pour boiling water over and let the wort steep for 3 hours. Dissolve yeast with flour and add to wort. Leave for a day. Strain. Pour into bottles, add a twist to each. Keep warm for 3 hours, then put the bottles in the refrigerator. After 3-4 days you can drink kvass. Borodino kvass is ready.

Vigorous kvass with horseradish

Making kvass with horseradish, raisins and honey at home Ingredients: 4 liters of water, 800 g of rye crackers, 20 g of yeast, 100 g of honey, 100 g of grated horseradish, 50 g of raisins How to prepare vigorous kvass with horseradish. Pour boiling water over the crackers and let stand for 3-4 hours. Strain. Add yeast and leave to ferment for 5-6 hours. Add grated horseradish and honey. Mix, pour into bottles, adding zest to each. Let it brew for 2 hours. Vigorous kvass with horseradish is ready.