Try to cook at home a real rye kvass - deliciously smelling black bread, with a light airy foam, completely natural! This can not be bought in the store, so what's there! - even barrel kvass cannot be compared with a home-made drink that is refreshing and invigorating from the very first sip, wonderfully quenches thirst, tasty and nourishing like bread. No wonder the people say: "Bread and kvass - and all we have"!
Bottle kvass is nothing more than a synthetic surrogate, soda pop with taste imitators, the so-called “kvass drink”. Well, how to prepare and store kvass in barrels is a topic for a separate discussion. You will not make homemade drink from “unknown substance”, but from real rye crackers, fresh yeast, sugar and pure water. For flavor, add a few raisins and a couple of lemon slices (optional, as the beverage itself becomes sour during the fermentation process).
Grain kvass, unlike sweet sparkling water, perfectly quenches thirst, refreshes and tones thanks to the fermentation products it contains: lactic acid and a small percentage of alcohol (about 0.5%). The drink contains the necessary body enzymes, amino acids and sugars; Vitamins E and B groups; saturates the body with carbohydrates, proteins, mineral salts of magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and manganese. The content of coal and lactic acids promotes good appetite, improve digestion and metabolism.
The ancients knew about the beneficial, dietary and healing properties of kvass. The first mention of the Egyptian drink, similar to kvass and beer, refers to the 3rd millennium BC. Greeks and Romans made kvass. Slavs, he is familiar for more than a thousand years and is a favorite drink of the Slavic peoples: in the old Slavic dialects the word “kvass” means “treat, feast, holiday”! It was kvass that was the main drink at the holiday festivals - this is a wonderful tradition that modern people should remember! Due to its low alcohol content, kvass has a mild and pleasant effect on the body: it invigorates, slightly cheers, and no hangover. Unlike strong drinks, kvass is even good for the heart and blood vessels. Therefore, it is even worth to forget about other types of alcohol for the sake of good old kvass! No wonder he is now popular, like thousands of years ago, and not only in the Slavic countries: they loved kvass even in Japan! But still, some people should refrain from kvass. Children under 3 years old, pregnant and those behind the wheel better refresh yourself with compotes! Also, do not “make sour” in case of problems with the liver or kidneys, gallstones and stomach ulcers.
Previously, the drink was made on the basis of rye crackers or rye or barley malt and flour; There is a kvass honey, fruit, berry.
There are many modern recipes for kvass; for taste and aroma, not only raisins and lemon are added to the drink, but also mint leaves, horseradish root, honey and cinnamon ... The simplest option contains the basic ingredients: bread, yeast, sugar and water. We will cook with you one of the classic recipes of Ukrainian cuisine: bread “Zaporizhzhya” kvass.
- Cooking time: 28 hours
- Servings: 2, 6 l
Ingredients for home-made rye bread kvass
On 3, 5 l of water:
- 400-500 g of rye bread;
- 10-12 g of fresh pressed yeast;
- 0, 5 tbsp. sugar (80-100g);
- 5-10 raisins;
- 1/4 of lemon.
Actually, your participation in preparation takes half an hour; the rest of the time is needed for fermentation and infusion of kvass.
Bread is better to take the black: then the drink will have a rich taste and a beautiful dark amber color. You can also make kvass from gray bread, but then the drink turns out to be a lighter shade, and its taste will not be so pronounced.
Good kvass is obtained from dark rye bread with raisins. By the way, bread should not be taken fresh, but dried. If the bread is soft, you can dry it in the oven at a low temperature. And it is not necessary to specifically buy a loaf for kvass: you can collect the pieces that remain after dinner, rye peels, and then make a drink based on them.
Making home-made kvass bread made from rye bread
Dried bread folded in a clean container of a suitable size: enamel saucepan or glass jar. Fill with boiling water. If the entire volume of water does not immediately fit, you can add it later: as water is absorbed by the bread, its level in the bank decreases. Bay bread with boiling water, leave for 8 hours. You should not stop it, because bread can ferment, and kvass will turn sour.
After time, we filter the billet through gauze, put in a colander, squeezing bread. If you do not have living creatures that can eat cake, then from the crumb can be cooked bread pudding - then I will share the recipe.
In the filtered wort, we crumble the yeast, pour out the sugar, add lemon pieces (with zest, but without stones). Lemon is preferably better to steam with boiling water for 5 minutes so that the peel does not taste bitter. Stir and leave to ferment for 8 hours in a warm place. If for some reason you need to slow down the process (for example, after 8 hours it will be deep night and you do not want to plod into the kitchen to filter kvass), on the contrary, first put kvass in a cool place - for example, in a refrigerator. And when you decide to start the fermentation process, we reach out and move to a warm place. If the house is warm, then kvass perfectly wanders at room temperature. Attention: with strong heat, the fermentation process is accelerated, and the drink will be ready sooner.
Here's the next kvass already smells appetizing, a foam is formed on its surface. Again filter through the gauze.
Add a few highlights.
Pour into a jar, hermetically close. When the brew starts to ferment again, slightly bubble, put the jar in a cool place. After 12 hours, the brew is ready (we tried earlier, in 3-4 hours).
We keep ready-made kvass in the fridge: the taste and properties of the drink are revealed most fully when it is chilled. Kvass should be consumed within 2-3 days: then it becomes sour.
And now - the promised recipe for bread pudding.
Ingredients for bread pudding
- Rye bread, left after making kvass (initially 400 g, in the soaked form, the weight is greater);
- 3 eggs;
- 1 tbsp. l Sahara;
- 1/4 tsp. salts;
- 20 g butter;
- 2-3 tbsp. l breadcrumbs.
Cooking bread pudding from fermented bread
Separate the yolks from proteins.
Beat egg whites with salt until thick air foam - about 2 minutes at low speed.
Beat yolks with sugar for 1-2 minutes, until lightening mass.
We mix in the soaked bread yolks with sugar.
Then gently interfere with whipped proteins.
It turns out lush weight.
Lubricate the baking form with softened butter and sprinkle with breadcrumbs.
We spread the bread mass and evenly distribute with a spoon, a layer 2-3 cm thick.
We bake in the oven, preheated to 190-200C, for 35-45 minutes - until the pudding “grabs”, acquiring the consistency of a tender casserole.
After taking the form out of the oven, let the pudding cool: in a warm form, it is very tender. Then, right in the form, cut into small squares, reach with a spatula and eat - instead of bread with first courses, or with a piece of bread kvass!
