bread kvass

Does anyone here make bread kvass and care to share your method? I have a loaf of sourdough rye I made and want to turn it into beer/kvass but want an opinion on the best way to do it.

Childhood memories from Ukraine, they'd sell it on the street from a giant barrel, usually with a meaty babooshka manning the spigot. It's easy to make and there's nothing like a glass of it on a hot summer day. Just be sure to add raisins, must have the raisins.

Good recipe right here, although I don't know about toasting the bread twice on highest setting, my toaster would make charcoal out of it: http://natashaskitchen.com/2012/02/19/angelinas-easy-bread-kvas-recipe/

heya...

john, how did it work out?

gene, thank you for the link.


i think, i accidently made something like that when trying to make brot-trunk (bread-drink), which has normally no yeast added. it s lacto-fermentation. but wild yeast and (i think) lack of oxygen turned it into some kind of beer/kvass.

I am going to strain it today and see how it turned out. Maybe will try it tonight:)

hey john... how did it work out?
are you still alive?

Yes, still kickin, not so good, it taste like a less desireable version of rejuvelac. I used sandor katz recipe, I wish I had someone near me who made it regularly to learn from, I think it would become a regular beverage if I got it tasting like its supposed to. I have rye sourdough down pat now and it is supposed to be best made from a loaf of that.

as far as i know, rejuvelac is lacto-bacteria producing acid and kvass is yeast producing alcohol. but i think, that we often (or mostly?) end up with a mixture of both.

i am trying some stuff ... i made rejuvelac (using wheat sprouts, lacto-bacteria as starter and water). i caught much wild yeast. it s tasting like acidic-lemonade, but has also some "beer-flavor". i think that beer-like-flavor comes from the wild yeast.
when i tried to make bread-drink (lacto fermented sour-dough bread in water) it tasted very beer-like.

i think, lacto bacteria and yeats cultures get mixed. so next time you could have more luck. or you could tweak with some parameters

hey john,

did you try it again?


blesses
tobias

No, unfortunately I have not, right now trying to figure out why my rejuvelac isn't working, multiple batches of foul tasting brew, wondering if my wheat berries have turned, only way I can figure it would go poorly...I got a quart of spelt I am trying it with. Will have to try this again in the spring...

hey john,

are you getting the seed to sprout? some organic seeds i bought were not able to sprout at all.

if yes, why does it not ferment? too old grain, so that the lactobacteria already died? detergent in container? chlorine in water?



to start rejuvelac i used a starter (brot trunk, lactofermented sour-dough-bread drink). i imagine that you could use sourdough as starter. the bacteria will be used to eat grain.

my rejuvelac tasted ok, but too strong taste of wheat sprouts (which i do not like that much) and it caught yeasts very quickly.

good luck, blesses and best wishes on getting that stuff running as it s supposed to!
tobias

it's strange because its the same bag of grain I had used only a couple months ago to make very tasty successful batches. I wonder if some of the grains have spoiled in a sense, and that takes over the whole jar (grain probably gets moldy if it isn't stored properly). Much of it sprouted though so who knows, pretty sure if I just get fresh grain it will be a success again.

does the grain smell moldy?

if the grain is ok:
you could try an experiment: make a large batch of sprouts. divide it into smaller batches. make one without starter. add different starters (sauerkraut-brine, sourdough-starter, whey from yoghurt ...). and see how they come out.


in germany we have brot-trunk, which is kinda rejuvelac made from bread. it has live lacto-bacteria cultures and helps as starter. but i somehow feel that sourdough-starter would be good. when you store it in the fridge in a big jar with too much water, the flour will settle down and you ll have a somewhat clear liquid. this culture should work well with grains and should be very stable when you feed it regularly.
do you make soudough bread?

Looks like this thread ran dry.  Well, I've made bread kvass a bunch of times since posting here last, and actually have a batch brewing on the counter now as I type this.  It's really hard to mess up, honestly.  

Here's what you need to make around 2 gallons:
- Loaf of bread.  Traditional way is to use a rye loaf, but really you could use any type.  You're going to toast it, so get a sliced loaf if you're doing it in the toaster.  
- Raisins, golden or dark.
- Sugar, 3-4 cups.
- Active, dry yeast, 3/4 oz.  They sell it at any grocery store in a 3-pack, you'll use all 3 packs.  

So, the process:
Boil water in a big soup pot.  While it's boiling, you could toast your bread.  The darker you toast it, the darker the brew, you could play around with it, but you definitely want to at least toast it so it's very dry.  I prefer unsliced bread, I tear it up into big chunks and toast it on my grill outside.  Big chunks are easier to fish out of the water later, but either way you'll be fine.

So your water boiled and your bread is toast.  Turn off the heat, toss a healthy handful of raisins into the pot, toss in your bread, cover, and let it sit just like that for 10 hours or so.  

After that, you're going to fish out the bread.  Like I said, big chunks are easier to fish out, and also to squeeze after getting them out, so that you don't lose too much water from the pot.

So the bread is out, the raisins are still in, and now you toss in your yeast and sugar.  I find 3 cups of sugar is just right for me.  Stir it up a little, and let it sit on the counter for another 10 hrs or so, covered with a lid, occasionally giving it a quick stir.  

After that, strain through a cheese cloth, pour into water jugs with a screw-on cap, stick in the fridge.  You need to be careful for the next few days, unscrewing the caps every few hours to release the gas, else boom!!! all over your fridge.  

The kvass will be fairly sweet when freshly made, will lose sweetness as the yeast eats up the sugar.  I like it best on the 3rd or 4th day.  Enjoy!