Homemade Rye Bread Kvass for Cold Soup
This homemade rye bread kvass has a deep bread flavor, amber color and pleasantly fermented character. It ferments for about 12 hours and is then chilled before using as a base for cold savory soup.
Updated : 07 October, 2026
Easy
More than 1 hour.
Ingredients
200 grams
Bread
3 liter
Water
100 grams
Sugar
8 grams
Fresh yeast
Table
Table of volume measurements:
- teaspoon - 5 ml
- dessert spoon - 10 ml
- tablespoon - 20 ml
- glass - 200 ml
Preparation
Step 1
Prepare the ingredients. Fresh yeast can be replaced with dry yeast; the original recipe uses a 3:1 fresh-to-dry yeast conversion, so approximately 3 g of dry yeast is needed.
Step 2
Cut the rye bread into slices and arrange them on a parchment-lined baking sheet. Dry in an oven preheated to 350°F until browned and crisp, then break the toasted bread into smaller pieces.
Step 3
Bring 8½ cups of water to a boil in an enamel saucepan, then remove from the heat. Add the toasted bread pieces, cover and leave to steep for 1½ hours. Strain the resulting infusion through a sieve into another saucepan.
Step 4
Return the soaked bread to the first saucepan and pour over another 4¼ cups of hot boiled water. Leave to steep for another 1½ hours, then strain this second infusion and combine it with the first. Discard the soaked bread.
Step 5
Cool the combined bread infusion to approximately 104°F.
Step 6
Pour a little of the warm bread infusion into a glass, add the yeast and stir to dissolve. Dissolve the sugar in the remaining warm infusion, then pour in the yeast mixture and stir. The liquid will become lighter and cloudy.
Step 7
Cover the saucepan loosely and leave the kvass to ferment in a warm place for approximately 12 hours.
Step 8
Strain the fermented kvass once more and pour it into clean bottles. Close the bottles and refrigerate immediately. Keep the kvass chilled and open the bottles carefully, as fermentation may continue slowly and create carbonation.
Step 9
Use the chilled rye bread kvass as the liquid base for a cold savory soup with boiled beef or turkey. If desired, add grated horseradish and half a quail egg when serving.
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