A Beverage made of old bread – Kvass

Kvass is a slavic and baltic traditional beverage made of bread. Wheat, rye or barley bread. Kvass is very common in Russia and often called russian bread drink. The alcohol content of kvass is very low with max. 1%Vol.. The kind of bread used as well as other ingredients like malt, herbs or fruits give the kvass it’s special flavour. But the main recipe for the drink always contains bread. Like other lacto-fermented beverages kvass is a good source of Vitamin-B. In Russia Kvass is classified as non-alcoholic.

Kvass – The Russian fermented bread drink

It’s very easy to make kvass and here is the recipe. You only need hard, old bread which may be roasted and then submerged in water. 100-200g bread per a Liter of water. The next day filter the bread over a cloth and collect the liquid. Lactic acid bacteria which is normally present an bread and grains starts the fermentation. You may add yeast and a tablespoon of sugar to make sure that it will ferment. 2-5 days later you can drink your Kvass and it should taste like sour beer. Adding more sugar, fruit juice or fruits may increase the alcohol content significantly.

Here is a recipe from Russia and a Youtube video to make your own homemade Kvass.

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