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You’re gonna appreciate this; a simple, authentic bread kvas that doesn’t need a concentrate! My hubby’s cousin, Angelina, shared this recipe with us. We’ve made it with rye bread and with black bread and both were so refreshing! New favorite for sure – thanks Angelina!
This kvass lasts up to a week in the fridge (probably longer, but it might start tasting kinda strong). You’ll notice it loses sweetness daily as it stands. I think it’s best after a full day in the fridge.
Bread Kvas is uber popular in Russia and Ukraine. You might compare it to a sweet, non-alcoholic beer. From my research, kvass only has up to 1% alcohol content (still probably not recommended for pregos). The longer it sits in the fridge, the more slightly “alcoholic” it gets, but it’s still considered non-alcoholic.
So if you drink it in the first day or 2, there is probably no alcohol in there yet. From what my readers have said, it’s best to store kvas in plastic soda bottles since they are designed to hold pressurized drinks. I like to release the pressure from my bottles 1-2 times a day because an over-inflated bottle just makes me nervous.
Ingredients for Bread Kvas:
2.5 gallons or 10 qt of water
1 lb or 9 slices of classic black, dark or rye bread
1 handful of raisins
1.8 lb (4 cups) of sugar
1.5 Tbsp of active dry yeast
3 large plastic soda bottles
How to Make Russian Bread Kvas: (best if prepared in the evening)
DAY 1:
1. Fill giant stock pot with 2.5 gallons of water (or divide it into two large pots) and bring to a boil.
2. While waiting, toast the bread slices twice on the darkest toaster setting. Yes. Seriously. Darker bread makes darker kvass. Toast bread either outside or in your garage or your house will get smokey. We learned the hard way :). It should look like the photo below.
3. When water starts to boil, remove the pot from heat. Add a handful of raisins and toasted bread to the pot, cover with the lid and let it stay overnight or at least 8 hours.
DAY 2:
4. Carefully remove toasted bread and discard it.
5. In a medium bowl, mix together 4 cups of sugar and 1.5 Tbsp of yeast, add them to kvas mixture and stir.
6. Cover with plastic wrap or lid and leave the mixture on the counter for another 6 hours, stirring every couple hours.
7. Discard floating raisins by scooping them up with a large spoon. Using strainer or cheese cloth, pour kvass into bottles, loosely cover with lid and refrigerate overnight. The following day once the bottles are completely chilled, you can tighten the lid.
P.S. According to my readers, it’s best to store kvas in plastic soda bottles since they are designed to hold pressurized drinks.
DAY 3: enjoy
DAY 4: enjoy
DAY 5: …..did it really last that long?
How do you make your kvass?
Easy Bread Kvas Recipe
Ingredients
- 2.5 gallons or 10 qt of water
- 1 lb or 9 slices of classic black, dark or rye bread
- 1 handful of raisins
- 1.8 lb 4 cups of sugar
- 1.5 tablespoons of active dry yeast
- 3 large plastic soda bottles
Instructions
DAY 1: (best if prepared in the evening)
- Fill giant stock pot with 2.5 gallons of water (or divide it into two large pots) and bring to a boil.
- While waiting, toast the bread slices twice on the darkest toaster setting. Darker bread makes darker kvass. Toast bread either outside or in your garage or your house will get smokey.
- When water starts to boil, remove the pot from heat. Add a handful of raisins and toasted bread to the pot, cover with the lid and let it stay overnight or at least 8 hours.
DAY 2:
- Carefully remove toasted bread and discard it.
- In a medium bowl, mix together 4 cups of sugar and 1.5 Tbsp of yeast, add them to kvas mixture and stir.
- Cover with plastic wrap or lid and leave the mixture on the counter for another 6 hours, stirring every couple hours.
- Discard floating raisins by scooping them up with a large spoon. Using strainer or cheese cloth, pour kvass into bottles, loosely cover with lid and refrigerate overnight. The following day once the bottles are completely chilled, you can tighten the lid.
DAY 3: enjoy
Notes
Thanks for this amazing recipe! Do you know if this can this be made with the dense black rye bread that you find in Eastern European supermarkets?
Hi Max, yes that should work well. 🙂
Is this healthy/unhealthy? I feel slightly guilty because I had quite a bit.
Hi E, it’s kind of like drinking homemade soda – you probably don’t want to go overboard since it still has sugar in it, but the ingredients ARE natural ingredients without the junk in regular sodas so don’t feel too guilty!
RD here! The sugar level strongly depends on which day. The earlier day or two has a higher sugar content, resulting in a possible spike and crash. After day 3, the sugar has been consumed by the yeast and is not a notable part of the recipe any longer. To determine if something is “healthy”, one would really have to know your personal history and nutritional needs, but in general, this is a natural beverage and should not contribute to ill health. If you’re comparing it to bottled soda, even bottled prepared kvass, this is a far superior drink where health is concerned.
6 hours sounds like a very short time for the fermentation. I tasted it after 9 hours and it was still too sweet.
Hi Mike, it does get stronger in flavor and less sweet as it stands.
Letting kvass sit for longer is the only way to make it have higher alcohol percentage? Or are there more tricks to it?
I’m really not sure, as this is not intended to be an alcoholic drink.
more sugar, leave for longer.
Hi all,
Have just followed the procedure.
will update tomorrow the status of my kvass.
Thanks.
My pleasure! Please do!
I made a batch 12/16. I kept the sediment and just used that today to make another batch. Hopefully it will work. The bottles were very tense and a lot of gas escaped when I opened them today and they fizzed like crazy. Not sure how long I should let it sit. Btw there was some kvass still there that I tasted and it was just less sweet.
Thank you for sharing that with us. As long as the bottles made to withstand the pressure, kvass should be fine. We loosely cover it with lid and refrigerate overnight after first pouring into bottles. The following day once the bottles are completely chilled, you can tighten the lid.
I didn’t get the fizz when I opened the bottles like before when I used dry yeast. The bottles r tense. Would it take longer to ferment from the previous sediment? Or add some yeast?
I’m not sure what you mean – are you re-using the yeast from an older bottle? I’m not sure that would be effective anymore. I have always started a completely new batch when the first one ended.
Yes reusing. Somewhere I read doing that like with a sourdough starter for kvass..
I’d love to know if anyone has done so.
Maybe I can still add the yeast if I take it out of the fridge.
Does it have to be black rye bread? Could I use marble rye for instance? Having a hard time finding the black rye in my local stores.
Hi Aaron, the darker the better to achieve more color and flavor but if marbled rye is the only thing you could find, I think it would work fine. I haven’t tested it with marbled but I’m assuming it would work.
I’ve never had Kvass before, but this looks simple enough that I might want to try it.
But 4 cups of white sugar in 2.5 gallon batch sounds like a lot. Based on the calculations, the added sugar alone would yield 7.4% abv beverage when completely done fermenting. I’m guessing it’s okay to cut the sugar a bit?
Also, I’ve read elsewhere that Kivass tastes slightly tart/sour (due to Lactobacillus fermentation). Are they usually that way or is it optional?
Hi Hector, I think it would be ok to cut the sugar if you wanted it less sweet but the longer the kvas stands, the stronger it gets in flavor and the sweetness goes away. I wouldn’t say it tastes tart or sour, but it does get stronger in flavor as it ferments.
Some other versions prepared slightly differently have a slightly sour taste. This version does not taste like that, so it is perhaps not as old-fashioned. I wouldn’t cut any sugar, kvass cannot reach any more than 2% alcohol, at very maximum. I don’t know the details, but kvass is not made the same way as beer and so cannot be as alcoholic.
I would cut back on the sugar unless you own a dental practice. On the other hand every recipe I see on the web has too much sugar for my taste, no matter if it is for kvas, cookies, pies or jams. I guess most people like really sweet things.
kvass should be slightly sour, and taste a bit like light beer
This sounds terrific! 10 quarts though maybe way too much for my family, at least before we know we love the stuff! Is it possible to halve or third the recipe? Will it still turn out? Thank you!
Oops! Just saw your reply to this from a while back! Thank you! 🙂
No problem! 🙂 Enjoy!!
I failed :(. Kvas is flat. Seemed the yeast had no effect. Followed all steps as printed. Not sure what happened.
Hi David, Is it possible your yeast was old? It’s best to store yeast in an airtight, dark container in the refrigerator. Once a yeast packet is opened, if it sits on the shelf at room temp for too long, it won’t be as effective. Also, just to be sure – did you make sure to add the yeast mixture to the cooled/room temp mixture and not into hot liquid – overheating yeast will deactivate it. I hope that helps to troubleshoot what might have went wrong.
Thank you… The yeast is dated Sept. 2018 and it was added after about 14-15 hours of room temp (maybe too cold in house? about 60…). I have never fermented anything (on purpose :). My nephew is skilled and practiced and is coaching me. We will figure something out.
It might possibly be the temperature of the room – our room temp is closer to 70˚F. Also, did you use active dry yeast and not instant yeast?
Used active dry. Update! Last night I removed the kvas bottles from fridge, shook them and left them out over night. Lots of fix this morning! Good!
Oh that’s so great to hear!! Thanks for reporting back. 🙂
I made kvas two times, but when I pour the kvas into the bottle the yeast settles down at the bottom of the bottle and i can’t get rid of that with the cloth. How can I purify the kvas so it will not contain any yeast? I tried it with paper towel but i still had some yeast at the bottom.
Hi, with kvas, you will always have some sediment at the bottom of the bottle. That’s normal when it’s homemade and I’m not sure of anything besides multiple layers of cheese cloth over a very fine meshed sieve.
Not sure if you want to just get rid of yeast or you want crystal clear drink, but anyhow.
I’d try the homebrewing methods, there are number of ways to clarify the product.
Usually, if you leave it alone long enough, things settle down enough to be clear. Then you siphon off the clear part. But that takes too long.
One alternative is using gelatin as fining agent. You can google the method on homebrewing forums. Anyhow, it works by dissolving some unflavoured gelatin in water (don’t use jell-O and dissolve it well), then adding that to your fermented beverage. You mix that well again, so that the gelatin is homogeneously mixed with the beverage. This you stick it in the fridge and let it settle down. Gelatin will grab onto particles that makes the drink opaque (including yeast) and sink to the bottom. Then you siphon off (or very carefully pour) the clear liquid to a new container. Caution though, depending on what gelatin also removes, it could affect flavour in theory.
Now, these clarified drinks will still likely contain trace amounts of yeast; so if the fermentation restarts, yeast will multiply again. Thus, you have to fine it once it is done completely (exhausted of sugar or add preservatives that stun microbes for good).
However, sounds like Kvass requires bottle conditioning (i.e. fermentation in the bottle) for flavour and for the fizz. In that case, if you want it without yeast, you’d have enjoy the finished Kvass that’s mostly flat (without carbonation), unless you have CO2 carbonation equipment ready at home.
Thank you so much for sharing your insights!!
I brew beer and my thoughts exactly
Can the bottled kvass do well as aged kvass if it’s in a plastic or glass bottle? How long will it keep? I know things improve with age so I’m wondering. I don’t want a mess on my hands if something explodes. Thanks for the blog. Good info.
Hi Dianne, we’ve used both and never had any explosions :), but plastic is probably a little safer if you’re planning to store it longer. Keep in mind it gets pretty strong and less sweet the longer you let it sit. Once the kvas is completely chilled in the refrigerator you can tighten the lid.
Hi! Great recipe! I tried it last night and found that my bread absorbed most of my water… and there was no ‘lifting’ it out as it was basically mush.
Any thoughts?
Hi Scott, did you toast the bread until it was really dark as shown in the photos? Also, did you use the same proportions? Per the recipe, there should be substantially more liquid than bread.
Hi! Thanks for the quick response. I did toast the bread and it was pretty dark and toasted. I also used 10 qts of water.
Maybe my bread was too fresh? It is a pretty moist black bread to begin with… I’m going to try a denser rye next time..
Scott – How many loaves of bread are you using? I have made kvas many times with different breads – the only thing they had in common was that I made sure the breads had no preservatives. But I can’t imagine 10qts of water being soaked up to form a mush.
Actually you might be on to something, maybe you can invent a kvas infused cake, sort of like a rum cake, that would be interesting.
I make this all of the time, but I did not know it was kvass!! I have heard of kvas by name but not very very familiar. It was mine own recipe: raisins, bread, yeast, but I added sugar and sometimes ginger, sometimes another fruit if handy, but mostly raisins. My mother is the BEST COOK on this planet, and I learned many recipes from her, but this recipe I made up myself. I gave some bottles to my neighbor, he is Romanian and he said it was very very good!
That’s great Kristin! Thank you for sharing 🙂
Hello! First of all thank you very much for this wonderful recipe. I was just wondering if Kvass ever goes bad or will it just turn into alcohol?
Thank you!
Andrew, I haven’t maxed out the life of it but it first turns in to alcohol and becomes too strong to drink.
Follow up to previous comment: Both Sergey and I are totally flabbergasted by the delicious taste of this Kvass! Sergeys’ Doctor at the hospital is very interested so I will be giving him a bottle at the next visit. I also made Beet Kvass and Apple Kvass. All winners according to Sergey, the Russian expert! Ha! Ha! Bolshoi Spasiba!! Nicole & Sergey
That’s so awesome! Thank you so much for sharing that with me.
I am going to try this tonight! I just moved back home in New Brunswick after retiring from the Federal Government in Ottawa. My Russian friend of 18 years is really going to appreciate this Kvass and so will I. There are no Russian stores here in Moncton, NB so this is the solution! At least we are beside the ocean, 15 minutes drive to get fish! Bolshoi Spasiba and God Bless You Both! I will let you know the results! Hugs, Nicole & Sergey
I hope you love it!! That’s so awesome to be just 15 minutes from the ocean. Sounds amazing!!
Hi! I wanna try this recipe but i dont really like raisins. I wonder i f the drunk itself tastes like it or not and if you suggest any replacements.
I have heard of lemony kvass but i dont know, thank you and congratulations for the great post, very detailed and well explained.
Rui, you might try adding 1 lemon, sliced in rings with out seeds. Thank you for the nice comment 😀.
Someone asked about whether raisins were necessary. I just made some with lemon, cranberry and chopped up fresh ginger. As I have said before, it is a very robust recipe, hard to go wrong. Leave the raisins out, or add a different fruit. Doesn’t matter. I used bottles that were formerly containers for sparkling water, both glass and plastic. Even in the refrigerator the fermenting goes on, so I got nervous and after three days let some of the gas out. Good idea to hold the bottle over a sink when doing this!
I use half the sugar called for, make sure my water doesn’t have chlorine in it (bottled spring water) and make sure the bread doesn’t have preservatives. Not sure if it matters, but the results are reliable and it tastes great.
I do it like this ( note that i’m not Russian, but the owner/chef of local Russian restaurant gave me recipe. I’m from Slovakia and this is the second summer season i’ll be doing kvass) :
For about 10 L of Kvass you will need:
10L of water ( obviously)
600-700 g of sugar (white sugar is fine, if you have access to malt, use it )
At least 500 g of dark bread
5-7 g of yeast (in the cube or powder, does not matter. I use the one in cubes)
few raisins
Part 1:
Bring up the water to a boiling point or near boiling point and let it cool. Meantime prepare the bread, just slice it and bake in in the oven (on the electric grill function if you have it). It is best if you sliced it a day before and let it dry a little so it “gets” grilled a bit easier. Don’t be afraid to burn it a little ( for the color and taste).
Prepare your yeast ( in a small dose of sugary water, just mix the yeast with a shot of water with a spoon of sugar and let it be on a counter for few minutes )
When the water is cooled down to around 40 degrees Celsius, throw in sugar a stir it until it dissolves. Then add the rest of ingredients, bread and the yeast. Give it a final stir and let it sit it a warm room.
I’m not sure if you should cover the pot (or where you are gonna prepare it ), but i usually leave it open, just covered with clean dish-towel.
Wait for at least 12 hours ( sometimes more ) i usually leave it through night and the next day it is ready. usually it takes 16-20 hours ( if colder place, the whole day )
Part 2:
So you have your kvass ready. Now you need to collect the bread. Do it with sifter it will be floating on the surface. Throw it into the garbage. Be careful, try not to swirl the water too much, because on the bottom of a pot is the yeast, that we will collect later.
Be sure the water was not swirled or anything, if you managed to swirl it a lot, wait additional 30 minutes or so, until all the yeast and “muddy” water will lay down. If the kvass is clear, pour it slowly and steady so only the surface is flowing away, not the bottom parts.
The bottom part pour into separate jar or something, which you can store. That muddy, white yellowish thing at the bottom is the transformed yeast which multiplied. You divide the kvass and the kvass yeast, because in a first place, you don’t want to drink it, and secondly you can keep it in the fridge and the next time, you will you it instead of bought yeast.
So that kvass you separated, the clear part, now pour into the bottles and add few (3-5) raisins into each bottle. Close the bottle and let it like it at the room temperature for couple more hours. You will feel that the bottles are getting hard when you try to squeeze it. Don’t be afraid when it will be so hard as rock ( The bottle will withstand it no problem) That is good. Congrats, your drink is now naturally carbonated (and tasty as hell).
Only now put it into the fridge to stop most of the yeast processes. The raising will give it a final touch add a little bit of sweetness and throw in some kind of fruity fresh taste 🙂
Next time, you will do it use the the yeast which you collected from the batch of kvass and make previously. Each time use everything that you collected and always repeat. So each time you do kvass you are left with the yeast, which you will use to make another batch next time. And again and again. The longer you do it, the better the yeast is.
To be honest the first batch is PALE compared with second and third if you use the same yeast. During that process, the yeast will adapt and transform. Since yeast are bacteria, they will mutate or what. Not sure how it works 😀 but it is like with bread. The best bakeries use the same yeas for decades. Basically it is a living organism that evolves for what you use it for. It is like that what they sell in shop is all-purpose, universal, some basic, which you will nurse or nurture for what you need. It is something like a starter.
Notes:
After the initial time i let it to ferment (part 2) I just take out the bread and pour everything into 3 big glass jars, each has about 3-4 L. So when it sits I can clearly see where is the yeast and how much I can later pour into the bottles.
I also use stockings as a filter i put on funnel so i don’t have any bread crumbs in my final product in the bottles.
I guarantee, that if you have a family, that 10 Liter will last you a week at max. It just taste so good and it is co great in summer when you are really thirsty. You don’t even have that weird film on your tongue or that weir after taste like you do when you drink coke or some other sweetened beverage. It has no stupid added acids, just what the yeast produced.
Don’t forget you can alter the recipe. You can add more sugar or add less ( it will be bit more sour, like some lemonade) Or you can put it different dried fruit at the end. I trued cranberries, plums ( didn’t like it) etc.
If you will decide to do it, i hope you will enjoy. And don’t forget that the second batch from your own yeast will be better than the first one from the yeast you bought.
Enjoy and serve cold :)
Thank you so much for sharing that with us and for the detailed instructions. So awesome of you! 🙂
My first batch followed your recipe precisely.It turned out perfect(and obscenely easy).Last time I took liberties and put the burnt bread,raisins,sliced oranges,and a few star anise in a cheesecloth bag.It makes a nice,subtle variation with easy cleanup.The best recipes are simple,versatile,and often ancient.Yours is a great example,thanks!
I’m so happy to hear that! Thank you for sharing your great review!
Vikk, I noticed that you do more steps at once (compared to the recipe on this page and many others online). You mention adding the sugar and yeast at the same time as the bread, where others brew the bread overnight, remove it, and THEN add sugar and yeast. Does it make a difference? I’ve just decided to follow your recipe to see how it turns out 🙂
I have been meaning to thank you for this recipe for a while now! Nothing tastes better after a solid workout than a good glass of kvass, I find! I have been wanting to make something that was like kombucha (which my family has been making), and I found out about kvass through that research. Being a big fan of Eastern European and Russian cooking, I just had to try it.
And I’m glad that I did! I put some mint into my initial batch, though not enough, and this second batch that I’m making will get a lot more. Absolutely delectable drink, I find! I do have one question though: Do you make kompot? There was a channel on YouTube that I watch called Life of Boris, and he talks about kompot quite often, even has a recipe. I was wondering if it was something you’ve ever made or thought about making.
Kanpai (as we would say back home)!
I’m so glad to hear you enjoy the recipe and thanks for writing in :). I do like making kompot as well. Here is a recipe for kompot 🙂