Zakwas na Żurek (Polish Sour Rye Flour Starter)
This traditional Polish sour rye flour starter is the secret ingredient to achieving that authentic Polish flavor in your soups and sauces!
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups water (boiled and then fully cooled, unless you're on well water; necessary to enable wild yeast/bacteria to grow)
- 1/2 cup whole grain rye flour , preferably organic
- 2 cloves garlic , peeled and smashed
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 whole allspice berries
Instructions
- Sterilize your jar: place it in a pot covered in water by at least a couple of inches, and boil for 5 minutes. Let it cool.
- Place the flour in the sterilized glass jar. Add the water and give it a stir with a clean spoon. Add the garlic, bay leaves and allspice berries and give the mixture a stir.Place a clean cloth or paper towel over the top of the jar and secure it with a rubber band or string. This way the zakwas can "breathe" without any critters getting in and you don't have to worry about too much gas building up and cracking your jar.Let the jar sit out of direct sunlight at room temperature. If it's too cold the wild yeasts/bacteria will not grow. Once a day for 5-7 days, use a clean spoon to stir the contents of the jar.
- After 5 days smell and taste the zakwas for the desire level of sourness and let it go another day or two if needed. (Unless it's summer and really warm in my house, I let it go for 7 days.) If it's properly fermented, when you jiggle the jar bubbles will fizz and trail up from the bottom of the jar to the top (see bottom right picture).Remove and discard the garlic, bay leaves and allspice, screw a lid on the jar, and store it in the refrigerator to prevent it from fermenting further. Will keep for up to 2 weeks.
Notes
This makes 2 cups of zakwas na zurek which is enough for 2 batches of mildly sour Zurek soup or 1 batch of more boldly sour Zurek soup.
Nutrition
Calories: 31kcalCarbohydrates: 7gProtein: 1gFat: 0.1gSaturated Fat: 0.02gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.02gSodium: 4mgPotassium: 36mgFiber: 1gSugar: 0.1gVitamin A: 2IUVitamin C: 0.3mgCalcium: 7mgIron: 0.3mg
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