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Fermentation Atlas

Cereals and bread from Poland

Żur / żurek starter (zakwas)żur

Zakwas is a sour, garlicky liquid made by letting wholemeal rye flour and water ferment in a warm place, often with garlic and a crust of rye bread to start it. It settles into a clear top layer over a cloudy sediment and is the base of żur or żurek, the sour rye soup eaten at breakfast in Kujawy and, above all, at Easter. Made in 5 steps over 5 months – 5.1 months. The longest step, keep the zakwas, takes up to 4.9 months (Surówka K 2024) and runs at 10–20 °C (Surówka K 2024). Salt is 1.5 % (Surówka K 2024). Lactic acid bacteria does most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main stepup to 4.9 monthsReported[surowka2024]Keep the zakwas
Temperature10–20 °CReported[surowka2024]Keep the zakwas
Salt1.5 %Reported[surowka2024]Add garlic and a rye bread crust
Fully documentedCereals and bread5 months – 5.1 monthsMore cereals and breadMore from PolandMore from BelarusMore from Czechia

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe traditional description gives no amounts; the garlic and salt levels are the optimum found for rye leaven in a laboratory study (Surówka and Rzepka 2024).
Wholemeal rye flour[gov-zakwas]
Water[gov-zakwas]
A few cloves (0.5 % was best in a laboratory study)Garlic[gov-zakwas][surowka2024]
Crust of rye bread · Speeds up the fermentation[gov-zakwas]
1.5 % (laboratory study)Salt · Not in the traditional Kujawy description[surowka2024]
Starterspontaneous (bread crust helps it start)

Total time across the recorded steps: 5 months – 5.1 months

Start
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What changes: Wholemeal rye flour is stirred into water in a clay crock

Step 1 of 5
Stir rye flour into water in a clay crock
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria

Output: thin rye slurry.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Zakwas for żur is a liquid rye ferment made for soup rather than a dough-like bread sourdough, though it can also raise bread. Garlic and a bread crust are traditional additions.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Zakwas kujawskiThe Kujawy leaven on Poland's List of Traditional Products since May 2025; made in homes for at least two centuries and eaten as żur for breakfast.
  • Barszcz białyMade with wheat flour instead of rye.
  • Kyselo (Czech Krkonoše)Rye sour soup with mushrooms and caraway.
  • Belarusian kisjalicaFermented oatmeal or rye.

Safety

Rye leaven makes biogenic amines as it ferments and is stored. In a 150-day study at 10 °C and 20 °C histamine stayed at or below 22 mg/kg, and leavens with more lactic acid bacteria held fewer amines and kept their flavour better.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

Oskar Kolberg recorded żur from zakwas as a breakfast dish in his volumes on Kujawy. Zakwas kujawski has been made in local homes for at least two hundred years, and Radziejów county has held ten editions of a contest "From zakwas to żurek kujawski".

  1. [gov-zakwas] Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (Poland) 2025, Zakwas kujawski, List of Traditional Products entry (added 22 May 2025)gov
  2. [surowka2024] Surówka K., Rzepka M. 2024, Biogenic amines as an indicator of rye leaven quality during production and storage, Food Chemistry 452:139523 (abstract)paper
  3. [s1] Wikipedia, Żurek (outline only)wiki