Kvass, bread, and yeast (was Re: SC - Kvass.)

[Nick Sasso]

Adamantius,

They snuck the yeast in when you weren't looking.  It is disguised as
honey.  The wild yeast in honey cannot ferment it in its common state
due to pH and other factors, but will go to town when honey is diluted. 
The bread would likely serve as nutrient source for the yeast to
replicate and ferment.  Wheat is richer in the nutrients needed than rye. 
The bread would be more readily available to households than malt or
cracked whole grain.

Additionally, the baked bread will have its proteins already bound,
possibly aiding in clarification.  The heat from baking will have helped
the enzymes convert some of  the starches, but not much.

Just some thoughts from modern brewing theory and technique.

Decker, Terry D. wrote:
> 
> > > In chapter 65: Ordinary kvass. To brew ordinary kvass, Take four
parts
> > > honey and strain it until it is clear. Put it in a jar and ferment it
> > > using an ordinary soft loaf, without additional yeast. When it is
done,
> > > pour it into a cask.
> >
> > Hmmm. I see the formula has changed, even allowing for local
variatons.
> > I'm curious as to what role the bread plays in this preparation. There
> > seems to be nothing to convert the bread's starches to sugars, and
since
> > it's baked, I doubt yeast comes from it.
> >
> Using bread in a beer is common.  The Sumerians were doing it 5000+
years
> ago.  It sounds like they are using the wild yeast which has settled on
the
> bread after baking (same reason flour and water in a sealed container
will
> ferment), but that is an uncertain process.

I know the Egyptians used a bread specifically made for brewing, rather
than simply using bread (which makes it somewhat similar to the later
kvass recipe). I guess what I was wondering was what bread has, in
its
capacity to collect airborne wild yeasts, that beer or kvass doesn't
have. In other words, what is the advantage of doing it that way?

Adamantius  
============================================================================

To be removed from the SCA-Cooks mailing list, please send a message to
Majordomo at Ansteorra.ORG with the message body of "unsubscribe SCA-Cooks".

============================================================================