Lithuanian Gira ~ Kvass ~ Lightly Fermented Rye Bread Drink

Cup of pre-bottled Gira: no foam (there's supposed to be foam)

Rye bread getting ready to hit the boiling pot

At first glance at this type of recipe, the Molly Mormon in me cringed and wondered about whether a fermented drink was in keeping with the WOW.
Well, justification #1. The WOW encourages us against strong drinks- technically, at .05%, this is not even hinting at being a strong drink... it's the same percentage of alcohol you get when you use mouthwash or drink homemade root beer, how alcoholic is my bread?  It is fermented after all.
Justification #2. .05% is never ever ever going to impair a person's judgment.  It is simply making a natural soda.
Justification #3. I have on good authority that the missionaries in Russia drink this stuff all the time.
Now... The second thing I had to tame was my uneasiness about eating things that count as science experiments and kitchen experiments at the same time... leaving something out in order that the bacteria will congregate is working against the grain for me.

Gira
14 oz black sourdough rye bread
3 liters water (about 3 quarts)
130 g sugar (1 1/8 c)
4 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Natural Ferment or 1/2 packet yeast
optional sprig of mint (I didn't use this)
a few raisins

1. Chop up your bread and stick it in the oven at 300F for about 20-30 minutes. (sugars are caramelizing)
2. Pour the bread into boiling water.  Let it seep for 4-12 hours.
3. Strain the liquid through a cloth (I used a piece of muslin over a wire strainer) & add warm water to make 3 liters.  Stir in the sugar, honey, and fermenter of choice.  (If using dry yeast: Activate it for about 10 minutes in 1/3 c warm water & a tsp of sugar.)
place it on the fridge for 12 hours... you will see foam when it's ready.  You can taste it along the way to see how quickly the yeast is eating up the sugars.  I got impatient here and also started to discover that I don't like yeasty flavored things... they make my bowels worry about yeast burps.  So I cut things short & I ended up with a rye/yeast flavored, slightly carbonated, sweet drink.  It wasn't supposed to be sweet.  It's supposed to be bitter.
4. Skim the foam and strain the kvass into bottles.  Put a raisin in each bottle and let the bottles sit in the fridge for 2-3 days as the yeast continues eating sugar.

By the end, the smell of everything made me uncomfortable. It tasted pretty good though- I liked my sweet and lightly fizzy drink (sparingly of course).  I consumed about 1/2 of a bottle & the rest hit the sink. It smelled just like beer & I couldn't handle that.  I think this was a one time cooking adventure... I like discovering things about food as I cook and I felt I learned a lot in this experiment.  My Gira, you will notice pictured above in the cup, is pre-bottling & fridge fermentation & is without foam.  Usually, there is foam.  Now that I know & have seen how the foam on the alcoholic beverages is created by yeast, I am even more happy not to drink them.  I might try Gira again if someone else makes it.  I think that will be the extent of my wimpy trying of yeasted beverages though.

~You will likely do better than I did if you try making this!~

~Enjoy!~