Simple sour rye soup-ŻUREK|Traditional Polish soup (2024)

Sour rye soup is something that cannot be missed in our house before Easter. So-called “Żurek” was the favorite Lenten soup of our ancestors. Nowadays, it is still present on the table in my house. It’s wonderfully fragrant and velvety with its characteristic sour taste.

Humble beginnings of sour rye soup

Are you tired of the same old soups and looking for something new and exciting to add to your menu? Look no further than Żurek, a traditional Polish soup that is both delicious and packed with nutrients. Sour rye soup is known not only in Poland but also in the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Belarus. Its origins date back to the fifteenth century when all dishes from pickled wholemeal flour were referred to as żur. The name comes from the German word “Saurer”, which means sour, pickled, and acidified.

The sourdough-based soup itself was created by accident. A baker from Poland lost a bet on making the worst soup. The baker poured boiling water over the leaven for bread, then added vegetables, sausage, and mushrooms, and finally seasoned it with garlic. The soup that was made turned out to be very tasty!

In Polish culture, fermentation is highly popular and used in many traditional dishes. Fermentation is an excellent way to introduce probiotics to your diet, which can help boost your immune system and support a healthy gut. And what better way to get your daily dose of probiotics than by enjoying a delicious bowl of sour rye soup?

Nutritious soup

Sour rye soup was a traditional soup in my house at Easter time. However, in each region, you can find sour rye soup with slightly different additions – potatoes, egg, white sausage, or bacon. This warming soup impresses not only with its taste and aroma but also with its valuable nutritional value due to the sour rye starter. This hearty soup is made from fermented rye flour that is packed with lactic acid, promoting a healthy gut and boosting your immune system.

Sour rye soup is my favorite Easter soup

The most important ingredient in the recipe for sour rye soup is sour rye! Prepared from rye flour, it must be stored in a warm place for at least 4 days. It is after this time that the leaven acquires its characteristic taste. Wonderfully fragrant, velvety, perfectly thickening.

Of course, store shelves are full of sour rye soup in jars, bottles, bags, and plastic bags, but none of them will match the taste of the one you prepare at home. It’s not complicated, and self-pickled sour soup is really super tasty and healthy. I recommend it to anyone who cares about good taste and wants to eat something good and healthy.

I know you will like this sour rye soup! It is:

Nutritious

Simple

Vegan

Deliciously sour!

Flavorful

Dairy-free

Tangy

Why is it healthy

• A plate of sour rye soup will restore the acid-base balance in the body, and will also provide many valuable minerals.
• Żurek, especially the homemade one, is a rich source of probiotics and has many B vitamins.

• It is an excellent natural remedy for some for the digestive tract, especially the stomach, and gut.

• Sour rye soup is a product of lactic acid fermentation, which is why many valuable ingredients produced during this process – these are beneficial microorganisms – which later inhabit our digestive tract and process troublesome ingredients contained in cereals (some allergenic proteins) or, for example, fiber.

Ingredients

Sour rye starter

rye flour – this flour is pretty important so I would not substitute it.
water – filter, or boiled and cooled is best
allspice, leaves, and garlic – important, traditional flavor enhancers

Sour rye soup

basic broth vegetables – carrot, parsnip, leek, onion, celery root…..now here you can always substitute with the ready-made broth but I love making fresh one for this soup.

pickled cucumber – elevates the sour flour of this soup!

aromatics– marjoram, horseradish, bay leaf, garlic, dill, allspice, parsley, salt, and pepper. Try not to commit to any of those aromatics as they too play a role in the flavor of this soup.

STORAGE AND REHEATING

Refrigerate. You can keep the soup in the fridge for up to a week. After that, if you manage to have any leftovers you can freeze it and it will last up to 6 months.

Reheating. You can reheat a needed portion in a pot over medium heat. If using a frozen one just let it thaw first and then reheat.

SERVING SUGGESTIONS

Traditionally this soup is served with egg and boiled white sausage. In my house, I simply add a nice serving of smoked tofu and definitely there is bread for dipping 😉.

Useful Tips

• Prepare sourdough preferably in a glass or stoneware jar or dish
• The dish must be thoroughly washed, and then it must be scalded thoroughly with boiling water
• The water for brewing should be hot, but not boiling.
• The dish is best covered with gauze or airy fabric, but pretty tight. It can be additionally secured with a string or elastic band. It is important that sourdough has free access to air because without it it will not work!
• Sourdough should be kept at room temperature
• Sourdough should be stirred with a clean spoon once a day. The mixture will separate every day (the flour will sink to the bottom), so you need to mix it – so that the lactic acid bacteria have easier access to the food that is in the flour.
• It is best to start the south rye starter less than two weeks before the planned use – if the first one fails, there will be time to set the second one. If the first attempt is successful, we can safely store it in the fridge for another week.

More Vegan soup recipes you should try!

Easy butternut squash soup

Cauliflower with curried beans

One-pot Split pea

Immune-boosting soup vegetable soup

White vegan sausage

So why not step out of your comfort zone and try something new with Żurek? Your taste buds (and your gut) will thank you.

If you try this recipe for Sour Rye Soup, feel free to leave me a comment and a star rating. And if you share a photo of your healthy and delicious soup on Instagram please tag me at@pronouncedand use hashtag#pronouncedas I LOVE seeing your remakes!HAPPY COOKING🍽️!

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