Żurek (Polish Sour Rye Soup)
Sour rye soup — tangy, smoky, and traditionally served in bread.
Żurek is Polish sour rye soup: the sourness comes from a fermented rye starter, not from vinegar or cream. Sausage, potato and a halved boiled egg go in, and in some places it is served inside a hollowed loaf. The starter is the part that needs planning; the soup itself is quick.
Ingredients
- 300ml rye sourdough starter (zakwas)
- 1L stock
- 200g smoked sausage
- 2 garlic cloves
- 1 bay leaf, marjoram
- 2 boiled eggs
- Cream
Method
- 1
Simmer the stock with sausage, bay and garlic for 20 minutes.
- 2
Whisk in the zakwas and bring back to a bare simmer — do not boil hard.
- 3
Add marjoram, crushed between the fingers.
- 4
Loosen with a spoon of cream.
- 5
Serve with half a boiled egg in each bowl.
The sour base is rye flour and water left on the counter for five days — free.
The Polish pair
- Pierogi Ruskie — The dumplings that follow the soup.
The Milk Bar Handbook
Six Central European recipes are free here; the guide holds fourteen, set in the five-country context the recipe pages leave out — menus, venues, bills, receipts, currencies and protected names.
Fourteen Central European recipes, and the menus, bills and labels of five countries.
- Fourteen Central European recipes with metric and US measures
- Five-country coverage: Poland, Czechia, Slovakia, Hungary and Austria
- Menu and venue language, from bar mleczny and hospoda to kifőzde and Beisl
- Bills, receipts and the five currencies in play
Travelling more widely? The Complete European Table holds all seven expanded guides — 495 pages across 7 guides, one-time purchase.
Get all 7 guides — $29.99