Polish zur aka zurek soup recipe
(from homemade sourdough)





Ingredients in this recipe:
Rye sourdough:
- half of a cup of wholemeal rye flour
(which is 8 tbsp = 120 mL = 1.2 dL) - peel of one slice of wholemeal bread
(which is not obligatory) - 1 cup of room-temperature, but previously boiled water (240 mL = 2.4 dL)
- 2 cloves of slightly crushed garlic
- 2 bay leaves
- 2-3 allspice berries
Zurek soup:
- wloszczyzna: 1 carrot, half of a parsley, quarter of a leek, and small piece of a raw celery root
- 2 medium sized onions
- 2 garlic cloves
- 5 allspice berries
- 2 bay leaves
- 1-2 juniper berries (optional)
- 3 medium sized potatoes
- 1 cup of rye sourdough (which is 240 mL = 2.4 dL)
- 0.5-0.6 lb of Polish raw sausage (white sausage) (250 g = 0.25 kg)
- 0.2 lb of smoked bacon (optional) (100 g = 0.1 g)
- 2-3 teaspoons of marjoram
- salt, pepper
- 4-5 tablespoons of sour cream (~18% fat)
- hard boiled eggs
Recipe part 1 – rye sourdough:
- Boil water and use it to rinse an interior of the glass or clay jar. Set aside to cool. When water reaches room temperature, add wholemeal rye flour (half of a cup) to the jar and pour 1 cup of water. Stirr the mixture to form a uniform slurry. Add spices – 2 cloves of slightly crushed garlic, 2 bay leaves, 2-3 allspice berries and the peel of one slice of wholemeal bread.
- Cover the jar with a piece of gauze or linen cloth. Do not close it with the lid, since the sourdough needs some fresh air. Set aside for about 3-5 days in a warm place and give it a stirr just once a day. Let it mature and the sourdough will gain a distinct sour smell and taste.
- Now, your sourdough is ready to be used for the soup. Store any leftover in the refrigerator, in a closed glass jar or bottle.
Recipe part 2 – zurek soup:
- Wash, peel and cut 2 medium sized onions and wloszczyzna (1 carrot, half of a parsley, quarter of a leek, and small piece of a raw celery root). Put them into a large pot and cover with water. Add garlic (2 peeled cloves), 5 allspice berries, 2 bay leaves and, optionally, 1-2 juniper berries. Boil gently for about one hour, then drain the vegetables and save the broth.
- In the meantime, wash, peel and dice 3 medium sized potatoes.
- Now, add 1 cup of rye sourdough (prepared according to the above recipe) to your vegetable broth (now without vegetables). Stirr both ingredients and boil for about 5 minutes.
- Cut 0.5-0.6 lb of Polish raw sausage (white sausage) into thick slices. Usually, we add the sausage to the soup as is, but you can also fry it a bit on the frying pan.
- To the soup (broth+sourdough mix), add 2-3 teaspoons of marjoram, sausage slices and 0.2 lb of smoked bacon (the latter is optional).
- Cook the soup until it gets an intense aroma of meat and herbs. Add salt and pepper to taste, then turn the heat off. Add 3-5 tablespoons of sour cream (~18% fat) and previously boiled potatoes. Stir the soup, but do not boil it any longer.
- Serve while still hot, with cut in half hard boiled eggs (one egg per plate).
I hope that you find this zur aka zurek soup recipe useful. Enjoy your meal! Smacznego! :)