Polish Żurek Recipe - Sour Rye Soup

Żurek is Poland’s sour rye soup, and the sourness is not vinegar or lemon. It comes from żur, a rye starter you ferment yourself from nothing more than flour, water, garlic and bay. That takes five to seven days, so this is a soup you start the week before you want to eat it. If you would rather skip that, use a bottle of ready-made zakwas and switch the recipe card to Store-bought: the starter steps drop out and the garlic, bay and allspice go into the bouillon instead.

You can buy it as a packet in any Polish shop and drink it from a mug, and it is not the same thing. Made properly it is eaten from a plate, or from a hollowed-out loaf, with smoked bacon and sausage, potatoes and half a hard-boiled egg, finished with a spoonful of cream.

It belongs to Easter above all, though it is good on any cold evening, and it wants Homemade Sourdough Bread alongside. My guide to Polish food sets out what else belongs on the Easter table, and what gets cooked at Wigilia.

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What is the base ingredient for Żurek Soup?

If you’re eager to craft your own Polish Żurek Soup, the key to unlocking its unique, tangy flavour lies in the fermented rye starter. This is the essential base ingredient that gives Żurek its distinctive sourness and deep, savoury character. While preparing the starter is simple and requires only a few basic ingredients - like rye flour, water, and some spices - patience is a must, as it takes about 5-7 days to ferment properly.

For those in a hurry, ready-made żurek soup bases are sold in Polish delis and online, and in the US my guide to where to buy Polish ingredients covers the zakwas and the rye flour. But trust me, there’s nothing like the rich, authentic taste of a homemade starter that you’ve prepared yourself. Taking the time to ferment your own base not only lifts the flavour of the soup but also brings a sense of tradition and accomplishment to your cooking experience.

So, if you’re up for the adventure, I encourage you to try making your own fermented starter. You’ll be rewarded with a bowl of Żurek that’s packed with genuine Polish flavours! Do roboty!

What is Żurek? - Traditional Polish Sour Rye Soup Explained

Żurek, a traditional sour rye soup, holds a special place in the hearts of the Polish people. Originating from the unique tang of fermented rye flour starter, known as “żur”, this soup combines the robust flavours of potatoes, smoked sausage (Kiełbasa), smoked bacon (Boczek), eggs, and aromatic herbs. It is a favourite for Easter, served with sausage and a boiled egg, sometimes in a hollowed-out bread bowl. In my house we make it for Christmas too, and on cold winter evenings when nothing else will do.

What are the types of Polish Żurek?

• Żurek Staropolski - This is the most traditional version of the Polish soup, prepared with vegetable bouillon as a base, fermented rye starter, Polish smoked sausage (Kielbasa), and smoked bacon, known as Boczek. It’s served with a boiled egg and sourdough bread.
• Żurek Benedyktyjski - This variation of the soup is prepared in the same way as Żurek Staropolski. It is finished with tablespoon of sour cream, which are mixed with a ladle of the soup to prevent curdling. Serve it with a side of quark cheese.
• Zalewajka - is a traditional Polish soup that is distinctively prepared with a water base, rather than using vegetable bouillon. This choice of base allows the natural flavours of the other ingredients to shine through more prominently.
• Barszcz Biały - a distinct variant of the traditional soup, is primarily prepared using a wheat flour starter as opposed to the more commonly used rye flour. Despite this key difference, the majority of the other ingredients remain similar. This substitution of wheat flour lends a unique texture and a slightly different flavour profile to the soup, while maintaining its much-loved classic taste.

A Closer Look at the Ingredients

• The zakwas (rye starter) Everything else is supporting cast. Rye flour and water left to sour for the best part of a week is what makes żurek żurek, and there is no shortcut that tastes the same. Type 2000 wholemeal rye is what Polish bakers use; a plain wholemeal rye will do.
• Biała kiełbasa, or smoked wiejska The white sausage, raw and unsmoked, is the traditional one, and it is what gives the soup its particular savoury weight. Smoked wiejska is also good and puts the smoke through the whole pot. When I cannot get either, I use krakowska, which is what is in the photo. I brown it in the bacon fat, in the same pan, and then add it to the soup. Polish shops sell all of them.
• Smoked boczek Polish smoked belly bacon, fried until the fat renders. That rendered fat is where a lot of the flavour comes from, so do not drain it away.
• Marjoram Not oregano, and not optional. Marjoram is the herb Poles reach for with pork and rye, and żurek without it tastes like it is missing something you cannot name.
• Cream Stirred in at the end to soften the sourness. Double cream is the most forgiving because a higher fat content resists splitting.
• Hard-boiled eggs and potatoes Traditionally halved eggs go into the bowl at serving and potatoes go in on the side or in the pot. Both turn a sharp soup into a proper meal.

Equipment You Will Need

Ingredient Substitutions

• No biała kiełbasa? The most common problem outside Poland. A good plain raw pork sausage with no herbs is the closest thing, and a Cumberland or a plain butcher’s banger works. Keep some smoked kiełbasa in the pot as well, because it is the smoke that reads as Polish.
• No boczek? Smoked streaky bacon, or a piece of smoked pancetta. You want it smoked and you want the fat, so avoid lean back bacon.
• Rye flour Wholemeal rye is what you want. Be aware that a starter made with wheat flour gives you barszcz biały, white borscht, which is a different soup from the same family rather than a substitute for this one.
• Cream Soured cream, or 18 per cent cooking cream, both work but both split more easily than double cream because there is less fat protecting them. Temper whichever you use.
• Vegetable or meat stock The recipe uses vegetable stock, which is what both Polish sources I checked use. Chicken or a light pork stock is equally traditional and gives a rounder soup.
• Vegetarian żurek Leave out the sausage and bacon, build it on a good mushroom and vegetable stock, and add dried wild mushrooms with the starter. Smoked paprika or a little smoked salt stands in for the smoke. The sourness carries the soup, so it survives the loss better than you expect.

How to Make Żurek, Step by Step

Full quantities are in the recipe card below. Żurek is really two jobs: a rye starter that ferments for the best part of a week, and a soup that comes together in about an hour once you have it. Start the zakwas first and the rest is straightforward.

Part One: The Rye Starter (Zakwas), 5 to 7 Days Ahead

1. Boil the water and let it cool. Cool it to room temperature before it goes near the flour.Chlorine in tap water holds back the microbes you are trying to grow, and boiling drives it off.
2. Mix the starter in a sanitised jar. Rye flour, the cooled water, crushed garlic, bay and allspice, stirred together with a clean spoon. Keep everything clean at every stage.You are growing one thing and keeping everything else out.
3. Cover it with cloth, not a lid. A paper towel or cloth held on with a band.It lets the ferment breathe and keeps dust and flies out. A tight lid traps the gas it needs to release.
4. Leave it at room temperature, out of direct sun, and stir every other day. Five to seven days and it is ready. It should smell sharp and sour, pleasantly so, like sourdough, not anything spoiled. Your kitchen needs to be above about 22°C. An airing cupboard, near a radiator or on top of the fridge all work.Hardly anyone says this. A kitchen at 19°C leaves you staring at a jar of flour and water for a week. The bacteria doing the work are relatives of the ones that turn milk into yoghurt, and they like it warm and slow down in the cold.If nothing happens: a cold kitchen stalls a zakwas, it does not kill it. Move the jar somewhere warmer and give it another day or two before you decide it has failed.

Part Two: The Soup

1. Make the vegetable broth. A litre of water with the diced carrots, quartered onions, chopped celery and sliced leek, and a teaspoon of Vegeta. Bring it up, then let it simmer for about an hour. You can make it with chicken as well. A carcass, wings or thighs all work, simmered in with the vegetables. If you are using bought zakwas, add 5 crushed garlic cloves, a bay leaf and a couple of allspice berries to the pot too, and lift them out when you strain it.
2. Strain it, but keep the carrots. They go back into the finished soup. The rest of the vegetables can go.They have given the broth everything they had.
3. Fry the diced bacon. Four or five minutes over a high heat until the fat has rendered out and the pieces have crisped.
4. Bacon, carrots, sausage and marjoram into the hot stock. Bring it to the boil, then down to a simmer for five minutes.Marjoram is not optional in a żurek. It is the herb that makes it taste Polish.
5. Now the starter, and go slowly. Whisk the zakwas together with the sediment at the bottom of the jar, picking out the spices. Turn the heat low. Pour in about two thirds, stirring all the time, then taste and decide whether to add the rest. Let it simmer until it thickens.The sediment is where most of the flavour is, so do not leave it behind. The flour drops to the bottom and catches, and a burnt base makes the whole pot bitter. Starters vary in sourness depending on how long and how warm they fermented, and you can always add more but you cannot take it out.
6. Lift the sausages out, slice them, put them back.Easier than cutting them in the pot, and everyone gets a fair share.
7. Temper the cream before it goes in. Mix the cream with a ladleful of the hot soup in a separate bowl first, then pour that back into the pan.Cold cream straight into hot soup curdles into threads. Lower-fat cream needs this more, not less: it does not have enough fat to protect it, so it curdles where double cream, at around half fat, holds. In a soup this sour, that matters.
8. Serve it properly. Ladle over cooked potatoes, garnish with parsley or dill and plenty of black pepper, and add halved hard-boiled eggs for żurek z jajkiem.

Recipe Card for Polish Żurek

Recipe Card

Polish Żurek - Sour Rye Soup

Poland's classic sour rye soup, built on a homemade fermented rye starter with white sausage, smoked bacon and marjoram, finished with cream and served with a halved boiled egg.

★★★★★ 4.9 from 9 votes · Rate this recipe

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Prep

20 min

Cook

1 hr 20 min

Total

1 hr 40 min

Serves

6

Per serving

577 kcal

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6 portions

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Zakwas

Store-bought skips the starter steps

Homemade Store-bought

Equipment I Use

Large Pot1 litre glass jarFine Mesh SieveLadleWhisk

Ingredients

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Starter Ingredients (Sour Rye):

500 ml Water, boiled and cooled, not chlorinated 5 tbsp Rye Flour, wholemeal rye, type 2000 if you can get it 5 Garlic Cloves, peeled and crushed 4 Bay leaves 10 Allspice Berries

Ingredients for the Zurek Soup:

1.5 L Vegetable Stock, or chicken stock, or simmer a chicken carcass, wings or thighs in the pot 1 tsp Vegeta seasoning, stirred into the bouillon 500 ml Zurek starter, (zakwas) whisked, sediment and all 4 Biała kiełbasa or smoked wiejska, biała is the traditional one; smoked wiejska is also good, and krakowska works well when you cannot get either. Brown krakowska in the bacon fat first 250 g Smoked bacon, (Boczek) in one piece, diced 1 tsp Marjoram 3 tbsp Double Cream, (soured cream works as well) Salt, to taste

To serve with Zurek:

Boiled diced potatoes 6 Hard-boiled Eggs, cut in half Sourdough Bread Fresh Parsley, or dill, for garnish Black Pepper, to taste

Instructions

Tap a step to tick it off as you cook.

Instructions for Starter (Sour Rye):

1

Water Preparation

For the starter preparation, use water free from chlorine as it can inhibit microbial growth. Boil the water and allow it to cool to room temperature before use.

2

Mixing the Ingredients

Once the water has cooled, combine all the starter ingredients in a sanitized jar. Mix them thoroughly with a clean spoon.

3

Covering and Securing

Cover the jar with a cloth or paper towel and secure it with a band or tie. This ensures the starter has ventilation while remaining protected.

4

Storing and Usage

Position the jar in a spot shielded from direct sunlight, maintaining room temperature, mix with clean spoon every other day. In about 5-7 days, the starter should be mature and ready. You can utilize it immediately or refrigerate it for up to two weeks. If refrigerating, remember to remove and discard any spices from the starter. If using immediately, incorporate the starter into your recipe as directed. (Alternatively you can purchase the starter)

Instructions for Vegetable Bullion (Soup Base):

5

Preparing the Vegetable Broth

Begin by making the vegetable broth. In a large pot, combine 1 litre of water, diced carrots, 2 medium onions (quartered), a stalk of celery (chopped), a sliced leek and 1 teaspoon of Vegeta (or add a chicken carcass, wings or thighs for a chicken bouillon). Place the pot on high heat and bring the contents to a boil. Once boiling, reduce the heat to low, allowing the mixture to simmer. Cover the pot with a lid and let it simmer for 1 hour.

6

Straining and Saving Ingredients

After the broth has been simmering for an hour, carefully strain the liquid, separating it from the vegetables. Retain the carrots for inclusion in your soup, and discard the rest of the vegetables.

Instructions for Żurek Soup

7

Bacon Preparation

Start by dicing the bacon. In a pan over high heat, fry the bacon for 4-5 minutes until its fat is rendered.

8

Soup Base Creation

If you are using krakowska, brown it in the bacon fat in the same pan first. To the hot stock, add the crispy bacon, cooked carrots, sausages (whole or sliced), and 1 teaspoon of marjoram. Bring the contents to a boil, then lower the heat and let it simmer for 5 minutes.

9

Żurek Integration

Take the Żurek starter and whisk it with the sediment, ensuring to discard any spices. Gradually pour this mixture into the soup, allowing it to simmer until the consistency becomes thicker.

10

Sausage Slicing

Remove the soup from the stove and extract the sausages. Once sliced, reintroduce them to the pot.

11

Creamy Touch

In a separate bowl, blend the cream with a ladleful of the soup. This process ensures the cream doesn’t curdle when added to the hot soup. Once mixed, pour this creamy mixture back into the main pot.

12

Final Presentation

To serve, ladle the Żurek into bowls. Add cooked potatoes to the soup and garnish with either parsley or dill, and a sprinkle of black pepper. Accompany with hard-boiled eggs (Zurek z jajkiem) and slices of fresh sourdough bread. Enjoy your meal! Smacznego!

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Chef’s notes＋

• Warm enough for the starter: the zakwas needs somewhere above about 22°C to get going. A kitchen sitting at 18 to 19°C will leave you with a jar of flour and water and nothing happening. An airing cupboard, near a radiator or on top of the fridge all work.
• Stir when the starter goes in: the flour drops straight to the bottom of the pot and catches, and a scorched base turns the whole soup bitter. Keep the heat low and stir down to the base, not round the top.
• Add it gradually and taste: pour in about two thirds, taste, then decide. Starters vary in strength depending on how long they fermented and how warm they were. You can always add more sourness, you cannot take it out.
• Storing the soup: two to three days in the fridge, and genuinely better on day two. Reheat gently and do not let it boil hard once the cream is in, or it can split. To freeze, hold the cream back and stir it in when you reheat; it keeps about three months.
• Storing the starter: strain out the garlic, bay and allspice first, then bottle it with its flour sediment and keep it in the fridge for up to two weeks. Do not leave the garlic sitting in it.
• About the nutrition. The figures are the soup and its half egg. The potatoes and sourdough it is served with have no set amount, so they are not counted, and a full bowl with both comes to a good deal more.

Nutrition per serving＋

577 kcalProtein 30.1 gCarbs 16.3 gFat 43.2 gSat fat 14.5 gFibre 1.9 gSugar 5.7 gSodium 1554 mgServing 468 g

Polish Żurek - Sour Rye Soup · https://chefsbinge.com/polish-zurek-sour-rye-soup/

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Variations

• Żurek staropolski The old-Polish version, and the one most people mean. Vegetable stock, smoked kiełbasa and boczek, served with a boiled egg and sourdough bread.
• Żurek w chlebie Served in a hollowed-out round sourdough loaf. Cut the top off, pull out the crumb leaving a good centimetre of wall, and warm the shell in the oven for a few minutes so it does not go soggy the moment the soup goes in.
• With horseradish The most-recommended addition among Polish cooks by a wide margin. A tablespoon of freshly grated horseradish stirred in with the starter gives it a warmth underneath the sourness. Worth trying once even if you leave it out afterwards.
• With dried wild mushrooms A grandmother-era addition. A few dried porcini soaked and added with their soaking water give the soup a deeper, earthier base.
• Zalewajka A thinner country cousin built on water rather than stock, usually with potatoes cooked in the soup itself.
• Żurek and barszcz biały Not the same thing, though they are close relatives. Barszcz biały is made with a wheat starter and comes out milder and paler; żurek is rye and sharper. If you have a taste for sour soups, my barszcz czerwony is the beetroot one.

Storing, Freezing and Reheating

• The soup keeps two to three days in the fridge, and it is genuinely better on day two once the sourness has settled into everything else.
• Reheat gently and do not boil it hard once the cream is in, or it can split. Low heat, stirring, until it is steaming. More on why cream sauces split, and how to stop it.
• Freezing works best without the cream. Dairy can split on thawing, so if you know you are freezing a batch, hold the cream back and stir it in when you reheat. It keeps about three months.
• The starter keeps two weeks in the fridge once the garlic, bay and allspice have been strained out, which matters: whole garlic sitting in a jar for weeks is the one part of this worth being careful about. Strain it, bottle it, keep it cold.
• Leftover starter freezes for up to a year, which is the easy answer if you have made more than you need. Freeze it in the quantity you use so you are not thawing the lot. Because it improves overnight, this is a sensible thing to cook the day before Easter rather than on the morning itself.
• Potatoes and egg go in at serving, not into the storage container. Potatoes turn grainy in the fridge and a boiled egg sitting in hot soup goes rubbery.

🍽 Żurek wants a halved hard-boiled egg in the bowl, diced boiled potatoes either in the soup or alongside, and good rye or sourdough bread to mop it up. For Easter or a proper occasion, serve it in a hollowed-out sourdough loaf. A little grated horseradish on the side lets people sharpen their own. If you are building a Polish table around it, my bigos is the natural thing to follow it with, and my bigos builder will size it for however many are coming.

FAQ for Żurek

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A Few Words from the Chef

Żurek is my favourite Polish soup, no contest. I loved it when other people made it for me, and now I love making it for other people. It is well worth preparing your own ferment starter if you can, that is what really sets it apart. Smacznego!