Lieba (Russian-Style Bread)

Lieba is a large round Russian-style bread, often weighing several jin, with a thick hard crust and a soft, lightly sour crumb, leavened with a hops-fed starter and carrying a distinct wheat fragrance and faint tang.

"Lieba" comes from the Russian word for bread, brought to Harbin with the building of the Chinese Eastern Railway and the influx of émigrés; bakeries such as Qiulin's turned out large lieba leavened with a traditional hops starter, which became a western staple locals embraced and wove into everyday Harbin life.

Lieba is usually sliced, the hard crust broken open first, and eaten most authentically with red sausage, butter or jam, a traditional Harbin pairing for breakfast or afternoon tea.

The thick hard crust, the faint tang of the hops starter and the loaf's sheer size, often several jin, set lieba apart from ordinary bread.