On November 20, 1941, in Leningrad, for the fifth time since the beginning of the blockade, the daily ration of bread was reduced. Now the minimum ration was the same "one hundred and twenty-five grams of blockade …" from Olga Berggolts's "Leningrad poem". Not only did the size of the piece of bread change, but also its
ingredients, which were developed by the laboratory of the 1st City Trust for Bakery. In their recipes for blockade bread, Leningrad bakers proceeded from the “products” that were available.
Rye and wheat flour was replaced with barley and soy flour, cotton and sunflower cake, bran, husk, and flour dust were added. Later, non-food raw materials were used: flour from grass, birch branches and sawdust. At the beginning of 1942, hydrocellulose, created at the Research Institute of the Hydrolysis Industry, was introduced into the bread recipe. Having no nutritional value, it only added bulk to the bread. Another problem was the lack of vegetable oil for baking. Forms were lubricated with special
mixtures based on oil, water and industrial waste. When there was no vegetable oil, aviation and turbine oil was used … Of course, it was not bread at all, but it was he who became the "sacred gift" for the besieged Leningrad, and it was "a grave sin to at least throw a crumb on the ground."
Music teacher Nina Mikhailovna Nikitina and her children Misha and Natasha share a blockade ration.