Wash the cabbages and throw away the outer leaves, and then cut each cabbage in four.

Remove the hard core from each cabbage quarter.

Shred the cabbage (either in a food processor or a with mandoline or finely slicing it with a chef’s knife).

Put the sliced cabbage, peppercorns, and bay leaves (divided up between 2 jars of 1.9 qt/1.8 liters volume) and press the cabbage down. We used a rolling pin to press the cabbage down so it was very compressed and that it would fit in 2 jars.

Dissolve the salt in the water.

Add the sugar to the water.

Pour the water (with the dissolved sugar and salt in it) over the cabbage.

Cover with some breathable material (such as cheesecloth). Don’t close the lid & don't make it airtight!

For 3 days (72 hours), twice a day (once in the morning and once in the evening), uncover the sour cabbage and press down with a wooden spoon to release the gases from the cabbage. If you skip this step, the cabbage will be bitter.

After 3 days (72 hours), you can close the lids and put the sauerkraut (sour cabbage) in the fridge to eat as is or to use it in various recipes.