Polystarch, also known as portion bread or polystarch portion bread, was a kind of self-rising bread that was created when polystarch flour was combined with water, causing a specific chemical process to occur. The Battle of Jakku in 5 ABY, which involved the New Republic and the Galactic Empire, resulted in a starship graveyard being left behind on Jakku. Many of the destroyed ships held polystarch ration packs. Unkar Plutt then used these packs to exert control over the food available at Niima Outpost, where scavengers like Rey exchanged valuable salvaged items for servings of polystarch. Following the Battle of Takodana in 34 ABY, chef Strono Tuggs developed a recipe for the bread that appeared in The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook.
To create polystarch portion bread, one would mix a packet of beige-and-green-tinted polystarch flour with water. This would start a chemical reaction, causing the mixture to expand and solidify into a lumpy, doughy loaf of bread. When combined with veg-meat, polystarch provided the necessary nutrients and could be preserved in a dehydrated state for decades. Unkar Plutt, a Crolute junk boss, called this combination "meat and bread," though it's unlikely the rations tasted like either.
Dehydrated polystarch, used for portion bread, and dehydrated veg-meat were packaged together in some military ration packs, including those used by the Galactic Empire, the Rebel Alliance, and the New Republic. Before the Battle of Jakku occurred in 5 ABY, a New Republic team was created. This team included Norra Wexley, a human starfighter pilot, and Jas Emari, a Zabrak bounty hunter. Emari would consume polystarch and similar rations when her work prevented her from having regular meals. Wexley was captured by stormtroopers on the planet Jakku and was forced to work at a kesium gas rig. Her rations sometimes consisted of a packet of polystarch mixed with water.
Following the battle between the New Republic and the Imperial forces led by Counselor Gallius Rax, the surface of Jakku was covered in wrecked starships from both sides. Among the salvaged supplies were dehydrated polystarch and veg-meat ration packs. Unkar Plutt divided these into portions and used them to control the local food supply at his Concession Stand in Niima Outpost.
Around 9 ABY, Din Djarin, a Mandalorian warrior, journeyed to the desert planet Lafete. He was seeking assistance from fellow Mandalorians, Bo-Katan Kryze and Koska Reeves, in order to rescue his foundling, Grogu. He found them at a diner that offered various baked goods, including haroun bread, ahrisa, space waffles, and polystarch.
Rey, a scavenger living on Jakku, salvaged valuable components from crashed ships to trade with Unkar Plutt for portions that included dehydrated polystarch. Rey's residence was a converted and wrecked All Terrain Armored Transport called Hellhound Two. On one occasion, Rey was about to have portion bread for dinner when strong winds blew open the hatch, covering everything, including her bread, with sand. Because she had no other food, Rey blew off as much sand as possible and ate the sandy loaf. Shortly after, she competed with Sarco Plank, a Melitto scavenger, to salvage the wreckage of a star destroyer known locally as the "Ghost Ship." However, they encountered the still-active security droid K-8Z8. Rey convinced Plank to abandon a fortune in rations to escape the droid. Plank gave her several portions afterward, and they shared a meal of polystarch portion bread. Another salvage job for Plutt was delayed by a large, immobile happabore blocking the way. While Rey ate the bread portion she had been saving, she realized the happabore was sick. She then assisted the creature and completed the salvage job for twenty portions.
In 34 ABY, the First Order sacked the village of Tuanul on Jakku. Before they captured Poe Dameron, a Resistance pilot, he instructed his droid, BB-8, to continue his mission and return to the Resistance with the map to the location of Luke Skywalker, a Jedi Master. Rey had just finished eating veg-meat and polystarch portion bread for dinner when she heard BB-8 calling for help and rescued him from a Teedo individual attempting to capture and sell him. When BB-8 accompanied Rey to the trading post, Plutt offered her sixty portions in exchange for BB-8. Although she was initially tempted by Plutt's offer, Rey refused and only took what she was owed for the salvage she brought to the outpost.
Strono Tuggs, an Artiodac chef, encountered polystarch portion bread on Jakku during his travels. He considered it a "minor culinary miracle" given the limited food and water available on the planet. After the Battle of Takodana in 34 ABY destroyed his workplace, Takodana Castle, he started a mobile restaurant named Tuggs' Grub. In that year, he authored The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook, a cookbook containing recipes he had gathered during his work and travels. He couldn't fully replicate the self-rising process of polystarch outside of Jakku's specific conditions and suggested that the planet's desert heat might be a contributing factor. Nevertheless, he included an approximate recipe in his cookbook, describing it as instant bread.
Polystarch portion bread was initially shown in the 2015 film Star Wars: Episode VII The Force Awakens, which is part of the sequel trilogy. The instant bread effect was achieved practically. Chris Corbould, the special effects supervisor, stated, "You wouldn't believe how long it took to actually perfect that one, that little tiny gag in the film." While the mechanical aspects were simple, the cosmetic details took much longer, resulting in a total design time of about three months. An inflatable bladder shaped like bread was placed at the bottom of a liquid-filled bowl. As the liquid was vacuumed out, the bread mold was inflated. However, the faux bread was jokingly said to have tasted terrible and likely had very little nutritional value.
The bread was first identified as "polystarch" in Star Wars: The Force Awakens: The Visual Dictionary. In 2016, StarWars.com published a recipe by Jenn Fujikawa for "Rey's Portion Bread," inspired by its appearance in the film. However, the resulting bread was solid green due to the inclusion of matcha powder. The complete name, polystarch portion bread, was given in the 2019 cookbook Star Wars: Galaxy's Edge: The Official Black Spire Outpost Cookbook, written by Chelsea Monroe-Cassel and Marc Sumerak. The real-world recipe includes vegetable oil, wheat flour, instant oats, sugar, baking powder, dry seaweed flakes, salt, pepper, cinnamon, and water. After watching the scene in The Force Awakens featuring polystarch portion bread, Cassel designed the out-of-universe recipe to puff out instantly, although she noted that she used a microwave instead of an in-universe space cooker.