One "Like" from you = one log in the oven
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In unveiling the official Facebook page for Latvia, we want to invite you to join in a special ritual: heating a real Latvian oven using nothing else but your Facebook Likes! Until now, we didn’t know either that the thumbs-up symbol could burn with such an intense flame.
When a sufficient amount of "Likes" has been thrown into the oven, and the necessary temperature has been reached, we will bake loaves of real rye bread using ancient, carefully preserved Latvian recipes.
But wait, there is more! By filling out the questionnaire below and entering your name into a raffle, you might just be the lucky person to win one of 300 loaves of bread baked in the oven heated by the fans of Latvia’s Facebook page. Carefully packaged, appetizing, and aromatic, the bread will be sent to whatever address you provide. And it doesn’t matter if you live in Helsinki, Moscow, New York, or Cairo!
Of course, afterward we will definitely see each other again — though each on our own side of the computer screen. You’ll enjoy the bread delivered by the postman, while we will tell you about Latvia just the way you like it — in an interesting and exciting way.
With warm regards —
If you like Latvia, Latvia likes you.
Many centuries ago, rye — the main ingredient of bread — was considered to be a weed. Wheat and barley were already treated as cultivated plants, but rye was regarded as an aggressive perennial wild grass whose seeds ripen earlier than those of wheat and barley, fall out, and then spring up again. In time, however, northern crop growers understood that stubborn rye had the same qualities as they did themselves: it is modest, durable against bad weather conditions, and able to survive the harsh winter. Therefore, rye bread soon became a real, satiating staple food for people living in the north.
We bake our bread only from natural ingredients, using natural leavening without any flavor or aroma enhancers. Our bread tastes so heavenly that no additives are necessary. The same holds true for preservatives; there is even an expression that nobody has ever seen moldy rye bread. The reason is that the bread always gets eaten immediately after being brought home.
Real Latvian rye bread may not be baked using machinery and industrial equipment. The most significant part of its preparation process is the baker’s craftsmanship and talented handiwork. Each loaf is created with love and respect for the rye bread and the baker’s craft. However, the same may not be said about kneading dough: we believe that this must be done in great anger, because anger will cause dough to rise better, and then the bread will be even tastier.
We could list several dozen of the wonderful qualities possessed by Latvian bread. For example, you most certainly did not know that eating rye bread will not cause any weight problems. But it’s true. Rye bread is also a rich source of cellulose. You know how irritated you get if you haven’t received your daily dose of cellulose… In addition, rye bread can be considered the first chewing gum in the world – though unlike synthetic chewing gums, it positively affects human digestive system and improves the health of your teeth and mouth. Oh yes, guys (and their girlfriends) will especially like this one: rye bread must be eaten in great quantities so that you can…well… hmm…you understand ;)
Never throw out stale rye bread — it may be hard to chew, but the bread can be used to prepare crispy toast, bread crumbs, or a special Latvian desert called rye bread soup.
Larger quantity of bread may be kept in a freezer. Real Latvian bread can be stored in the freezer for as long as six months without losing any of its qualities.
If you accidentally drop a piece of bread, pick it up, blow off the dust, and kiss it. Why? Because if you treat bread with respect and delight, it will give you the best it has — a rich flavor, wonderful aroma, and great nutrition value.
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Latvia’s Facebook team would like to express its enormous gratitude to Latvijas Mobilais Telefons (LMT), the mobile communications leader in Latvia, which has done everything possible to make Latvia’s Facebook page both interesting and fun. Thanks to LMT, we can “Like” all of Latvia’s Facebook fans — that means you, too! — in an innovative and unique way.
Of course, thanks are also in order for the staff at the Latvian Ethnographic Open-Air Museum, who gave us the chance to burn your “Likes” in an authentic Latvian bread-baking oven.
We also send out a warm, hearty thanks to the master bakers at Lāči bakery — talented bakers of real Latvian bread who help to preserve the recipes of our forefathers.