How to Make Latvian Crafts

Enjoy Latvian culture by making Latvian art from wherever you are in the world.

Art forms are displayed within the Latvian culture through a variety of crafts. Latvian craft forms include jewelry making, sewing, embroidery, ceramics, woodworking, leather crafts, grain milling, baking traditional breads, weaving, pottery and costume making. Learn about the Latvian culture by making traditional Latvian crafts. If you've never visited the shores of the Baltic Sea in Latvia, you can get a taste of the Latvian life by making Latvia crafts at home using everyday household items.

Things You'll Need

• Large bowl with a lid (the lid doesn't need to fit perfectly)
• 1 cup rye meal
• Starter dough
• 1 cup water
• Spoon
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 cup caraway seeds
• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 1 cup wheat flour
• 4 tablespoons vegetable oil
• Water
• Bowl
• Small piece of flat wood
• Drill
• 1/16 drill bit
• Jump ring
• Silver or gold necklace
• Eggs
• Small items to place under onion skins (leaves, herbs, rice, flowers)
• Onion skins
• String
• Pot

Instructions

Latvian Black Bread

1. Combine rye meal and starter dough in a bowl. Add water and stir with a spoon until the consistency is similar to runny paste. Put the top on the bowl and set it in a warm place for 12 to 24 hours so that it can sour.

2. Add sugar, salt, caraway seeds, dry yeast, flour, and whole meal rye and one-half cup of water to the starter dough in the bowl. Stir the ingredients together with a spoon until stiff dough has formed.

3. Use your hands to knead the dough. Split the dough in half. Form each pile of dough into a loaf shape with your hands. Pour oil onto the palms of both hands and rub the hands over the top of each loaf to smooth the tops.

4. Place the loaves in a warm place until they have risen. Bake the loaves at 400 degrees Fahrenheit for 30 minutes. Turn the loaves into a new position and bake for an additional 30 minutes.

Latvian Amber Jewelry

1. Add enough water to a bowl to cover the amber stone and a small piece of wood. Place the piece of wood in the water and the amber on top of it. Use a three-sixteenths-inch drill bit to make a hole into the stone. Stop drilling when the bit reaches through to the piece of wood underneath the amber.

2. Place a jump ring through hole drilled in the amber stone. Squeeze the jump ring closed using chain-nose pliers.

3. Insert a silver or gold chain necklace through the jump ring to complete the Latvian-style necklace.

Latvian Easter Eggs

1. Moisten the outside of the egg with water. Put small items, such as grass, flowers or herbs, on the egg shells. Wrap a large onion skin around the egg to secure the small items on the surface of the egg. Tie a piece of string around the onion skin to hold it firmly to the egg.

2. Place the eggs with the onion skins around them into a pot of water. Boil the water for at least 15 minutes. Remove the eggs from the pot after the eggs have cooked and the dye from the onion skins has adhered to the egg.

3. Place the eggs in cold water until they have cooled. Unwrap the onion skins gently, rinse and dry the Latvian Easter eggs.

References

• Greetings from Latvia: Silver, gold and other jewelry by Latvian Artists
• Play Riga: Easter Eggs Latvian Style
• Latvia: Ancient Trades

Resources

• Recipe Rascal: the Best Rye Bread