Rye bread (Rudzu maize) is included in the Latvian Cultural Canon, which is a collection of the most outstanding and remarkable works of art and cultural values and reflects the nation's most significant cultural achievements of all time. Its properties are legendary and in some quarters it is even credited with being responsible for the fact that Latvians are among the world's tallest people.
In 2014, the European Commission entered rye bread in its the Register of Guaranteed Traditional Specialties.
The new "Rye Road" culinary route will bring together bakers, rye growers, restaurants and others who will welcome visitors and show the transformation of rye grain into both rye bread and imaginative restaurant dishes.
Master classes will teach visitors how to make and bake black bread, bread soup, bread desserts and more. The Rye Road initiative has been created by rural entrepreneurs who bake rye bread according to traditional or family-owned recipes.
Included in the itinerary is "Berzini" farmstead in Jurkalne parish, the farmhouse "Caunite" in Ozolnieki parish, Āraiši windmill, the farm "Buliņi" in Drusti parish and farm "Klajumi" in Kaplava parish. All the farms are open to visitors, show how bread is made and invite visitors to get hands on with the dough.
More information about the “Rye Road” is available from the Latvian country tourism association Lauku Ceļotajs.
