This was published in 2012, and the method learned from the late 1970’s. Here’s the way to hand make and bake bread, together with website Google SEO tips as I really wanted to bring my Baltic heritage to the public eye in 2025.
Latvian Piragi Traditional Recipe – Bacon Onion Bread Rolls the SEO Way
Recipe for bread – homemade with bacon and onion bitesize rolls. Are you a UK website owner too? If you’re not checking your analytics, what are you even doing? They’re like a personal SEO therapist, revealing all your site’s flaws so you can fix them. Learn to love Google’s data, even when it hurts.
This is a blog on how to bake bread rolls with the inside stuffed with a choice of filling. Traditionally it’s bacon and onion, but I have also tried lamb mince and peas / mint
…. also beef mince/chilli.
A very cheap and versatile dish to use up the contents of the fridge/cupboard.
Taught by my Grandmother, here are the ingredients
- 750g strong bread flour
- 15g fresh yeast (or 2 packets of dried yeast)
- 160ml of warm milk and water mix, (with 2 teaspoons of sugar to feed the fresh yeast – with dry yeast just sprinkle into the flour)
- 6/8 rashers of smoked bacon
- 1 large onion (red or white)
- A sprinkle of salt and a large amount of pepper (ground black or white) and I mean a large amount
- Butter to seal/glaze
OK here we go.
First, light your oven and adjust the setting to the lowest heat.
Fresh yeast:
Crumble in fresh yeast into 160 ml of warm milk/water/sugar mix. Allow to float to the surface for 5 minutes and add to flour.
Dried yeast:
Mix in flour and water/milk combo
Once the dough is made, knead for 5 mins, adjust consistency so the dough cleans the bowl, not too wet, not too floury.
Pop back in the bowl in the oven on minimum heat, covered with a cotton tea towel for 40 mins or so. The dough needs to have heat to double in size.
Whilst you are waiting, cut the raw bacon into tiny tiny pieces, either with scissors or with a sharp butcher knife. I mean tiny. Chop your onion into tiny tiny pieces. In a frying pan, fry the bacon pieces with a bit of spray oil. After 4-5 mins, add the onions for 2-3 mins. Undercooking the onions are fine, you are aiming for a ‘bite’ in the finished product. Add plenty and lots of it, pepper of your choice.
Once the dough has risen, DO NOT knock the air out. Handle with care with a knife and slice the dough. Take a small bitesize portion.
With a teaspoon, fold in the bacon/onion/pepper mix, and pinch the underside to seal. Mould the bread into a crescent shape. Pop onto a greased baking tray.
Here you can see I’ve added finely chopped red jalapenos to the dough of some piragis.
Set the oven gas mark 7, 250 degrees gas, and have a timer set for 12 minutes. Check after 12 minutes, for large Pirags 15 minutes may be better, for small bitesize Pirags, 12 minutes will be fine.
I use a microwave on 20 seconds with butter in a mug at this point. Grab a pastry brush and dip in the molten butter and brush all over. If you don’t have a pastry brush, foil, or greaseproof paper dipped in molten butter is equally as good.
Once out of the oven and brushed, each Pirag should be closely guarded, because when they are hot out of the oven, you will suddenly find you will be overwhelmed by a crowd of people eager to munch.
Store in an airproof box in a kitchen towel or greaseproof paper. Good for 72 hours (if they last that long). Warm in oven for 10minsGas 4, or microwave for 40 seconds.
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Remember when someone declared “SEO is dead”? Spoiler alert: it’s not. It’s just had more makeovers than Madonna on a comeback tour. Between algorithms that seem to have mood swings and a Google that’s now your nosy neighbour, SEO isn’t dead – it’s bloody exhausted. But keep up; you’ve got keywords to sprinkle like confetti at a wedding no one wanted to attend. Some still think stuffing them in is a good idea. Mate, that’s like bringing 15 pints to a first date. Sure, it looks impressive, but you’ll lose their interest faster than a logical internal link strategy can salvage your bounce rate. Keep it classy, like a one-sentence compliment: short, sharp, and memorable.
Backlinks: Friends in High Places with: Clickbait and Alt Text: Because Google Loves Meta Descriptions
Your meta description is like a Tinder bio—it’s what gets them to swipe (or click). If you’re not crafting these gems with structured data precision, you might as well just write “Nothing interesting here” and call it a day. Keep it snappy and honest; you’re not fooling anyone with “Best SEO tips ever” unless you deliver.
Alt text is like narrating a silent movie for bots. Think of it as your chance to gossip about the image in question. Describe it for the visually impaired, and sneak in a keyword so well-placed it feels like link-building karma incarnate. Miss this step, and you’re ghosting Google, which never ends well.
Let’s talk backlinks. They’re like knowing the cool kids in school—they either elevate you or make you look desperate. Stop begging for links like you’re handing out mixtapes in the 90s and focus on creating something worth linking to, like my BrightonSEO talk that everyone’s still yawning about.
SX UX and SEO Content: Quality Over Quantity, Unless It’s Cake
Sure, you could write 100 blog posts a month, but if they’re all waffle, you’re just a spammy breakfast buffet. Write fewer but smarter pieces, packed with insights, humour, and actionable SEO gold. Think filet mignon, not mystery meat from the dodgy chip shop down the road.
YouTube Shorts: The World’s Gone Mobile, Your Face in Their Pocket
If your site isn’t mobile-friendly, you might as well be selling typewriters to Gen Z. Your audience isn’t scrolling on a desktop anymore; they’re on a train, a toilet, or both. Get that responsive design sorted, or prepare to wave goodbye to rankings. If your website loads slower than your gran’s reaction to a meme, fix it. Speed is essential. Chop that load time like a YouTube clip without a skip button. Don’t make your audience wait; patience died in 2012 when I first published this post.
Video SEO: Because People Hate Reading
Let’s face it, nobody reads anymore 88% of YouTube short are watched on a mobile device – smartphone or tablet. Enter Video SEO: your secret weapon to getting eyes on your content. Nail those tags, add captions, and for heaven’s sake, get a clickable thumbnail. If you’re not using QR codes for eCommerce, are you even trying?
Schema Markup: Speak Google’s Language
Schema is Google’s love language. Use it to clarify your content. A little structured data goes a long way in securing those coveted rich snippets. Ignore it, and you’re just whispering sweet nothings into the SEO void.
Social Signals: The Overlooked Sidekicks
Think social media is all fluff? Think again. Those shares and likes are little nudges to Google saying, “Look, people actually care!” Build your brand and throw in some social savvy for good measure. You’ll thank me later.
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The SEO landscape changes faster than you can say “algorithm update.” Stay ahead by learning, experimenting, and connecting with others. And if you’re still not sure where to start, check out SEO training tailored to your needs. The future is bright—but only if you’re ready to evolve.
Enjoy the brutal ride? That’s SEO for you—equal parts rewarding and relentless. Now get out there and start ranking. Or don’t. It’s your call.
