Karen Wright: Summer festival in Wakefield with baking and plenty of sun

There are events taking place called A Grand Day Out. It is Wakefield’s summer festival on tour!

Every weekend throughout August the tour visits various locations around the district.

You can expect free family fun including giant inflatables, live music and workshops to get involved with.

Check it out on www.experiencewakefield.co.uk

It all kicked off in Wakefield but there are tons of things going on all over the district.

I was in Wakefield on Saturday and boy oh boy was it busy.

I was hosting baking workshops in the Ridings, and it was a buzzing atmosphere inside too.

You might wonder how we could bake in an environment without a single oven.

Well after careful consideration on my part I thought making bread would work well.

As most bread needs time to prove I decided that the participants could prepare the dough with me.

They could give it a first prove in my portable proving draw, aka a large plastic bag to put the basins holding the dough in and a fan heater to blow warm air into the bag!

And then take the dough home and bake it there.

I chose focaccia as the recipe in question.

I held three sessions with six children and an adult to help at each session.

The workshops were free and kindly provided by the Ridings.

They were bookable on Eventbrite

All the children had success and took home a fine-looking foil tray of foccacia to enjoy at home.

It was an interesting process too as we watched the yeast activate in a jug with warm water and a bit of sugar.

We saw the dough double in size as it proved, also the yeast continuing its work in the warmth of the plastic bag.

Plus, we could see that oil and water, or vinegar in this case do not mix.

A fabulous time was had by all.

There are more workshops planned for the first weekend in September, think dinosaurs!