CHILDREN from Wharton Church of England Primary School were treated to a bread-making masterclass by regional family baker Roberts Bakery.

Sporting their special Roberts Bakery aprons and mop caps, the 60-strong group of nine and 10-year-olds from Year 5 were shown how to make the perfect loaf of bread by expert baker Paul Graves from Roberts.

Paul, who has worked for Roberts Bakery for 33 years, guided the enthusiastic pupils through the process of mixing, kneading and shaping the dough to create a tasty loaf.

Paul visited the school over three days to teach the children.

He said: “It was fantastic to spend time engaging with so many local children. I really enjoyed showing them that it’s easy and fun to make a loaf of bread from just a few in ingredients. Some children don’t get the chance to bake at home, so this visit has given them new baking skills and the confidence to have a go themselves.”

The visit from Northwich-based Roberts Bakery inspired class teachers Sam Davies and Gill Rigby to develop a project all about bread as part of their curriculum. Children designed a loaf of bread, tasted and compared shop-bought loaves and charted their results.

Mr Davies said: “This was a superb visit and the children were really excited to meet Paul and learn his baking techniques. It was a great experience for them to make a loaf that looked and smelled so delicious and to learn about how a successful local manufacturing business works. It was terrific to integrate this into the curriculum and the children have built on their skills in Maths, English and Design Technology to name just a few subjects.”

Paul also shared the history of Roberts Bakery, which is 130 years old this year, and explained where the ingredients in bread come from, how bread is manufactured on a large scale and how it reaches supermarket shelves.