Clive Mellum, a master baker for more than 47 years, has seen his first book published.
My life with baking, 50 years on is, in Mellum’s own words, “a guide to the techniques and processes of fermentation, how yeasts of all types work, when to add fats etc. And it’s about my life in baking, the baking industry, the answers and solutions to the questions, problems and issues I have encountered in my baking career.”
Mellum, who has taught hundreds of professional and amateur bakers, joined the baking industry at the age of 11. In 1966 he was taken on as an apprentice, and went on to own and run his own bakery – he often made the bread at night and delivered it door-to-door the next morning.
Having gone on to represent the flour milling industry, Mellum also ran workshops for up-and-coming bakeries, as well as people who wanted to learn how to make bread “the proper way”. He has taught people ranging in age from four to 85, worked in schools and with young people, and has even taught baking to chefs at Buckingham Palace.
Having been taught the art of fermentation only to experience its decline, Mellum worked with the independent milling industry to resurrect this. He now works as an independent bread consultant, and campaigns for real bread.
Mellum said: "This book has been 15 years in the making, and I have many people who have attended my workshops to thank for it coming to fruition.”
The book costs £12.50, from Else Family Butchers in Stalbridge, Dorset, flankopress.com or Amazon. It will be available in Kindle format on Amazon later this year.
No comments yet