Baking educator Mike Fleming has long helped to shape the future of the baking industry, both here in Australia and internationally. However it was helping to establish a bakery in a self-help organisation called The Helping Hand, and realising the men he was working with had limited knowledge about baking, that proved to be the catalyst for writing his latest book, Baking for Non-Bakers.

Baking Business caught up with Mike to hear all about it.

Can you tell us a bit about Baking for Non-Bakers? Where did the idea for this book come from?

I was asked by the church I attend if I could assist to set up a bakery in a self-help organisation called The Helping Hand . I approached a local equipment supplier for a small mixer and an oven, and we began in the September of 2020. When doing some theory sessions with the few I had it was obvious that they had no background in anything baking.

I set about modifying the content and realised that there will be many others in the community that have the same problem and that is where the idea came from.

You said you were inspired by your work with men doing rehabilitation in a bakery kitchen. Can you share more about this?

The men took to the challenge of learning a skill with a positive outlook and quickly mastered the basic tasks and were keen for more. The kitchen area was not air-conditioned and in the Singapore climate very hot and challenging. They were able to understand the importance of temperature control as they made all the bread for the 130 residents on a daily basis.

I went two-days-a-week and the rest of the time they were on their own. They took pride in what they were doing, and the bakery was a very popular place.

You go right back to the basics in the book, covering ingredients, best practices, and baking practices. Can you share more about this?.

From my education background as an apprentice, shop owner , and teacher the basics are the building blocks for success. The section on Baking Practices is targeted at how to set up or tool up if you are going to bake.

Basic info on equipment, scales, how to use a fan forced convection oven ( most houses will have this). Photos of the Icons and what do they mean – you need to understand them to bake successfully. This section covers elements like temperature and temperature control in process and production.
Topics like Bakers percentage, tin weight calculation and how to measure Specific Gravity for cake batters are all covered and, to me, are a fundamental part of the basic building blocks.

What are your hopes for Baking for Non-Bakers?

That it can be seen as a sound introduction to the essential elements of baking.

Anyone starting out to bake and not having any background, Baking for Non-Bakers will provide you with the groundwork leading to baking products of a consistent standard each time.

It can be used as a textbook as the practical section covers the basic aspects of making bread doughs, laminated doughs, cake batter , shortcrust pastry etc as well as a healthy baking or egg-less and gluten-free baking.

I also hope readers can get the sense of passion that baking can bring.

Cchools in Singapore are using the book in their home economics programs, and content will also be used by a patisserie for training purposes. What, do you think, is the best tip new apprentices can gain from the book?

I have had discussion with the Education Ministry in Singapore and they have given positive feedback to me and will recommend that schools consider using it, both for staff to gain more technical knowledge and for students to understand ingredients, process and procedures necessary to make consistent bakery items.

The content will be the basis of a company’s training program for their staff who do not have any training at the present. The content will be used also by companies to provide baking knowledge for their lab technicians and R& D who, while having a Food Technology degree, may not have a sound grounding in baking.

I am in discussions with a company here in Singapore who have over 20 outlets selling ingredients and conducting baking courses to carry the book and I will do some guest demonstrations in the new year. They also have asked for a short curriculum that can be used for their staff selling to the public and bakers to enable them to understand more about the products they sell.

For young apprentices the book content is a good introduction to baking that covers both science and art with techniques and tips drawn from my years of experience. For a young or old apprentice, they will learn and have concepts they may know enhanced by using the book.

Can you share a bit about yourself and your background?

I have been in the industry since I was 15 years of age. I began as an apprentice pastry cook in Earlwood, Sydney. My passion for baking started there. Since then I’ve travelled the baking  world, working in various capacities in bakeries and hotels from England and Scotland to China and extensively in Southeast Asia.

I began as a Pastry Instructor with TAFE in 1979, before expanding my teaching career to China and eventually Singapore, where I became the founding principal of the Baking Industry Training Centre (BITC) in 1993. In 2021 I published my first book.

These days I provide hands-on consulting services to bakeries in Vietnam, The Philippines, and Singapore, and I live in Singapore with my wife, Linda.

Is there anything else you’d like to add?

I had been active in the industry in Australia up till and beyond my moving to Singapore and still keep in touch thorough the Baking Scholarship started by Craig Perry by showing young apprentices the Singapore bakery scene when they visit.