Bread / Rolls /Buns

Brioche bread

~ nzthermomixmum
Brioche
Brioche

The last time we ever tried brioche in this kitchen, miss 14 was dismayed to find it required overnight proving. And copious amounts of butter to be slathered over the buns. The result was less than perfect because there were so many elements to get right in making them by hand. So she gave on making them again. Considering the first attempt and the fact that patience is not a virtue  in this kitchen, we were dubious even the thermomix version would be successful. Most recipes we’ve seen require between 6 hours to over night rising usually in two separate sessions.

Just followed the guided recipe for brioche, and here’s the result. The dough was extremely soft and moist so wasn’t sure if it would turn out. But the cooked brioche is impressive, has a lovely soft buttery texture, slightly sweet, smells divine out of the oven.  Had to leave the dough to rise for three hours but it’s worth the wait. Would be lovely Sunday brunch food. Was supposed to leave the loaf for a second rise one hour but wanted it ready for kids afternoon tea so just stuck it in the oven after the first rise. Baked 30 minutes later, the loaf is ready to slice. I suspect the top may have been more smooth and rather than cracked if it had been left to prove for another hour. But we can’t complain, who would have thought we could produce a bread just like the French bakery round the corner  and better still it’s homemade.

 

Steamed buns

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Steamed buns
Steamed buns
Chicken filling

These steamed buns are a great way to use up leftover meat. We had some chicken meat, minced  up in thermomix 3 seconds , speed 4. Then stir fried with some grated carrot,  hoisin sauce, soy sauce, sugar and thickened to a gravy with cornflour and water.  Made the dough in the thermomix in 10 minutes and because the dough doesn’t require proving, we can roll  them straight away.  Everyone enjoys being involved in the process of  making and filling the buns and we compete to see who can make the best looking bun that doesn’t split apart after steaming.  The best are of course mums!

Dough recipe

  • 400 g flour
  • 100 g water
  • 2 tsp dried yeast
  • 100 g milk
  • 70 g sugar
  • 1 Tb oil
  • 2.5 tsp baking powder
  • pinch salt

Directions

  1. Add all dough  ingredients to thermomix.
  2. Mix 6 seconds , speed 6.
  3. Knead 1 minute on dough mode.
  4. Divide into about 30 to 40 pieces. Roll into flat rounds, fill and wrap to close. Place buns into Varoma tray and dish.
  5. Fill thermomix bowl with 1.5 l boiling water.
  6. Place Varoma tray on tmx, steam buns 10 mins, Varoma temp, speed 3.

Gluten free pizza

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Pizza base before baking
Pizza base before baking
Baked gluten free pizza base
Baked gluten free pizza base
Gluten free pizza with toppings
Gluten free pizza with toppings

http://www.quirkycooking.com.au/2011/01/gluten-free-pizza-base/

The dough base is very wet. Was slightly worried it wouldn’t turn out but after 10 minutes at 210C it the base was cooked enough to lay the toppings. The gluten free base  tastes lovely, very light. Made by milling basmati and brown rice, millet, seeds, buckwheat in the thermomix adding arrowroot flour and water and leaving to rest for 20 minutes.  Recipe from Quirky cookbook by Jo Whitton. Also on the website ..link above.

Soft buttery pretzels

~ nzthermomixmum
Pretzels
Pretzels

Amazing pretzels! Made the dough in the thermomix for Sunday brunch in less than five minutes. Recipe from “Festive flavour” only needs yeast, milk, flour, sugar and olive oil.  Recipe uses 550g of flour for this recipe and we made 14 pretzels. The pretzels are dipped into a baking soda and water before being baked. The trick we’ve learnt with the dough is to let the yeast rest in the first mix of milk yeast and sugar for 10 minutes, it starts to froth on the top as it activates. Then add the flour and salt and use dough mode to knead for two minutes. Proving the dough (we just left it in the thermomix bowl) till it doubled in size took less than an hour. So while you have to think in advance when you want to eat, the dough is so easy to make and it’s a great fun activity for the kids to roll the pretzel shapes.  Baking only takes between 8-12 minutes at 200C. Brushed with butter and sea salt after coming out of the oven.

This recipe is also available on the thermomix app, the one with the green thermomix symbol. A lite version is free to download from the App Store.

Gluten free bread (chia and pepita) and brown rice salad

~ nzthermomixmum
Gluten free bread
Gluten free bread
Brown rice salad
Brown rice salad

Off on a school trip tomorrow with Miss 8 to Tiri Tiri matangi, so needed to precook a couple of meals in advance. Following the guided recipes for gluten free bread and rice salad on the thermomix is like having a chef next to you telling you what to do next! Miss 14 has been asking for the gluten free chia and pepita loaf since we last tried it at the Thermomix course a couple of weeks ago and it doesn’t disappoint. It has the texture of vogels bread and toasted it will be even scrummier. Even though it would be easy enough to make up a rice salad without the thermomix, the advantage is that while the rice cooks in the bowl, the vegetables and eggs steam in the Varoma tray. This salad is topped with fresh herbs, tomatoes, olive oil and lemon juice but any light dressing or combination of vegetables could be substituted. We are loving all the whole foods we are now eating and can’t remember the last time I put a packet of biscuits in my shopping trolley. Lasagne also made for tonight’s dinner, bechemal sauce was made yesterday in the thermomix and refrigerated so only had to make the meat sauce today.

Tomato soup and flat bread

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Creamy tomato soup
Creamy tomato soup

Sometimes you just don’t feel like going to the supermarket and Sunday afternoon was one of those days. Looked in the fridge and saw two boxes of tomatoes and thought maybe just soup and bread for dinner. Made pizza dough in the thermomix first. While the dough was proving, used the  guided recipe for creamy tomato soup. Substituted milk for cream and only used 50g instead of 100g. Pizza dough rolled out sprinkled with olive oil, sea salt and oregano and baked for 10 minutes.  The soup and bread meal was loved by the whole family.  Perfect simple vegetarian meal. Then whipped up automatic custard for dessert while we watched a movie. And there was enough leftover for husbands lunchbox.  Happy days !

Pretzels

~ nzthermomixmum
Pretzels hot out of the oven
Pretzels hot out of the oven

Miss 14 was looking through our new thermomix cookbook ‘Festive Flavour’ for a new recipe to try and the pretzel recipe  jumped out. We love the pretzels from the hole in the wall pretzel shop in upper Queen St. Their apple and cinnamon pretzels are super yummy so we’re hoping this recipe measures up. The recipe is simple and dough is prepared in a few minutes and left to prove in warmed thermoserver. Miss 14 shaped into pretzels, dipped into hot water mixed with baking soda before baking for 10 minutes. Half sprinkled with cinnamon sugar. Fab homemade pretzels.

Bread rolls

~ nzthermomixmum
Wholemeal bread
Wholemeal bread

We had a breakthrough with bread today.  Yippee ! This time used a whole sachet of yeast for the basic bread recipe which is the tip we picked up from the Catherine at the thermomix course. And instead of using wheat grains, just substituted wholemeal flour.   I think there’s about three teaspoons of yeast in one sachet and the recipe requires only 2 tsp so there was always a little leftover previously. This time with more yeast, proving was only 30 minutes as per recipe. And the second prove after the buns are shaped  was 20 minutes as per recipe. Miss 14 shaped the buns using tips from course. The kids loved making the hedgehog buns. Buns cooked in 15 minutes at 200c. Above pic is hot out of the oven. Nothing like having the smell of baking bread in the house.

Lunch was rice noodles with chicken and courgettes. Thermomix chicken stock used as a soup base and unfortunately  just used the last spoonful from the jar. It has lasted us almost three months. So will be making more tomorrow. Miss 8 says it’s her favourite soup in the world! What a compliment.

Wholemeal bread rolls

~ nzthermomixmum
image
Wholemeal bread rolls

Thermomix held a course for new owners in Mt Wellington on Tuesday night. Brilliant … Miss 14 and I attended and we came away enthused to try so many more guided recipes from sampling the dishes and drinks there. Can’t wait to make homemade muesli, gluten free bread, lemon and parsley juice, brown rice salad and creamy tomato soup. The peach sorbet served up was ‘wow’ but we are a already  spoilt because we have sorbet/ slushies/ smoothies  use nearly every day with assorted fruits and berries. The inclusion of fresh herbs is definately on the list now that we have a newly planted herb garden and tasted the fab lemon and parsley juice.  One of the consultants demonstrated three methods of plaiting bread rolls using the guided basic bread recipe P218 in the Basic cookbook.  So had to give this one a go.  The rolls are wonderful, used half wholemeal half flour to make the dough. The proving took about an hour rather than the 30 minutes but the worth the wait. The texture was still great the next day for school lunches. And both miss 14 and miss 8 wanted to eat them just plain with butter and pesto.