There are a number of common questions that get asked when someone purchases a Thermomix, or is starting to experiment with different recipes. These questions come up time and time again on our facebook page, so we thought we would do a blog post with some Q & A as a quick reference. These questions and their answers have been supplied by people just like you. They are TM31 owners who have experiented, gathered ideas and are full of knowledge – so why not use their expertise!!!
As questions or great advice comes up, we will add to this post – so feel free to leave a comment and let us know if there is something that you think others could benefit from.
How do I get a good crust on my bread?
- Spray the dough with cold water before you put it in the oven –Georgia Fennessy
- To get a crusty loaf, I preheat oven to 250 C, place bread in oven, reduce heat to 200 and throw in a 1/2 cup water on the floor of the oven. It creates steam (baguette bakers in French use special steam ovens) resulting in fluffy inside and crusty outside. Preheat the oven at 250 for around 15mins to get the oven really hot then reduce to 200 once the bread goes in. If you have an oven that’s slow to heat up, I’d leave it even longer. – Ebony Hudson
- For a lovely crust, place about six ice blocks in the bottom of the oven (after putting in your loaf) then shut really quickly. You’ll get a steamy oven for a longer period. Stick a wooden spoon in the oven door for the last fifteen minutes to release the steam and crust up your bread. Also, make sure you preheat the oven for at least an hour beforehand. Pizza stones are great to help the crust too – just dust with semolina to avoid sticking – Emma Kealy
- Chia gel (soaked seeds) also help give a good crust. Also turn the bread out of the tin and bake for an extra 5 mins to crisp up the sides. I dont do the water in the oven thing and always have crusty bread –Kristina Murray
Is there an alternative to yeast?
- On the yeast question, my group leader was telling me today she had to do a demo for someone who couldn’t have yeast. I don’t know how much she used, but a combination of lemon juice and baking soda did the trick – Tania Gilles
- There are a number of different kinds of bread that don’t use yeast – try searching for or converting your own recipe: Beer Bread, Irish Soda Bread, Flat Bread – Thermovixens
How do I get my bread to rise?
- Never put your salt on top of yeast but on top of flour as it can stop yeast activating – Carmen Franz
- Another good one for winter is, use a heat pack (like a wheat one) under the dough for the rises. Dont have to worry about those cold kitchens – Kristina Murray
- Try filling your thermoserve with boiling water for a few minutes. Tip the water out and dry, then place your dough inside with the lid on. It will give you a super fast rise – Thermovixens
- Get yourself a silicon breadmat or Thermomat. It makes the dough nice and warm and creates the perfect environment for the yeast– Thermovixens
- Always use warm water as it activates the yeast. If the water is too cool, then the yeast won’t wake up to do its “thang” – Thermovixens
My bread is always too heavy and not fluffy
- Never add extra flour to your hands or to the dough to stop it from sticking. Too much flour on your hands will change the consistency of the bread – Thermovixens
- Try making the Buttermilk Bread Recipe from the Everyday Cookbook – this is a light and fluffy loaf and I think it has the consistency of store bought bread – Thermovixens
Favourite Bread Recipes
- Buttermilk Bread – Everyday cookbook
- Annemarie Davies suggests – Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a day
- Quirky Cooking – Gluten Free Artisan Bread