Thermo Chef Bread Quandries

[EmeraldSue]

Don't get me wrong, I love my Thermo Chef. i have successfully made pesto, custards, cream puffs, pavlova, shortbread and lots of other things. I'm struggling with bread....
The recipe book that came with my machine did not include a recipe for bread or give any guidelines as to how much flour can be mixed in a dough with out overloading the motor.
I'm not experienced with bread making as I don't seem to have the muscles required to knead it by hand. All my other attempts have resulted in a yeasty taste and a heavy texture. I would love to be able to bake bread that tastes yummy and is easy to make.
Yesterday, I followed the recipe for Mauricettes (soft bread) rolls from journalofafrenchfoodie.com (This is my first attempt of inserting a hyperlink so I hope it worked!). My Thermo Chef seemed to just cope with mixing the dough. The rolls rose beautifully and looked great.  The kids loved them, but i thought that the were a bit heavy. Next time, i will give them a second rise. Here is a photo of the finished product:

Today, I attempted Isi's easy Portuguese rolls from this forum. I followed the recipe, but I could hear that my machine was struggling. It stopped mixing and the error message for an overloaded motor came up. I split the dough in half and cautiously mixed each half. I still felt that my machine was struggling and didn't like the smell that emanated. The only modification to the recipe was that I added 2 tablespoons of Chia gel to the recipe and had to add a little more flour as the dough was really sticky. The resulting rolls were delicious, and I would like to try them again. However, I don't want to ruin my fabulous machine.
The manual states that the maximum time for kneading is 2 minutes, followed by a rest of 1 minute, up to a maximum of 5 cycles and then the machine should be rested for 1 hour. I found that Isi's rolls could only be mixed 30 seconds for each cycle, before the machine started to strain.

Has anyone else with a Thermo Chef successfully mixed bread?

The link wasn't working  so I changed it for you ES

[faffa_70]

There are a few threads around and I know that Chookie has kindly adapted one for the TC - will see if I can find them for you and link them up 

[EmeraldSue]

Thanks, that would be really helpful.

I've also edited my original post so that the photo now appears. I think my original photo was too large!

[achookwoman]

ES, someone posted that there was a bread recipe in the Hong Kong TC recipe book, using 420g. Of flour.

[EmeraldSue]

I've adjusted the proportions for the soft bread rolls for my Thermo Chef.
I used 425g of flour, I pkt of instant yeast, 3/4cup of water, 1 egg, 1/2 teaspn of salt, 1/2 teaspn of sugar & 3 tablespoons of chia gel. I kneaded for 1 1/2 minutes, rested for 1 minute, and kneaded for another minute.  I also gave them a second rise.
I didn't have any problems this time. The kids and their friends demolished the lot - all I got was one lousy bite.  I'll just have to try them again...

I haven,t had a chance to try Isi's rolls again, but I'll let you know how I got on when I find some time.

[achookwoman]

Emerald Sue,  you are well on the way now.  Congratulations.  How many grams in the yeast,?  2 teaspoons should be enough.

[nola276]

Hi Emerald Sue, I'm sorry I didn't see your post before this.  I had problems mastering bread too.  You see I am not a good cook and couldn't cook bread for nuts.  I always had tough bread and when I used my bread make, I always ended up withyeasty tasting bread.  The TC is not really great with bread, but it can be done and I certainly find it is nicer than breadmaker bread.  Here's how I do it.

Firstly, use this recipe.  It makes the very best bread buns and would I am sure make a really nice loaf by adjusting the cooking times.

I followed Judy Dawn's tips and put warm, tepid water into my jug (don't use the 37c setting on the TC as it get's too hot.  If you wish to use 37c, only do it for about 20 or 30 seconds) along with the sugar and the yeast.  Mix them on speed 1 for about 10 seconds then let them rest for about 10 minutes so that the water get's nice and bubbly.

Then add the rest of the ingredients and stir the lot together for about 30 seconds on speed 1, just to get it all combined nicely.  Then take 1/2 the dough out of the machine and mix the remaining dough for 2 x 2 minute kneads with 1 minute rest in between.  When done, put into a bowl and throw the remaining dough into the jug.  Repeat the 2 x 2 minute kneads.  When finished, put the dough into the bowl with the first lot.

Cover your bowl with gladwrap and put into a nice warm room.  I usually turn my oven onto 50c and put my dough in there to rise.  If you use a teatowel to cover it, spray it with water several times during the rise to keep the dough moist so that it doesn't form a hard crust.  When the dough has doubled, remove it and divide it into 6 equal sized pieces.  Form them into rolls and put them onto a floured tray or a silicon mat.  Don't cover them (see my post here) Spray them with water and put them back into the 50c oven to rise again, this time by about 1/2 to 2/3rds.  Spray them about every 5 or 6 minutes to stop the crust forming.

When they have reached the right size, remove them from the oven and heat it to cooking temperature, then pop them back to cook for about 15 minutes - I find 20 minutes is too long.  I also have to turn my tray after about 7 minutes as the back of my oven is hotter than the front.  They really are lovely rolls.

[EmeraldSue]

Thanks Nola for your tips. I'll use the recipe you,ve suggested, and follow your tips. I should be home tomorrow, so I can give it a try. I've just made butter (but I broke my butterfly  ), so it would be lovely to have some nice fresh rolls to go with it.

[nola276]

Been there, done that.  New Wave sent me another free of charge

[achookwoman]

Nola,  well put together.  The spraying with water is so important.  Not many realise this.Good luck Emerald Sue.

[EmeraldSue]

Nola, thanks for your tips . I made a batch of the bread rolls for lunch today. It was so much easier dividing the dough into 2 batches. I sprayed them with water ( I had to re-purpose the cat deterrent spray bottle by tipping out the vinegar water). I also put a baking tray of water in the bottom of the oven while the rolls were cooking.
They were delicious Nd I even managed to get one for myself today. I topped it with cream cheese, slivers of onion, smoked salmon and lettuce.
I will make them again, but I'm out of bread flour. I've got some spelt flour to play with next.
I spoke to a lady at New WVe today . She is going to replace my butterfly. She said that they Are bringing out a new cookbook that has some bread recipes in it. I can't wait.

[nola276]

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