Our Daily Bread take 2 and is a Thermomix worth the money?

Hello Dear Reader,

Today I am re-posting about the bread I make and also about whether the Thermomix was a good purchase and is it worth the high price tag? To me these two subjects are linked as this is chiefly what I use my Thermomix for. As you know by now I make bread about twice a week, we don't eat a lot of bread but love to know what is in our bread and nothing beats the smell of freshly baked bread in the kitchen. I bought a second hand Thermomix about a year ago now and use it to a make our all of our Bread. Previous to using the Thermomix to knead the dough, I was doing it by hand, nothing wrong with that and at the time I was quite happy with the resulting bread. However since using the Thermomix the bread has been truly amazing, I get a much high loaf and it is lighter in texture. I just love my Thermomix especially for making our bread

Of course I use my Thermomix for so much more than just kneading bread. I have made a "Thermomix label" so you can see what I make and how often I use Thelma the Thermy. To me it has been well and truly worth the money. It is such a strong machine and flies through tough jobs other machines may struggle with. It is easy to clean, easy to use and there are millions of recipes and sites, on the internet, that are at your fingertips. Whenever you think, "Can I do/make that in the Thermomix"  just google it and there is bound to be an answer. As I bought my machine second hand, I didn't get the after sales service, but as I said there is so much support online I haven't missed it.

Bread made with the Thermomix

Hand Kneaded Light Rye Bread. It was good but not as light and high as the bread dough mixed in the Thermomix

Ingredients for basic white bread

Add yeast and brown sugar to the Thermomix bowl

Add tepid water and mix for 2 minutes on speed 2

Let rest for 20 minutes until bubbly and frothy

Add flour, salt and melted butter

Knead for 6 minutes 

Turn dough into a greased bowl

Cover and let rise for 40 to 60 minutes

The dough will double in volume

Turn out onto a floured surface

Stretch and shape into a long rectangle

Roll up, from the short side, into a log shape

Rolling the dough up into a log gives it a better texture

Prepare bread tin by spraying with cooking spray and sprinkling with seed of your choice

Place dough into prepared tin

Brush top of dough with water

Sprinkle on seeds and slash/cut 3 times across the dough, let rise for a second time for about 30 to 40 minutes (more or less depending on how warm or cool it is) until well risen

Put into a preheated oven at 200 C, then immediately turn oven down to 150 C and bake for 30 minutes

Ingredients

1 1/2 Tablespoons instant yeast

1 1/4 Tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 cups tepid water

For white bread = 4 cups bread flour, OR for light Rye Bread = 3 cups bread flour and 1 cup Rye flour

30 grams butter, melted

1 1/4 tablespoons salt

Mixture of seeds/grains to line the bread tin and sprinkle over the top. I use a variety seeds-what ever is in the house such as White Sesame seeds, Black Sesame Seeds, Poppy Seeds, Chia Seeds, Nigella Seeds, Rolled Oates, Flaxseeds, Sunflower seeds, Pepitas ect

Method

Prepare Bread tin by spraying it with cooking spray and sprinkle seeds over the sides and base of tin

In the Thermomix bowl add the yeast, brown sugar and tepid water

Mix on speed 2 for 2 minutes

Let prove for 20 minutes or until nice and bubbly

Add flour, melted butter and salt

Knead for 6 minutes

Turn dough out into a greased bowl

Let prove for 40 minutes or so until doubled in volume

Turn out onto a floured surface and shape into a long rectangle

Roll up, from the short side, to form a log shape. Make sure the "seam" is underneath

Put into the prepared bread tin

Let prove again for 40 minutes or so until it is well risen

Put into preheated oven and immediately turn oven down to 150 C, bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown and the whole house smells wonderful

So, tell me, what is your tried and tested, never fail, bread recipe?

Thanks for reading and have a good day.