Hi cantonpixie,
I've had great success using my Thermomix for kneading bread dough! I used to knead by hand, then I got a bread maker and used that, then when I got a Thermomix I started using that for my dough, and I must say it turns out the best of all! If your dough is 'ragged', it could be that you haven't got the right amount of water - it may need a little more so it's nice and smooth. Do you use wheat flour? If so, you can safely knead it for longer - I've seen recipes that knead for up to 5 minutes in the tmx. I usually do 2 to 3 mins with wheat flour. With spelt flour, they say not to over-knead, so I don't go above 2 mins, and it turns out lovely loaves.
(https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-K0QtPcC0--k/TXbwJoolhVI/AAAAAAAABcs/YpJrRKkB8_s/s400/100_4639.jpg)
(My spelt bread - recipe here (http://quirkycooking.blogspot.com/2009/01/challah.html))
With the steamed buns, I was just reading in the new Asian cookbook that there is a certain kind of flour that works best for Chinese steamed buns - it's called Hong Kong flour - and the texture is lighter than if you use regular bread flour. My tip for using reg bread flour for steamed buns is to make sure you rise them a little first, or they will be heavy.
Hope that helps!
Jo :)