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Topics - cantonpixie

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somebody help!  is there anyone here who has used breadmakers and/or hand kneading to knead their bread doughs prior to having the TM?  or anyone who's familiar with developing gluten in properly kneaded bread dough?

i'm having problems with my bread dough.  and i'm not sure if that's how it's supposed to turn out.

i have 2 questions:

1.  i'm trying to make some simple breads (that i used to make pre-TM days using breadmakers to knead) using the TM kneading functions.  however, the recipes in the EDC called for something like 500g (or upwards) of flour, and 2min at interval speed.  now, if i'm only doing half the amount of flour (say 200-300g), do I knead at 1.5 mins or just 1 min or do i carry on kneading the full 2 mins? how would i know if i under kneaded or over kneaded?  (the same question i have for mixing the flour etc prior to kneading).

2.  the breadmaker i used to use would knead the dough for 20min. and after kneading, the dough would look pretty smooth on the surface.(something like a baby's bum)  plus form a pretty nice "dough window".

today, on the TM my bread dough looked "ragged" on the surface.  I checked the doughs at 1min 30 sec and at 2min and then again at 2min 30s and they looked "ragged" and the "dough window' didnt seem to be forming properly when i took out a bit of dough to stretch it.  not wanting to test my luck any further by kneading any further, i left the doughs to prove.

my question is, is this normal for a TM-kneaded dough?  my dough(s) are  still  proving so i wouldn't know if i failed or not. i'm now wondering if i'll ever be able to make delicious bread dough from the TM!

also, when my consultant demoed a chinese "steamed bun" recipe using the TM to knead and varoma to steam, i recall thinking that the end result was a steamed bun that didn't have a very good texture, and at that point i wasn't able to figure out if that bad texture / mouthfeel was due to insuff kneading of the dough or insuff proving time (chinese steamed buns found in the chinese restaurants typically prove very long, and some of the better restaurants even use a sourdough method when making their steamed buns).

any inputs would be greatly appreciated!



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Introduce Yourself / New & Undecided
« on: March 10, 2011, 08:20:33 am »
hi Everyone!!
I've been lurking around for a month or so now and am finally plucking the courage to say hallo to everyone.  i can't decide if i need a thermomix or not.  will it really pay for itself with the time i'm spending on food prep?

i get the impression that a thermomix only makes sense for from large families - i'm only cooking for DH, myself and DD.  is that too small a family size to be buying something so expensive?!?!

i cook mainly asian stuff - stir-fries, soups, and rice, congee/ porridge, etc.  and i'm wondering if the TM can help me cut down on food prep? many of the TM recipes & food blogs that i'm seeing center on american foods (breads / cakes / pastries). i've yet to find an asian / chinese blog devoted to TM cooking. i used to bake a fair amount of bread and cakes before my DD was diagnosed with wheat intolerance.

also, we are a family with food intolerances (not true allergy) - dairy is out and wheat/gluten is allowed a couple of times a week.  does that limit the use that the TM would have for my family?

i'm really lost here...and would appreciate some advice!

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