Breads Archives - One Girl and her Thermie

Thermomix Cost Saving: Pizza

2 Comments / Blog, Breads, Vegan & Vegetarian

How do you save money with your Thermomix? There are so many ways that owning a Thermomix can help you save you a little or a lot off your weekly grocery bill that I thought I’d share some of my Top Tips! In this series of blog posts, I will share Thermomix Cost Saving tips, pizza…making homemade in the Thermomix to be exact…

As a family, Fridays are always pizza night. We’ve taken it a step further in our family and made it our weekly “pizza and movie night”, complete with fresh, amazing homemade pizza. In this blog, I’m going to compare the costs between buying a pizza and making your own.

If you ordered take away or went to a restaurant, you could be paying on average £12 just for a Margherita Pizza (other pizzas will cost more). That translates into at least £24 for two people and £48 for a family of 4. The same family of 4 would probably spend at least £24 on the supermarket’s not so freshly made pizzas.

Dominos Cheese and Tomato 13.5″ pizza (Docklands Branch) £16.99

Franco Manco (Canary Wharf) £7.95

Papa Johns (Docklands Branch), large pizza £16.99

Pizza Express Margherita £8.45

Pizza dough only has a few ingredients, most of which are probably already in your store cupboard. As for toppings, let’s start with a simple mozzarella and basil pizza with tomato sauce, otherwise known as Pizza Margherita. Here’s a list of the ingredients and their cost for two medium pizzas.

Ingredients & costs

Flour, bread flour, 500g, 65p
Active dry yeast, 1 packet (8g), 20p
Olive oil, extra virgin, 2 tbsp, 10p
Salt, 1 tsp, less than 1p
Sugar, 1 tsp, 5p
Whole peeled tomatoes, 1 can (400g), £1
Mozzarella cheese, 125g, £1.25
Basil, free from the garden

That’s a rough total of just £3 each versus a potential £12-£24 or £48 spending. Oh, and let’s not forget that the kneading will be done for you in just 2 minutes by the Thermomix. This is just a simple example of how the Thermomix pays for itself.

Now, this is what I call a no-brainer…

Top 10 Bakes during Lockdown

2 Comments / Baking (Sweet), Blog, Breads

Baking has become the nation’s biggest boredom breaker to fill the days of lockdown which has resulted in shortages of flour and yeast all over the country.

Baking is a great way to unwind, pass the time and bring some fun into the household.

So here’s are the top 10 favourites as compiled by BakeryandSnacks.com with my favourite recipe suggestions to use with a Thermomix.

Apple Pie – A truly delicious apple pie is about two things: perfect pastry and a generous filling of sweet, fluffy apples. This recipe delivers on both counts.
Cheesecake – This is a classic New York Baked Cheesecake that turns out perfect every time. It’s actually the most popular recipe on The 4 Blades blog, so when they were developing the ‘Champion Cheesecakes’ section, it was an absolute must-include. This is my all-time favourite recipe and when my Dad tried it, he said I should open a dessert shop, it’s that good.
Rhubard Crumble For a classic spring pudding recipe, make this pretty rhubarb crumble recipe and serve with plenty of custard.
Victoria Sponge The perfect party cake, a Victoria sponge is a traditional bake everyone will love. This recipe from Cookidoo is a good one and from the British Isles on a Plate cookbook.
Cupcakes. I can’t take credit for this recipe, as it’s been converted by my friend Kerry New, who I believe converted it to the Thermomix from Country Women’s Association in Australia (CWAA) a recipe that her grandmother made. Hats off to the original creator of this recipe, it is still single-handedly my favourite vanilla cake recipe and my go-to for birthday cakes and cupcakes. There’s also variations to the recipe which turn this basic recipe into chocolate, coffee, orange or lemon cake. No wonder it is my go-to.
Bread Cooking can be good for the soul and making bread is such a rewarding, therapeutic, tactile thing – you’ll be so proud of yourself when you’ve cracked it. If you have never made bread before, I suggest you try this ‘Quick Bread’ recipe on Cookidoo which uses a Dutch Oven (I use my Le Creuset Cast Iron Casserole) to bake the bread. Do try it.
Chocolate chip cookies A chocolate chip cookie is a drop cookie that originated in the United States and features chocolate chips or chocolate morsels as its distinguishing ingredient. Circa 1938, Ruth Graves Wakefield added chopped up bits from a Nestlé semi-sweet chocolate bar into a cookie.
Lemon Drizzle Cake Everyone needs an easy lemon drizzle cake that is super-quick to bake and perfect to wheel out for office cake days or visiting mothers-in-law.
Savoury Pie The secret it a good pie is the ingredients. This chicken and leek pie is a Cookidoo recipe from the British Isles on a Plate cookbook. I absolutely adore this recipe, as from start to finish the recipe is made in the Thermomix and it’s a great recipe.
Rainbow Coloured Sponge Cake I’d like to take inspiration from Great British Bake-Off winner Candice Brown reveals how to make this show-stopping rainbow cake. Candice Brown’s rainbow cake recipe would be the perfect centrepiece for any charity bake sale, or party. The Great British Bake Off winner has created this showstopping rainbow cake to support children’s charity the Rainbow Trust – who offer support to seriously ill children and their families. And yes, I know this link isn’t to a Thermomix recipe. But if you’ve got this far, you surely would ve able to convert a recipe by now. If not, this is a fabulous time to try.

Bhatura

1 Comment / Breads

A Bhatura is a fluffy, puffed Indian deep fried bread, bhatura is best enjoyed with chole (spiced chickpea curry). Chole Bhature is one of North India’s most popular dish! You often eat it in Punjab and Delhi and it is my go-to vegetarian dish.

People often ask me what is your favorite dish? That’s pretty tough to answer, isn’t it? As a foodie, I like so many things from different cuisines so it’s hard to pick a favorite. But if you ask what is my favorite Indian, vegetarian dish, I have a definite answer – Chole Bhature.

If you ever ask me out for dinner to an Indian, vegetarian restaurant, I will always order this. This dish reminds me of my Dad, as I know it’s one of his favourites; chole bhatura – chickpeas, bhatura with sliced (raw) onions and pickles. I don’t care who is with me or what time of day, I need to complete the dish with the onions and pickles. (Please do not miss these two accompaniments, you can always brush your teeth, pop a mint or chew some gum afterward to freshen your mouth and breath).

Since bhatura is deep-fried, I don’t really make it often at home. More than the calories, I find frying food hasslesome so rarely do and hence why going to a restaurant is preferred. But in the spirit of sharing more of my favourite dishes on this website, then here it. Bhatura, made easy in the Thermomix.

Thanks to Veg Recipes for this Bhatura recipe; I have converted the Bhatura ingredients and method to Thermomix.

Garlic Naan with Spinach, Cheese and Chilli

Chapati

Leave a Comment / Breads, Vegan & Vegetarian

Where do I start? Firstly, I think by naming it. Chapati (alternatively spelled chapatti, chappati, chapathi, or chappathi), also known as roti, safati, shabaati, phulka and (in the Maldives) roshi, is an unleavened flatbread from the Indian Subcontinent and staple in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, East Africa and the Caribbean.

Chapatis are made using a soft dough comprising atta flour, salt and water. Atta is made from hard gehun (Indian wheat). It is more finely ground than most western-style whole wheat flours. Traditionally, roti (and rice) are prepared without salt to provide a bland background to our highly flavoured main or side dishes.

Traditionally, chapati dough is typically prepared with atta, salt and water, kneaded with the knuckles of the handmade into a fist and left to proof for at least 10 or 15 minutes to an hour for the gluten in the dough to develop. This is where as a Thermomix owner, life gets easy. In just one and half minutes, all that needing is done.

Credit: This recipe is from the Indian cookbook produced by India when the they sold TM31. When they lost the distribution license I with the TM5 launched, I bought their stock and now sell them in my shop. The Indian Chef, Shamim Ahmed worked at the Australian High Commission in New Delhi for 24 years as the Head of Mission Cook was instrumental in producing this book. If you are a VIP One Girl Customer, you can also purchase a discounted version on my VIP Shop.

Spiced Hot Cross Buns

Leave a Comment / Baking (Savoury), Breads, Breakfast & Brunch

You know you’re getting old when you catch yourself tutting at the sight of spiced hot cross buns on sale while most of Britain is still ploughing through Christmas cake. I can’t blame people for buying them – spiced, fruited breads are delicious at any time of year – but equally, I do regret the spreading of their brief season.

My style is to hold out until Good Friday, and then cram as many as possible into my diet until they disappear from the shelves (or, at least, from the promotional hotspots and back into the muffin and tea bread aisle).

This year and the past few years of course, of course, I’ve never had to purchase them as I’ve managed to scour the net and for testing purposes only and in the pursuit of perfection, found my perfect blend. We recipe tested this particular spiced hot cross buns at an Easter Workshop for my friend’s membership club, The Girly Gang, two years ago and the recipe was a hit for all guests.

Milk Bread

Bread rolls

Leave a Comment / Baking (Savoury), Breads

This was the original bread recipe, we used to do in the Thermomix TM31 days. It’s one of my favourite quick bread roll recipes as I think the addition of the olive oil, just makes the bread taste, oh so good.

Making bread in the Thermomix is so easy to do with the knead function of the Thermomix and it opens the possibility of so much more. All speciality bread doughs, pasta dough, pastry, shortbread, scones, dumplings, gnocchi can be done using this amazing knead function. Nothing tastes better than homemade bread, with its full flavours, freshness and the satisfaction you get in the making. You’ll never find a loaf that compares to the one you take from the oven. Master the art of baking fresh bread with your Thermomix.

This can make 1 x 700g loaf or 12 bread rolls.

Hummingbird Bakery Banana Bread

4 Comments / Baking (Sweet), Breads, Eggs, Snacks

Whilst I adore and have most Thermomix recipe books, there are some recipes such as the Hummingbird Banana Bread one that I come back to time after time. I love it. What I love more is my Thermomix version. Instead of multiple steps, it’s one step. So even though it’s easy peasy, I thought I would blog this as sometimes I realise not everyone has the confidence to be converting recipes for their Thermomix.