Karen’s Sourdough Bread Using Thermomix & Air Fryer

Karen’s Sourdough Bread Using Thermomix & Air Fryer

by | Oct 18, 2022 | Air Fryer, All Recipes, Bread, Extras, Recipes, Thermomix, Vegetarian

About this Recipe

By: Karen Mace

I never thought I could make sourdough. It all seemed too hard. Now, I am a fan. I love it and using this method makes it easy and fun. Once you get used to making the basic loaf, you can throw all sorts of things in to make it ‘special’. Just add things at the pressing into a square or rectangle stage.

Ingredients

  • 400g bakers flour (can use all white or a mix of white and wholegrain). I prefer Kialla Organic Stoneground White Flour
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 230mls water
  • 160-200g starter

Tip:
The starter is really important. When I started making sourdough bread I didn’t prepare the starter before using it. Since I have been doing that I’ve noticed a marked (positive) difference in rising and flavour. A friend gave Miriam some of his starter and Miriam gave some to me. The person our friend got it from had kept it going for 25 years, add another two years to that and we have a starter that has been going for 27 years! Before we throw everything into the Thermi, we ‘gee up’ as our friend says, the starter. What that means is you feed the starter and leave it for a couple of hours to bubble and brew until it’s doubled in size. To do this, add equal parts starter, water and flour. The top will be a mass of bubbles and the mix itself will be a stretchy, stingy consistency – perfect! When it’s like this, it’s ready to use. You can also test the starter by dropping a bit into water. If it floats, it’s ready!

Step by Step Instructions

Step 1

Throw all the above into your Thermomix. Set dough mode to 5 mins and let it go.

Step 2

Tip dough out into a very lightly oiled dish (I use a Pyrex one, but it can be any kind), place a piece of plastic wrap or a tea towel over the top and let it rise for three-four hours in a draft-free spot. The warmer it is, the quicker it will rise, but you don’t want it to rise too quickly otherwise it might collapse on itself.

Step 3

When it has doubled in size, tip onto a lightly floured board. I like to use rice flour for this part, but it’s a preference only. Pat out into a square or rectangle, then pull the corners into the middle of the piece of dough. You can place it in a Banneton or you can place it straight into the airfryer baking pan.

 

Step 4

Cover again and place in the refrigerator for 12 – 24 hours. I find that the longer it is in the ‘fridge, the more intense the flavour. 

Step 5

To bake the loaf, if it is already in your baking pan, pop it into preheated airfryer, set to pie mode, cook for 10 mins at 200 degrees, then reduce temp to 180 degrees for 20 mins.  You can bake straight from the ‘fridge, or leave it to come to room temperature before baking. It may need a little less time if you choose the second option. The loaf is ready when you hear a hollow sound when it’s tapped with a knuckle.


Happy baking. Please let us know how you go if you choose to try making your own sourdough bread!

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Beef & Veggie Camp Oven Stew

Beef & Veggie Camp Oven Stew

by | Oct 5, 2022 | All Recipes, Camp Oven, Mains, Recipes

The only camp oven stew recipe you will ever need! Delicious, easy and cooks while you chat around the camp fire. Perfect!

Ingredients:

  • 1 kg diced beef
  • Chopped/cubed veggies (as many as you like/will fit)
  • 3 tbsp. arrowroot flour
  • Oil for browning beef
  • 1 cup red wine (optional)
  • Beef stock/bone broth (liquid or powder)
  • 4 cups water (total including liquid from broth)

Seasoning

  • 2 tsp. turmeric
  • 3 tsp. salt or Herbamere or to taste
  • Cracked pepper to taste
  • Garlic powder to taste
  • Onion powder to taste
  • 2 tsp. curry powder

 

 

  1. Chop the veggies and put them into a bowl for later.
  2. Preheat the camp oven.
  3. Place the beef into a bowl, add 1 Tbsp. arrowroot flour and seasoning (including stock if it’s a powder) and stir to combine. Or place in a large ziplock bag and shake to combine.
  4. Place camp oven on hot coals and heat oil and then brown meat for a couple of minutes, stirring regularly.
  5. Add veggies to the camp oven and stir. Leave on hot coals.
  6. Pour in water (and stock if using liquid) and wine, leave the lid off and let simmer for 30mins. If bubbling too much, remove from the direct coals.
  7. After 30 mins check and top up the water if needed. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed. Cover and leave for a further 30mins. Sometimes we leave it on the coals, other times we set it aside as it’s already hot enough. Each time it’s different.
  8. Remove the camp oven from the heat, stir well and make sure everything is cooked to your liking.
  9. Add remaining arrowroot flour to a cup with a little water to make a slurry.
  10. Add to stew and stir to combine. Let it simmer until thickened.
  11. Optional: add some sour cream to serve
Front Loader or Top Loader Washing Machine for a Caravan?

Front Loader or Top Loader Washing Machine for a Caravan?

by | Oct 3, 2022 | Lifestyle, Miriams Moments, Product Reviews

Which washing machine should you get? A top loader or a front loader? A lot comes into play when making this decision such as space, layout, water consumption and capacity.

SPACE & LAYOUT

In our previous 3 large caravans (all 22.6) we’ve had top loading washing machines and they worked really well for us. At first I was hesitant to change to a front loader, but I’m so glad I did! The top loader did a great job, but it used a lot of water and took up too much space for our liking. We had ours located in the ensuite under the bench. Our washing basket used to sit on top of the bench and our rubbish bin sat on the floor in front of the cupboard door that was hardly ever opened as the washing machine was behind it.

With our current van we went with the NCE wall mounted 3k washer/drier machine and absolutely love it. Because we chose to wall mount, we gained enough space in our ensuite to add a slide out rubbish bin, a large cupboard that holds our dirty clothes basket and a lot of other things plus a smaller drawer. We have nothing on the floor anymore as the rubbish bin is hidden and we gained bench space that we can use for our air fryer and thermomix etc. Sure, we had the same bench space with the top loader but every time we wanted to use the machine, what was on the bench would have to come off.

WATER CONSUMPTION & CAPACITY

We found the top loader would use 50+ litres for a medium wash and 70+ for a full wash. You could do a wash and then stop it before it drained the water and add more clothing, and you could also fill the machine with water from a river or lake etc outside, but generally speaking, it used a lot of water. We could wash all the bedding in 2 loads in the top loader but as yet haven’t tried it in the front loader. I think we could do it over 3-4 loads but we prefer to use laundromats for the big stuff where possible.

The NCE uses less than 9 litres on a quick wash, which is the only cycle we use when off grid. I always do an extra spin cycle as it doesn’t do it very well on the quick wash. I can’t remember how much it uses for a full wash, but it’s not much! We can do 3 (quick) loads of washing and use less than 30 litres of water. To do a similar wash in the top loader we would use almost double the water.

NOISE

People often ask how noisy the wall mounted machine is which is a fair question! It spins quite fast, the van definitely moves and it is a little loud, but it only last for about 2 minutes on the spin cycle and is not an issue at all. If it gets out of balance, it can be quite loud but the machine re-balances itself which is pretty handy! The top loader also used to be very loud and jump around a lot on the spin cycle if there were heavy items like towels or jeans and the machine was imbalanced.

DRIER FUNCTION

As a drier, the NCE is very handy, but doesn’t work like a traditional drier. It’s more of a ‘finisher’ and has a 1kg capacity.  As a test, we tried drying a hoodie straight after being washed and it took 10 hours which was fine as we were plugged into power. Generally, we use it more to finish things off if they don’t quite dry completely, or for small items. It was a Godsend when we were at the Gold Coast Holiday Park for a few weeks visiting family and it rained every day! We would hang the clothes on the Slide n Dry Pegless clothesline under the awning to partly dry and then finish them off in the drier for the remainder of the day or at night. As we were plugged into power, it was simple. Would I suggest a washer drier to everyone? No. I don’t think it is necessary, but it has definitely come in handy for us on a few occasions.

POWER CONSUMPTION

As I mentioned before, this didn’t start out as a comprehensive comparison, it was originally going to be a comparison of water consumption. Because of this I have no idea how much the top loading machines draw. In our last van we had 720w of solar and 400ah in lithium and power was never an issue – and that’s all the current power info I have on the top loader. But I can throw a few stats at you about our front loader from the load that I’ve completed right now. We have to keep in mind that the solar was pumping in and we have 600ah of Enerdrive lithium BTec batteries.  On a quick wash while the water is being pumped in, it draws between 14 and 22 amps. During the washing part of the cycle it draws about 7. This is looking at the common loads so anything else that is drawing power is included (nothing else large was running). At the end of the cycle not even 1% of our battery was depleted. From our very rough calculations we figured out that it uses about 10 amps per hour on average.

After reading this post and watching the video, I hope you have a bit more of an idea on what washing machine will best suit your caravanning experience. No matter what you choose, I’m sure just getting away in the caravan will be enough to make you smile!