Fermentation has contributed to good food around the world since ancient times. And it just got easier. The Thermomix® TM6 Fermentation mode lets you make yoghurt and cheese, prove dough or ferment any recipe in a controlled-humidity environment and at a constant and low temperature.
With food placed either directly in the mixing bowl, or in Varoma set above water in the mixing bowl, select a time, choose a temperature and Thermomix® will do the rest for you.
For consistently good results with yeast-raised doughs it’s best to keep it:
• Away from draughts
• At a temperature between 24ºC and 28ºC
• With humidity around 75%
These conditions can be challenging to reach in a normal kitchen; the Fermentation mode takes the guesswork away.
• To ensure holes in Varoma dish remain unobstructed and allow steam to flow, place the butterfly whisk, lying flat, or two small chopsticks (if necessary break a wooden chopstick in half) in the bottom of the dish to lift the lining and dough off the holes.
• Richer doughs made with eggs, sugar and butter or denser doughs made with wholegrain flours particularly benefit from the Fermentation mode as they take more time to rise than plain white doughs. Allow to prove in the Varoma dish until the dough doubles in size.
With the Fermentation mode your Thermomix becomes the perfect yoghurt maker. Place the yogurt mixture directly in the mixing bowl or in individual yoghurt jars in the Varoma dish (see “Good to know” below for settings). Then let Thermomix® ferment for 8-12 hours. Enjoy different yoghurt flavours every day! Try the Plain yoghurt in Varoma.
• Drinking yoghurts: make yoghurt in the mixing bowl and at the end of the fermentation mix for a further 10 sec/speed 4. Pour into bottles and store in the fridge until needed.
• If using raw milk: heat 15 min/90°C/speed 2, then leave to cool to room temperature before starting the recipe.
• Extra thickness: the heating and cooling process described for raw milk can also be used with pasteurised milk to produce a thicker consistency. Or add milk powder for extra thickness.
• Creamy yoghurt: replace 100-200 g milk with single cream.
• When fermenting in Varoma, to protect against oxidation during long fermentations, add the juice of half a squeezed lemon or a level teaspoon of vitamin C (ascorbic acid) to the water in the mixing bowl. Ascorbic acid can usually be purchased in health food stores, pharmacies or online.
• To reach 40-42ºC in the Varoma dish, place 250 g water in mixing bowl and use the Fermentation mode for minimum 1 hour at 70ºC. To reach 26-27ºC in the Varoma dish set the Fermentation mode to 55ºC.
