Panini made in the Thermomix® have been our go-to lunch solution for years. We bake them in batches of 8, freeze half and always have filled rolls ready to go.
The recipe uses 250 g spelt flour (type 1050) combined with 300 g plain wheat flour (type 550). This ratio is what gives the texture: spelt adds bite and stops the panini from falling apart after grilling. Wheat flour provides the elasticity you need when pressing them shut. Pure wheat flour makes them too crumbly, pure spelt too dense. The 250:300 mix hits the right balance.
The Best Panini with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 13 ✓
- 1 cube fresh yeast
- 250 g water
- 30 g olive oil
- 2 tsp salt
- 1 pinch sugar
- 300 g plain flour, type 550
- 250 g spelt flour, type 1050
- 2 tsp dried Italian herbs
- 150 g tomatoes
- 300 g Mozzarella or Gouda, Emmental
- 3 tbsp green pesto e.g. herb, wild garlic or olive pesto
- 100 g salad leaves
- 150 g Parma ham optional
Instructions 0 / 8
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1
Dissolve the yeast.
Place yeast, water, olive oil, salt and sugar into the mixing bowl and heat for 4 minutes / 37°C / speed 1.
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2
Dough.
Add flour and herbs and knead for 3 minutes / kneading mode until a smooth dough forms. Transfer the dough to a bowl and leave to rise, covered, in a warm place for 1 hour.
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3
Kneading.
Knead the dough once more on a lightly floured surface, divide into 8 portions and shape into elongated, flat rolls.
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4
Shaping.
Place on a baking tray lined with baking paper, cover with a damp tea towel and leave to prove for 20 minutes.
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5
Baking.
Preheat the oven to 200°C top and bottom heat. Bake the panini on the middle shelf for approximately 20 minutes until lightly golden. Leave the panini to cool.
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6
Topping.
Wash the tomatoes, remove the stalks and slice. Drain the Mozzarella and slice.
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7
Filling.
Slice the panini open and spread one side with pesto. Top with tomato slices, cheese and salad leaves, add ham if you like, then press together.
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8
Grilling.
Grill in a contact grill at 220°C for 2 to 5 minutes until the desired colour is reached.
Tip: If you do not have pesto to hand, spread one side with olive oil and add fresh garlic and herb salt to taste.
Nutrition per serving
Why kneading mode instead of speed 5
We knead the dough for 3 minutes on kneading mode, not speed 5 or 6. Kneading mode works more slowly and properly develops the gluten. Speed 5 would only mix the dough, not knead it. The gluten needs that slow movement to form long strands. Without this structure, the panini tear when you shape them.
Proving in two stages
The dough proves twice: 1 hour in the bowl, then 20 minutes on the tray. The first stage lets the yeast do its work properly. The second stage means the panini hold their shape after forming and do not collapse straight away. Many recipes skip the second stage. The result is flat, dense rolls instead of airy panini.
A warm spot for the first prove is essential. We place the bowl on the radiator or in the oven at 30°C (bottom heat only, no fan). Below 20°C the dough proves too slowly. Above 40°C the yeast dies.
Bake light, not dark
Panini are baked at 200°C top and bottom heat for 20 minutes until lightly golden, not dark brown. Light means a slightly golden surface that is still soft. If they colour too much they dry out and cannot be properly reheated in the contact grill later. We take them out as soon as the surface turns matt.
Which cheese to use for panini
Mozzarella melts beautifully and creamy but runs out of the panini during grilling. Gouda or Emmental melt more evenly and stay inside. We slice the cheese about 3 mm thick. Thicker and it does not melt through; thinner and it burns at the edges.
Pesto goes on one side of the panini only. Spreading both sides makes the rolls too soft and they go soggy during grilling. One side is enough for flavour.
Contact grill timing
In the contact grill at 220°C, panini take 2 to 5 minutes depending on the filling. Cheese and tomatoes only: 2 minutes is enough. With ham: 3 minutes. With extra vegetables (peppers, courgette): 5 minutes. No longer, or the salad wilts and the cheese burns at the edges.
If you do not have a contact grill, you can warm the panini in a frying pan: 2 minutes per side over medium heat, pressing down with a saucepan lid. This gives similar grill marks but takes a little longer.
Swapping the Italian herbs
Instead of Italian herbs (oregano, basil, thyme), 2 tsp of rosemary alone works well, as does 1 tsp garlic granules combined with 1 tsp oregano. We do not add fresh herbs directly to the dough as they turn brown and bitter during baking.
For a French variation, replace the Italian herbs with herbes de Provence and fill the panini with goat’s cheese, honey and walnuts. For a Mediterranean version, use olive pesto instead of herb pesto and fill with sun-dried tomatoes, rocket and Parmesan.
Freezing and reheating
Unbaked panini dough pieces keep for 3 months in the freezer. We shape them, place them on a tray lined with baking paper, freeze the tray for 2 hours and then pack the frozen pieces into freezer bags. To bake, place straight from the freezer onto the tray, leave to thaw for 30 minutes, then bake as normal (adding 5 minutes to the baking time).
Fully baked panini keep in the fridge for 3 days. We wrap them individually in cling film to prevent them drying out. To reheat: 1 minute in the microwave at 600 W, or 5 minutes at 150°C in the oven.
More Thermomix® baking recipes with yeast:
- Pizza Dough Thermomix®
- Pancakes Thermomix®
How other recipes approach panini
Goes well with: Pesto, tomato sauce and Mozzarella.
Many Thermomix® panini recipes use pure wheat flour type 550 or pizza flour type 00 with semolina for a fine, even crumb. We mix spelt 1050 with wheat 550, which gives more flavour and a lighter, slightly more open crumb with good bite. For olive oil, most recipes use 20 g in the dough, with some also brushing the rolls with a water and oil mixture before baking. Proving times range from 1 hour in a warm place to 2 hours at 23 degrees. Overnight cold proving in the fridge is rarely used. Baking is universally done on a tray at 200 to 220 degrees. A baking stone gives no real advantage here.
