Tuesday, February 28, 2017

T Stands for Bread

Last year, I had promised my friend, Teague, I would have her over and teach her how to bake bread. After a year of dealing with snow, illnesses, heat, work, and other things that prevent people from scheduling an activity,we finally got together last week to bake bread.


I thought it would be the perfect post to use for T Stands for. So, while I was waiting for Teague to arrive, I took pictures of the mise en place for the bread. I even got a shot of my trusty tea cup with cold tea dregs.


Baking bread isn't difficult, but it does take a good 2 1/2 to 3 hours to complete. Most of it is waiting for dough to rise, but there's not enough time to do much of anything except sit around and wait. You really couldn't go for a walk or run an errand. The plan for the day was to visit a bit as we hadn't seen each other since October. Then we'd go for an early lunch and then back to the house to bake bread.

I planned to tell Teague all about the T Stands For and take pictures of our lunch, baking, and having a good time. Except, I was so excited to see Teague and spend time with her, and to show her how to bake bread, which I love to do, I forgot to take pictures along the way.

Teague kindly took pictures when she got home and has allowed me to share them with you. I gave her the recipe for a very basic loaf of white bread. Look at that beautiful loaf. Didn't she do a great job?



Teague's beverage of choice is the soft drink, Moxie. According to Wikipedia, Moxie was invented in the late 1870s right here in Massachusetts. It contained gentian root which supposedly had medicinal properties and the beverage was marketed as a nerve food. The drink isn't sweet. To be honest, I find it gawdawful bitter. It's an aquired taste to be sure.

Because it was kind of an energy drink, the word moxie entered the English language meaning energy and pep. It also means courage and fortitude. (Probably because it takes both to drink the elixer down
d-; ) To say someone has moxie meant they had spirit and spunk.

Teague is also related to the Moxie Boy, John Chamberlin, who was the model for the logo. The Moxie Boy is her first cousin twice removed. He was her grandmother's cousin.


But back to bread. This bread has a really nice crumb and texture. Delicious on its own. Makes great toast, French toast, or slathered with peanut butter.



Drop by hosts, Bleubeard and Elizabeth's blog to find out what the rest of the T Stands For gang are up to. If you want to play, include in your Tuesday post a beverage or container for a beverage. Don't forget to link your blog to Bleubeard and Elizabeth's page.

38 comments:

  1. Wow. I didn't know you were a bread baker. It is a. Wautifulmloaf and I could go for a slice with ham and butter right now. 🤓 I am not a Moxie fan either but I did love your story about it since is part of or New England heritage. My father-in-law used to love moxie and I always think of him when I think of the drink. Happy t day. Hugs erika

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    1. I love to bake bread. It's a sort of hobby. My father's friend, Charlie, used to drink Moxie. We were never allowed when we went to visit. Teague let my try some a few years ago. I'm glad we were never allowed to drink Moxie at Charlie's house.

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  2. Fascinating post, CJ. And the bread looks luscious.

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    1. It's cool to be associated with, even vicariously, with Moxie, a New England tradition.

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  3. Good morning I really enjoyed this post, especially all about the drink-fascinating!
    Happy T day
    Kathy

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  4. Wow, the bread looks so light and delicious! You and Teague must both be amazing to bake such a wonderful loaf together! Thanks for sharing the time that you spent with your friend and wishing you a Happy T Day! J :-)

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    1. This recipe bakes up a nice, fluffy loaf. And Teague and I are amazing :-D

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  5. That bread looks great, glad you were able to enjoy y nice get together. I don't know Moxie, and I think I don't want to! Happy T Day, hugs, Valerie

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    1. We had a great day catching up. If you like not sweet, and maybe a little bitter, you'll love Moxie

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  6. Looks like terrific bread and I am sure it tasted as good as it looked. A fun thing to do together for sure.

    Happy T Day

    Love Chrissie xx

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    1. We've never done anything domestic together like baking so it was a fun change of pace

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  7. The bread looks delicious, my husband makes our bread , I always love the smell in the house on bread days. It sounds like you had a good day with your friend.
    Happy T day.
    Yvonne ss

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    1. Baking bread has to be one of the best smells in the world.

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  8. That does look like tasty bread. My husband is the bread baker at our house. I have trouble getting the dough to rise. Sometimes it works fine, and sometimes it just sits there, and I have no idea what I'm doing that's different lol

    Happy T Tuesday :)

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  9. The wonderful fragrance of freshly baked bread! Nothing better! :D

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    1. Isn't it? when I was a kid, I would be sent to the baker's to buy bread for my grandma. I loved to stand in the bakery and just smell the bread. Heavenly!

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  10. OH YUMMMMMM! Fresh homemade bread!! I used to bake a lot of bread, then decided that I need to stay away from the wheat products as much as possible.........my jeans are much happier now too!

    Seem there are quite a few of us that forgot to pick up the camera this week....LOL!

    Happy T-day

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    1. Oh, good! I'm glad I'm not the only one that forgot to take pictures

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  11. now that is some fine looking bread-great job ladies!! Never heard of that drink- Moxie and don't think it's anything I want to try anytime soon. Happy T day!

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    1. Moxie is a soft drink regional to New England. Even here, not a lot of stores carry it as it has mostly a cult following

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  12. Fascinating info about Moxie, CJ. I guess Teague is obligated to drink it since she's related to the original Moxie boy. The bread looks wonderful. I can almost smell it from here. Ther's nothing like the smell of homemade bread rising, then baking.

    What a nice visit I had with you today ;-)

    Happy T-day! Hugs, Eileen

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    1. Thanks, Eileen, glad you dropped in. Teague drinking Moxie is rather new, well, within the past couple of years. I've known Teauge since we were in Jr. High school. I don't think she drank Moxie back then. At least I don't ever remember seeing her drink the beverage. The link to Moxie came when she was doing some genealogy research, a few years ago, and found her tie to John Chamberlin. I think she tried Moxie to see what it was like and discovered she really like it. No obligation.

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  13. Oh My! The bread looks amazing! I love making bread but then I want to eat all of it while its fresh - not a good idea! I had never heard of Moxie so found the info very interesting! Happy T Day! Chrisx

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    1. I love baking bread and sadly, I love eating it, too.
      :-D

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  14. Well i have heard of moxie before... the word not the drink... good to know where it came from.. Bread baking is a good skill to have.. If the world ever comes to an end i'm knocking on your door for a loaf of bread.. lol Happy happy T day! Hugs! deb

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    1. I'd be happy to bake you a loaf of bread, too

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  15. I feel horrible that it has taken me so long to visit. I'm not a very good host this week.

    Wow, you got some great bread. I think I need to take a few lessons from you. My friend Sally has at least FOUR bread machines, but I've never seen her make bread once. Sure would save on my hands if I could get the machine to knead the dough.

    Thanks for sharing your photos of bread making and your friend's Moxie with us for T this Tuesday. The personal touch you shared made it even more special. What a great way to memorialize family. Yes, it's still Tuesday here.

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    1. No need to apologize, Elizabeth. Happy to see you feeling better.

      I burned out 3 or 4 bread machines because they got so much use. Replacing them was expensive. So switched to using my stand mixer with dough hook attachment to do the kneading. Shaping the loaf is done by hand. And baking in the oven only takes about a half an hour (depending on the recipe)

      Thanks for dropping by

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  16. yummm there is nothing to compare to the smell of bread baking and eating a slice warm from the oven.
    It has been years since I baked "real" bread. Doing it by hand is such satisfying work. We avoided the bread machine craze. Moxie sounds interesting. Happy March

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    1. Fresh, baked bread right out of the oven is one of life's small pleasures.

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  17. That looks like a really tasty loaf. I bet your friend enjoyed making it. I love making bread and love to experiment with different flavours and grains. Just the smell that comes from the oven is worth all the work.
    Happy (belated) T-Day,
    Lisca

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    1. I usually do a combination of white and wheat. I haven't had good luck making 100% whole wheat. Even with the addition of vital wheat gluten, my 100% who wheat loaf bakes up like a brick.

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  18. That bread looks so good! I have never heard of Moxie! Wonderful day you had with your friend!

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    1. It's a really nice recipe. Moxie is regional to New England mostly Maine.

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  19. It must be amazing to be a bread baker. You wrote about Moxiel but I don't know anything about that.Happy belated T Day!
    Love from Brazil!
    Karla

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    1. I love baking bread. The house just smells wonderful and there's nothing like eating a loaf of warm, fresh bread.

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