One of my son’s friends shared with him a “starter” for Amish Friendship Bread. Amish Friendship Bread is sort of like a chain letter. It gets passed from one friend to another to another. It’s the gift that just keeps on giving.
For those of you who have never heard of Amish Friendship Bread and would like to try it, here is the starter recipe.
Ingredients:
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110°F)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup warm milk (110°F)
Directions:
1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water for about 10 minutes. Stir well.
2. In a 2 quart glass or plastic container, combine 1 cup sifted flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or the flour will get lumpy when you add the milk.
3. Slowly stir in warm milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Poor into a Ziploc bag. The mixture will get bubbly. Consider this Day 1 of the cycle, or the day you receive the starter.
Note: If air gets in the bag, let it out as it is normal for the starter to bubble.
Day 2 – Mush the bag
Day 3 – Mush the bag
Day 4 – Mush the bag
Day 5 – Mush the bag
Day 6 – Open the bag and add 1 cup each of flour, sugar and milk. Close and mush the bag.
Day 7 – Mush the bag
Day 8 – Mush the bag
Day 9 – Mush the bag
Day 10 – Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Divide one cup into 3 bags. Write the date on the bag and give it away to three of your friends along with a copy of the instructions
After removing the 3 cups of batter, combine the remaining cup of Amish Friendship Bread starter with the following ingredients in a large bowl:
2/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 package vanilla INSTANT Pudding
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Using a fork beat by hand until well blended. You can add 1 cup of raisins or 1 cup of nuts (optional).
Grease two loaf pans with butter, and sprinkle with flour.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour. Cool for 10 minutes, then remove from pans. Makes two loaves of Amish Friendship Bread.
Note: The batter can be frozen and prepared at a later date.
The bread is quite good and the recipe has been around for years. i actually remember making it as a young girl.
When my son brought home the Ziploc bag containing the contents of the starter I had no idea what it was. To be honest, it looked gross.
From Amish Starter to:
Finished Amish Friendship Bread
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8 responses so far ↓
Wrote: Sep 15, 2009 at 12:55 pm
Yes, it DOES look gross, worse than your picture suggests, but it does taste good. Never made it, but someone shared a loaf with me.
Wrote: Sep 16, 2009 at 2:12 am
This stuff is wonderful! I make it with a half cup applesauce and half cup oil, and I sprinkle the loaf or cake pan with sugar and cinnamon instead of flour (I also sprinkle some of the cinnamon/sugar mixture on top of the bread batter before I bake it).
My whole family loves this! It turns into more of a cake than a bread. I still have a starter in my freezer because I made so much of it my family got tired of it. Makes a great breakfast if you top it with applesauce too.
Wrote: Sep 16, 2009 at 7:01 am
I received some of this years ago from my sister. The starter came in a jar. It was funky, but that bread was really really good.
The fact that you usually don’t make it without someone sharing the starter with you is the fun part. It’s a lot like Facebook. You can do it yourself, but it’s a lot more fun when friends join in.
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
Wrote: Sep 19, 2009 at 3:34 pm
Vanilla pudding, eh? That’s talking my language!!
Wrote: Oct 14, 2009 at 12:12 pm
MY DAUGHTER HAS BEEN MAKING THIS BUT THIS IS THE FIRST TIME M GOING TO DO IT. I HAVE BEENMUSHING IT FOR MORE THAN 10 DAYS DOES THIS STUFF GO BAD IF YOU HAVE IT FOR MORE THAN 12 OR 14 OR MORE DAYS
Wrote: Oct 14, 2009 at 1:54 pm
Hello Patty, If you have had it unfrozen or unrefrigerated for longer than the process I would disregard the starter and start over making your own starter.
Wrote: Nov 15, 2009 at 5:17 pm
I have been making Friendship bread for the last 2 years. I just got doing all 4 started today. I also have found out since sometimes people do not want starter or you want to keep one on hand that you can freeze them and they work great. I have also been making lemon and poppy by adding lemon extract and lemon pudding in lieu of cinamin and vanilla pudding. I think I am ready to make a new starter as this latch batches didnt rise as it should in baking. But my friends and family love receiving them as gifts.
Wrote: Nov 15, 2009 at 8:05 pm
I have some starter in my freezer that I plan on pulling out to make some cakes for Christmas.