Ten Days ago my friend gave me a ziploc bag filled with some batter along with an instruction sheet. She told me that I was to keep mashing the bag, add some ingredients and then make bread. I told her if she was my true friend she would just make me the bread (just kidding)! My sweet friend told me it would be a great thing to blog about--------now I was on board. My husband and I cared for our batter everyday and yesterday was the BIG day, I made the bread. It was really delicious and now I have my bags of batter ready to go to three very special friends!
So I began writing out the recipe and instructions and then realized this does all of you absolutely no good----you don't have a starter. But lucky for all of you adventurous bakers a quick google search led me to many recipes for the starter. I have not tried this but they all looked the same.
Amish Friendship Bread Starter
It is very important to use plastic or wooden utensils and plastic or glass containers when making this---no metal.
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 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 the dissolved yeast mixture. Cover the mixture loosely with a lid or plastic wrap. The mixture will get bubbly. Consider this Day 1 of the cycle, or the day you receive the starter. I would put this mixture in a ziploc bag so I could continue on with the recipe.
For the next 10 days use the starter according to the instructions.
Allrecipes has another Amish Friendship Bread Starter recipe with tips about freezing the starter.
Here is the recipe and instructions on how to use the starter
Amish Friendship Bread Recipe and Instructions
There are many variations to make Pumpkin Bread, Strawberry Bread, Carrot...........
If you have a favorite or tips about making this bread please leave a comment!
Thanks for stopping by today!
Mmmmmm…we were passed along the friendship bread as well. It’s amazingly delicious!
Ha! This is so funny you wrote about this this morning! We too had a friend give us the batter, and my husband has been caring for it, and baked it last night. It’s sitting here on my desk (my breakfast) as I type…
Funny thing is, I remember doing this as a child…it takes me back.
Oh fun! About this time last year I passed around and got back the starters for about 3 months straight. Now I’m wanting some back…not necessarily enough to begin from scratch, though
We had various Amish Friendship Bread starters throughout my childhood. I remember the fun of feeding it, and the smell of it baking. And then I remember my mom getting more and more tired with doing it over and over again… And then we didn’t have any anymore.
Ok, so how strange is it that I was just talking about this bread with my husband last night and how I could really go for some? I’m going to make my starter today! Thanks!
what a nice thing to do!
I LOVE this! My family and I passed around the Amish Friendship Bread years ago. It’s so much fun. It’s so good with chocolate chips or cinnamon and sugar! It makes me want to whip up some starter! Thanks!
I was passed a starter about 2 years ago and I made several loaves. Eventually I ran out of friends and room for loaves of bread in my freezer. I am excited to know I can make my own starter! Thanks!
I have done this a couple different times in my life. It is so delicious! Nice to know I can start my own starter when I get a craving for them. Thanks for sharing!
I know what I’m gonna be doing tonight!!!
Oh I had this passed to me once. I loved it. I made it so much that I got sick of it and then I never got the starter again. I had hoped someone would pass it to me again some day.
I’m thrilled you gave us the starter info. I’m going to make some up. Thanks!
Hugs,
Joanne
Oh I had this passed to me once. I loved it. I made it so much that I got sick of it and then I never got the starter again. I had hoped someone would pass it to me again some day.
I’m thrilled you gave us the starter info. I’m going to make some up. Thanks!
Hugs,
Joanne
Ooops, forgot have added good post! Waiting for your next post!
i had a starter last week and dropped it and it exploded on the floor the day i was supposed to make it. lucky for me, my sister in law gave me a starter from hers and in two days i will make it! i was on the friendship bread kick last year and it is SO good.
You’ll love this ~
You can freeze your starter.
Yep ~ Toss the bag in the freezer and when your ready to start another round of making and sharing this tastey treat just pull it out and your at DAY 1.
Funny little fact ~ it doesn’t freeze solid, you can still squish the stuff.
Also~ Play with the flavor a bit as in the above link. We’ve added Choc. pudding (I hate that one but kids and DH loved it) my fav is the traditional way with a bit more cinn. added in everywhere and diced apples mixed in last just before baking ~
Oh yum ~ I’m grabbing a bag out of the freezer tonight.
We’ve done this before!!! YUMMY!
Strange that you would write about this today. I was given a starter 9 days ago and wondered if I would like it or not. Now I can hardly wait for tomorrow to get here. thanks so much for the variations, all I had was changing from vanilla pudding to chocolate. I am sure it smells wonderful baking.
Oh this takes me back. I did this almost 10 years ago from a starter that was given to me by a friend. I made mine lemony… it was SO good. I’m definitely going to have to start another round of this! Thanks for a good memory.
I have given you an award!!!
My wife and I usually get this several time throughout the year. Usually from coworkers. It always is delish! Yum Yum!
I used to do this and got so fat off of it because it was so good. I also ran out of friends that wanted it. So, when I divided it up I would put each bag in the freezer for later. I am sure you are not supposed to do that but it worked just fine.
I add fresh raspberries just before baking. Yumm!!!
And she is still your friend? The bread is delicious, but the smell of that batter is enough to knock you over!
I love this!! We made all through the holidays!! Instead of making a loaf I made muffins which turned out great. Just don’t bake for as long. They were eaiser for the kids to take to school or just grab and munch!!!
typed my site wrong!! oh well!!
I’m visiting my mom and she has some she’s going to make into bread tomorrow and I’m going to take a batch of started home with in my luggage – in a couple of ziplock bags
It’s been many moons since I’ve had this delicious bread. Thanks for this post, I’m definitely going to start a batch! And freeze some for later!
Wow, I can remember how good Amish Friendship Bread tastes, just by seeing the picture! I remember how fun it was to receive this when I was younger. Now I want to make some! Thanks for the recipe and the great post!
I’ve made this years ago and have recently gotten started again. It is good bread and have found lots of variations online. However, I never get mine to raise very well. It is usually only a couple inches high and flat on top. What’s wrong?
Try 1 cup dried berries. I also lay out flat on a large cookie sheet- comes out like biuscotti. Freezes great- I often eat right out of the freezer.
I have 4 starters going right now. No one wants them but they always want me to make them. I send them with my husband to work and with my kids to school (for teachers lounge). They all love it. And I don’t mind making it. It is a fun activity to do with my kids.
You can freeze the starter and just begin where you left off on the day you stopped.
I’ve done several ’rounds’ of this. Also, if you only make 2 bags, what is left in the bowl is a ‘double’ recipe, so you can make 4 breads, give them away or freeze them. Then you’ve only got one bag to give and one bag to keep.
My sister in law gave me some starter today along with instructions for passing it along. Okay, here’s what I wonder: the recipe to make up the bread calls for baking powder and baking soda and pudding…. sounds just like a quick bread. If this is a yeast starter, why are those required? Or is the starter just for the flavor? Does anyone know?
Ladies – Help – I totally messed up! I am on my second round of bread and stupidly beat the lumps out of my batter with my mixer (metal blades) before separating the four starters. What happens with metal??? Should I just toss them??
Nevermind – I skipped over to the allrecipes link and read that metal can mess up the yeast and change the pH balance. I’ll just keep my bags and continue on and see how they come out before I give them away…
Metal will only hurt the ph of the starter if it is reactive, like old time utensils tended to be. Cast iron, aluminum, etc are reactive metals. Today’s typical non-reactive stainless steel will do no harm, so chill and enjoy.
As for the yeast of this starter versus the baking powder/baking soda called for: yes, the Amish friendship “bread” is a quick bread. No, the starter doesn’t really help leaven the bread. It is mostly flavor but adds a bit to the leavening, just not enough to rise the bread on its own. The yeast starters used to bake yeast breads without added commercial yeast are a symbiotic marriage of yeast but also bacteria, a marriage most likely absent from Amish starter. The milk gives it some lactobacilli but there is so much else going on with the sugar and such, it really is a completely different picture chemically. It is delicious in its own right but chemically, it is more of a flavor component. Remember too that the flavor variations on a quick bread are inexhaustible. I also have used the starter to make cookies and the absolutely BEST pancakes.
is there a starter that does not require yeast we would like to make our own starter w/out yeast
My sister gave me a starter and I made the bread on Sunday. I omitted the cinnamon and added a package of instant lemon pudding instead of the vanilla. Turned out pretty good, but I would suggest either a lemon icing or a teaspoon of lemon extract before baking.
Your bread came out looking lovely! Nice blog post, thanks!! My sister-in-law just gave me a starter about 2 weeks ago; I made my first 2 loaves and then froze 3 little starters (I don’t have any baking friends living nearby at the moment!).
Krista, who commented on Mar 5, I’m SO glad you said that about the freezing issue – I noticed my 3 little baggies of starter are still very squishy in the freezer, it’s been several days! Crazy!
I changed the recipe a little for the loaves –
instead of 3 eggs I used 2 egg whites and 1 whole egg
instead of 1 cup oil I used 1 cup unsweetened apple sauce
then I also added 1 large box of instant choc pudding
The only problem is that I added WAY too much cinnamon (a lot more than called for!!) and the bread makes my tongue and gums hurt haha!!! So… next time only the recommended amt of cinnamon for me
Becky, could your baking soda be old? I was having a rising issue with cookies and quickbreads recently and bought a new thingy of baking soda and it fixed the problem!
I’ve made so many batches of this that I’ve lost count. My neighbor gave me a starter several weeks ago. My favorite variation thus far is lemon poppy seed. The possibilities are endless once you split the batter. Good to know that the starter can be put in the freezer if you don’t have time to “care” for it.
instead of passing on the starter bags to friends for the amish friendship bread can you freeze it? for how long? and when you take it out of freezer do you start on day 1?
I haven’t made amish friendship bread in years but froze some of the starter…it’s been in my freezer for probably 3 years…is it still ok to use? I took it out, defrosted it and started the 10 day process….today I’m supposed to bake the bread.
I also tried making my own starter but after a few days it got black dots all over it so I threw it away in case it was mold.
I’m really hoping my “3 year old starter from the freezer” is still good because I’ve been craving this bread!
Thanks!