Amish Friendship Bread Starter & Bread Recipe

I've been thinking about starting a bread starter for a few days. I've done this one several times over the years. It's in my binder of recipes.. a 3-ring binder with sleeves where I keep the recipes that I've gotten from my Mom and Grandmothers, and others that are favorites. Nice to know they're all in one place!

The last one I made was neglected during the move from our apartment to the house we live in now. Hopefully this one will be well cared for! : -)

What you'll need:

1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk

Mix all of the ingredients together in a glass or plastic container. Do not refrigerate. Keep securely covered at room temperature from Day 1 through Day 10.

Day 1: Make (or receive if you are getting a starter from a friend) Starter.
Day 2: Stir and cover - Make sure you DO NOT use a metal utensil to stir it with.
Day 3: Stir
Day 4: Stir
Day 5: Add 1 cup each of flour, sugar and milk.
Day 6: Stir
Day 7: Stir
Day 8: Let stand - do not stir
Day 9: Let stand - do not stir
Day 10: Let the fun begin! Make the Friendship Bread (recipe to follow); do not stir or disturb the starter until making the bread.

Starter can be used to make approximately 4 cups of new starter. On Day 10, you can make 4 batches of Frienship Bread or make one batch of bread and give three 1-cup starters to friends (or 2 and 2, or 3 and 1). :-)

Recipe for Friendship Bread:

Cinnamon
Sugar
1 cup oil
3 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 large box instant vanilla pudding (or any other flavor of your choosing)
1 cup baking raisins (or soak raisins for 5 minutes in hot water and then drain)
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk

Note: There are a lot of repeats on the ingredients list, but some of those are for when you feed your starter after making the bread

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. In a small bowl, make a mixture of cinnamon and sugar. Prepare two loaf pans, one bundt pan, or a 9 x 13 baking dish by greasing the pans and coating with the cinnamon-sugar mixture, reserving some for topping. Set aside.

Combine oil, eggs, 1/2 cup milk and vanilla in a large glass or non-metal bowl, mixing well. Add 2 cups flour, 1 cup sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, pudding and raisins to egg mixture; do not mix.

In a separate medium glass or non-metal bowl, using a wooden spoon, mix together 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Gradually add 1 cup milk, keeping mixture smooth. Add Amish Friendship Bread  Starter from container, mixing in gently with wooden spoon. Add approximately 1 cup of the resulting mixture into the egg/flour/raisin mixture. With a wooden spoon, mix egg/flour/raisin starter mixture together well.

Pour batter into the prepared pans; sprinkle reserved cinnamon-sugar mixture on top. Bake at 325 for approximately 1 hour, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Do not overbake. Allow to cool in pans. This bread freezes well.

Of the remaining new starter mixture, put i cup each into three plastic or glass containers. Keep one starter for yourself and give two starters to friends with the instructions for Amish Friendship Bread Starter (today is Day 1), or make additional batches of the Friendship Bread to keep and eat or freeze, or to give away.

One batch makes 2 loaf pans, one bundt pan, or one 9 x 13 cake pan.

Variations:
Add chopped nuts, dates or chocolate chips to the batter before baking


I am starting my starter tonight. I figure I will be more apt to remember to stir it after I get home from work. Rushing around in the morning, getting the kids ready for school/daycare, isn't the ideal time for me to remember much of anything! I will add photos to this post as it progresses, and after I successfully make it to Day 10 and make the Bread.

Good luck, and enjoy! : -)

~ Thanks for stopping by! ~

Jaime

Day 1: Starter mixed up in a glass container (and a glimpse of my beloved binder)
: -)

Adding the flour, sugar & milk on Day 5

Mixing it up....with a wooden spoon, of course! : -)

Time for it to go back to its corner.