So back in early November, my hubby called and asked me if I wanted a starter for Amish Friendship Bread. I said yes as I remember it back in the day. It was a dense, sweet but not too sweet bread that I enjoyed. What I didn't enjoy was the never ending cycle of starters and baking until we were sick of it.
But now? Now I now of ways to keep, the starters can be frozen. It doesn't have to be overwhelming and never ending any more! And it's sooooo good.
The base recipe is good. We particularly love a cranberry pecan version. I recently made a chocolate version that was to die for.
Amish Friendship Bread
Notes:
· Do NOT use any metal spoons or bowls when mixing (honestly, it’s probably fine nowadays but that’s always been a thing with Friendship Bread.)
· Do NOT refrigerate the starter.
· If air gets into the bag let it out.
· It’s normal for the starter to rise, bubble and ferment.
Baking Schedule:
Day 1: Do nothing. This is the date that you receive the bag of starter or the day that you create your own starter. Squish and mush the bag.
Day 2: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 3: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 4: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 5: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 6: ADD to the bag – 1 cup pf Flour, 1 cup of Sugar and 1 cup of milk. Squish and mush the bag.
Day 7: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 8: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 9: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 10: Baking Day! Mix and divide the starter as follows:
Pout entire contents of the starter bag into a non-metal bowl and add:
o 1.5 cups of flour
o 1.5 cups of sugar
o 1.5 cups of milk
Mis well and measure out 4 separate batches of the starter batter (1 cup each) and place into gallon Ziplock bags. Keep one bag of starter for yourself and give the other 3 to friends, along with copy of these instructions. The batter that remains into large bowl will be used for baking your Amish Friendship Bread.
Notes: Starters can be frozen! Make sure to let the air out. It won’t freeze solid but it’ll keep for a number of months. When you want to use it, take it out to thaw, get the yeast to wake up. The next day either bake with it or start it on day one to create more starters. I’ve been told that lactose free milk works fine but I cannot attest to it personally.
To Prepare the Amish Friendship Bread on Day 10:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. To the remaining batter in the bowl add:
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 tablespoon of cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 1.5 teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups flour
- 1 large (5 oz) box vanilla pudding mix (just the dry mix)
Spray 2 large loaf pans with cooking spray with flower and divide batter evenly between the two pans.
In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup of sugar with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle the top of each loaf with the cinnamon sugar.
Bake in the oven for about 1 hour or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and then remove from pan. If you kept a starter for yourself, you can repeat the bakinf process every 10 days.
To prepare a new batch of starter:
In a small
bowl, combine 1.4 cup of warm water and 1 packet of dry active yeast (2 ¼
teaspoons). Set aside until bubbly, about 5 to 10 minutes.
In a large non
metal bowl mix together 1 cup of ap flour and 1 cup of granulated sugar. Stir
in one cup of milk and the yeast mixture. Cover loosely and leave on the
countertop at room temperature until bubble.
Place starter in a large gallon Ziplock bag. Seal bag and squish and mush until well combined. Let stand at room temperature overnight. The day that you prepare the starter is DAY 1. Proceed with 10-day baking schedule outlined on previous page.
Variations:
Add a ½ cup each of dried fruit and nuts (such as cranberry and pecan)
Substitute
unsweetened coco powder for cinnamon and use a chocolate pudding mix – Can even
add chocolate chips
Change the flavor of pudding mix to try something new! As long as you keep the base recipe the same the pudding flavor, cinnamon can be switched around as well as adding dried fruit or other items. Just be careful of adding to much ‘wet’ type or moisture heavy items as that may affect the outcome of your bread.
Bread can be wrapped and frozen as well up to a few months. It never lasts that long here.
