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    Home » Food » Breakfast Recipes

    Bake with Friends: Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe

    October 5, 2013 by Jenn 20 Comments

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    When I was a kid, my mom used to do a ton of cooking. She was always swapping recipes for unusual things with the ladies at her church, but of all those recipes she tried at home, one stands out...it was this super awesome Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe that the ladies in the church made for what seems like years.

    I was thinking about baking some bread but was getting a little tired of banana bread. That's my favorite but you can only eat so much, ya know? I started looking up recipes online and found a recipe on AllRecipes.com for the actual starter. You see, Amish Friendship bread isn't just something that you can whip up and enjoy on the same day. It takes ten freaking days to make - and you have to know someone who has a starter already going, or make yours completely from scratch. After I found the Amish Friendship Bread starter recipe on AllRecipes, that's just what I did!

    Now, when you get an Amish Friendship Bread Starter from someone, your final product always tastes a little different. They say that the older the starter is, the better the Amish Friendship bread tastes. I liked my bread once it was made, and my mom said it tasted really good, but that it did taste different then she remembered.

    Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe

    Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe

    1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
    ¼ cup warm water
    3 cups flour, divided into 3 cups
    3 cups white sugar, divided into 3 cups
    3 cups milk, divided into 3 cups

    In a small bowl, dissolve your packet of yeast in warm water. Let it stand 10 minutes - it's supposed to get a little bubbly. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup of the flour and 1 cup of the sugar. Mix it up really thoroughly or your flour will get all lumpy when you add the cold milk. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk into your dissolved yeast mixture. Cover it loosely and let stand until bubbly. This if the first day of the 10 day cycle. Leave it loosely covered at room temperature.

    Note: I used a big glass bowl and left it sitting on the kitchen counter. After reading lots of recipes, I actually found that it's best to keep it in a warmer location and to use a plastic bowl because it absorbs more heat that way. I keep my house at 74 degrees, so our kitchen is never actually warm. When I make it again, I'll likely put the starter in a gallon sized Ziploc bag and leave it near a window. I read in a few places that it yields better results that way. 

    On days 2 through 4; stir your starter with a spoon. On day 5; add another cup of flour, sugar and milk. Stir well and then let sit again, loosely covered. On days 6 through 9, you only stir it.

    Note: DO NOT use aluminum when stirring your Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe. The metal will react and ruin your starter! I used a stainless steel spoon, but you can also use a wooden or plastic spoon. 

    On day 10; add in another cup of flour, sugar and milk. Stir well and then remove one cup to make your first bread, and separate three additional cups to give to friends with a copy of the recipe. This is where the "friendship" part of the recipe comes into play! It's meant t be shared, to passed around, and to be kept going between friends!

    Store the remaining cup of Amish Friendship Bread starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the 10 day process over again (beginning with step 2).

    Note: You can also freeze this extra cup of starter and begin with day one of the process whenever you want to start making another loaf! 

    amish friendship bread starter recipe

    Now that your starter is ready to be turned into an actual Amish Friendship Bread, it's time to bake!

    Amish Friendship Bread Recipe

    Amish Friendship Bread Recipe with starter
    Print

    Bake with Friends: Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe

    Course Breakfast
    Author Jenn Quillen

    Ingredients

    • 1 cup of your Amish Friendship Bread Starter
    • 3 eggs
    • 1 cup oil
    • ½ cup milk
    • 1 cup sugar
    • ½ teaspoon vanilla
    • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
    • 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ½ teaspoon baking soda
    • 2 cups of flour
    • 1 5.5 ounce box of vanilla instant pudding

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 325° F  and grease two loaf pans and dust them with sugar.
    2. Mix all of your ingredients until thoroughly combined. I used my Kitchenaid mixer, on low speed for about two minutes. The batter will be really thick!
    3. Pour into your greased and sugared loaf pans and bake for one hour. Cool your bread in the pan for about half an hour before trying to remove, and slide the blade of a butter knife around all edges to help it come loose.

    You can also put into the fridge to help it cool down faster! That's what I always do so that my loafs don't crumble too much when I slice them.

    Amish Friendship Bread Recipe with starter

     

    I ended up with five cups of starter on day ten. I was a little worried because most of the recipes I saw said that you would only have four cups. I finally found one article that said that when you are starting the Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe totally from scratch like I did, that it tends to yield more. You can also end up with less or more batter depending on the activity of your yeast!

     

    Recipes adapted from AllRecipes.com and my mom's advice. 

    More Breakfast Recipes

    • Blueberry Lemon Muffins Recipe
    • Puff Pastry Christmas Tree Recipe Tutorial
    • Cranberry Brie Cheese Bread Recipe
    • Paleo Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins Recipe 
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    About Jenn

    Jenn, AKA "The Rebel Chick," is a single woman who strives to help her readers live their best lives possible. Whether it be through sharing new recipes, sharing her dating stories, or encouraging people to embrace adventure and travel, she aims to inspire people to live full, happy and authentic lives.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Anne - Mommy Has to Work

      October 05, 2013 at 10:44 am

      What a neat idea! I should try this with my neighbors.

      Reply
    2. Stefanie

      October 05, 2013 at 8:33 pm

      I remember my mom making this as a kid.

      Reply
    3. Robin Gagnon {Mom Foodie}

      October 05, 2013 at 9:14 pm

      The starter makes me think of sourdough, but the actual bread looks like it would be more like a quick bread. I might have to give this a try.

      Reply
      • Jennifer Quillen

        October 06, 2013 at 10:04 am

        It is a sourdough bread! 🙂

        Reply
    4. Angela

      October 05, 2013 at 9:20 pm

      I haven't baked friendship bread in forever. It is such a fun tradition.

      Reply
    5. courtney

      October 05, 2013 at 9:23 pm

      I need to make a starter - I've never had amish bread!

      Reply
    6. Tiff

      October 05, 2013 at 10:57 pm

      I did this with a bunch of friends when hubs and I were first married. It was really fun and the bread was delish.

      Reply
    7. Theresa

      October 05, 2013 at 11:22 pm

      This would be such a fun thing to do!

      Reply
    8. Rachel

      October 06, 2013 at 12:46 am

      I TOTALLY remember my mom and all of our Church Ladies being on a kick making this for awhile when I was a kid!

      Reply
    9. Lolo

      October 06, 2013 at 1:18 am

      I have never had amish friendship bread. That looks great!

      Reply
    10. Shell Feis

      October 06, 2013 at 2:15 am

      10 days?! That's crazy! It does look delicious though.

      Reply
    11. Ty

      October 06, 2013 at 2:38 am

      I've never baked bread before but that friendship bread looks, um, amazing!

      Reply
    12. Tricia

      October 06, 2013 at 2:42 am

      that looks and sounds amazing I never tried baking bread before

      Reply
    13. Leilani

      October 06, 2013 at 8:59 am

      Banana bread is my favorite, too! I've never heard of Amish Friendship Bread before. That's crazy that it takes 10 days to make!

      Reply
    14. Angela

      October 06, 2013 at 10:28 pm

      I used to make sourdough bread, but have always wanted to try this one.

      Reply
    15. Kathleen

      October 07, 2013 at 12:04 am

      My mom used to use one of these recipes when I was growing up. It was so good!

      Reply
    16. Paula

      October 07, 2013 at 10:30 am

      I've never had Amish Friendship Bread but this sounds like a fun thing to do with my mom's group!

      Reply
      • Jennifer Quillen

        October 07, 2013 at 11:02 am

        It's really fun to make! I omitted all of the optional add-ins because Angeline is a picky eater, but I am going to make it again in a few weeks with lots of fruits and nuts in it! 🙂

        Reply
        • Paula

          October 07, 2013 at 11:04 am

          I'm a picky eater and would leave all those things out as well!

          Reply
    17. Crystal

      October 07, 2013 at 8:52 pm

      It looks delicious. I've never had Amish Friendship bread before.

      Reply

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    Hi, I'm Jennifer! I'm a Miami native and I love sharing easy dinner recipes, baking recipes, travel ideas and general Miami Lifestyle fun! Follow along for inspiration on how to make the most our of life!

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