11/3/13

Amish Friendship Bread

Hey everyone!  Have any of you ever made Amish Friendship Bread?  Has a "friend" ever offered you "The Starter," but maybe you thought it was too much work?  Well, I'm here to tell you, it is not difficult and makes a wonderful bread with tons of variations.  I have "starter" that a neighbor in our previous home-town passed on to me over five years ago.  Over the years, I have probably passed on "starter" to at least fifty people.  I just love that concept, don't you?  Anyway, I have been a busy "baking bee" the last couple of weeks, using Friendship Bread starter that I had frozen -- yes, you can freeze it so you are not constantly baking bread if you don't want to do that!  It is so much fun to get the starter from a friend, but I realize that is not always possible; so HERE is a link to a recipe for the starter itself.

Don't these look scrumptious? 


Here is the recipe

Important Notes:
DO NOT use any type of metal spoon or bowl for mixing as this somehow can have a negative reaction and can affect how the starter processes.
DO NOT refrigerate!  If air gets in the bag, let out.  It is normal for the batter to rise, ferment and bubble.

After you have your starter, the 10-day count-down begins.

Day 1 -- Do nothing
Day 1 -- Mush the bag
Day 2 -- Mush the bag
Day 3 -- Mush the bag
Day 4 -- Mush the bag
Day 5 -- Mush the bag
Day 6 -- Add to the bag:  1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk (I use reconstituted evaporated milk),      
              then mush the bag thoroughly
Day 7 -- Mush the bag
Day 8 -- Mush the bag
Day 9 -- Mush the bag
Day 10 -- Follow the instructions below:

Pour the entire contents of the bag into a non-metal bowl.  Add 1 1/2 cups of flour, 1 1/2 cups of sugar, and 1 1/2 cups of milk.  This blends together easier if you do small amounts of each of the additions and stir after each.

Measure out 4 separate batters of 1 cup each into four 1 gallon ziploc bags.  Keep a starter bag for yourself and give the others to three friends along with a copy of this recipe or you can freeze the bags for later use.  If you freeze the starter, you need to allow at least 4 hours for it to thaw before using or starting the 10-day process.  If you give starter to friends, be sure to mark today's date on the bag.

To the remaining starter in your bowl, add:
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1/2 t. vanilla

Blend and fold in:
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 lrg. or 2 sm. pkgs. instant vanilla pudding (or flavor of your choice)
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon (this is optional, but I think cinnamon tastes good with just about anything)

Grease 2 large or 4 small pans (I use the Pampered Chef Baking Stone 4-loaf pan) -- I use Pam spray
Bake at 325 degrees for about an hour for large pans or 45 min. for the smaller ones.  Cool slightly and remove to wire racks to finish cooling.  These freeze very well.

If you want a  "Printer-friendly" version of this recipe, go HERE,  Nikki @ A Chef-In-Training has a great blog!


This was my Starter on Day 10.

I wanted to make Banana Bread -- I mean, seriously, who doesn't like Banana Bread?

Originally I was just going to double the recipe, so I used 2 cups of the starter, added the eggs and...

Started blending the dry ingredients.  Then I decided to triple the recipe!

I used Banana Instant Pudding instead of Vanilla.

I smushed up 4 large bananas (I like a strong banana flavor).

I alternated the dry ingredients and the bananas, mixing well after each addition.  Whew, this was a work-out!  This is my largest non-metal mixing bowl and it is big, and it was very full of batter!

I love my Pampered Chef stone loaf pan.  If you have never used these, this might look a bit gross, and it took me a while to get passed the need to scrub the dickens out of this pan.  But.....this is seasoning, and the more brownish color it gets, the better it bakes and your food never sticks.  
TRUST ME ON THIS!

I did three batches in the stone pan but had enough batter to do some more.  So, I grabbed three little individual loaf pans that I had and.......

One ramekin to finish off that third batch.  Now I wish I had made some more in 
ramekins -- it is so cute!  

I have something special coming up next week with a ladies' group I belong to and wanted to give each lady one of these little breads.  I have a fun packaging idea for them that I will share next week.  For now the little breads are all wrapped in plastic inside zip bags in my freezer.

Since I used all but one batch of my starter, I decided to use it for another 10-day processing.  

There are so many additions and variations you can make to this recipe, and you can find them on the internet.  Just enter Amish Friendship Bread variations.  HERE is a site with some good ideas!  Over the years I have made Gingerbread, Apple, Lemon, Pumpkin Spice, and even Fruitcake (simply added candied fruits & dates to the regular Friendship Bread recipe).  These breads make the perfect hostess gift or neighbor gift and packaging can make them extra special.  If you have any questions, ask away!

I am so happy you stopped by.  You are always welcome here!



I love to party with these fine bloggers:


The Tablescaper at The Tablescaper for Seasonal Sundays
Karen at Sew Many Ways for Sew Darn Crafty
Cindy at Skip to My Lou for Made By You Monday
Kathy at Creative Home Expressions for Creative Home & Garden Hop
Cindy at Dwellings--The Heart of Your Home for Amaze Me Monday
Susan at Between Naps on the Porch for Metamorphosis Monday
Kathryn at The Dedicated House for Make It Pretty Mondays
Toni at A Bowl Full of Lemons for One Project at a Time
Maria Elena at Our Home Away from Home for Tuesdays at Our Home
Marti at Sew-Licious Home Decor for Sew Organized
Marty at A Stroll Thru Life  for Inspire Me Tuesday
Leslie at House on the Way for Twirl & Take a Bow
Mary Beth at Cupcakes and Crinoline for Project Inspired
Karin at The Style Sisters for Centerpiece Wednesday
Angela at Hickory Trail for Efforts and Assets
Kelly at Live Laugh Rowe for Live Laugh Linky Party
Richella at Imparting Grace for Grace at Home
Pamela at From My Front Porch to Yours for Treasure Hunt Thursday
Kathryn at The Dedicated House for Anything Blue Friday
Jody & Stan at Rooted in Thyme for Simple and Sweet Fridays 
Karen at A Stylish Interior for Stylish Friday Finds
Amanda at Serenity Now for Weekend Bloggy Reading

18 comments:

  1. Carol...thanks for the recipe and great tips. I have heard this called many things, but have yet to try it! I know it was quite a big thing to be passing it on back in the 90's when I was a young mother. I can't remember what it was called but I do like Amish Friendship Bread!

    XO,
    Jane

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  2. Thank you for the recipe. My mother and her neighbors did something like this when I was a kid, but I want to say their recipe included cans of fruit cocktail? I seem to remember that, probably because we would have all wanted to find a neon-pink cherry in our slice of cake. :)

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  3. I had the starter years ago and made bread weekly. These days bread and my body don't agree. Or, more specifically bread loves to hang onto my body so we don't eat it.

    i will keep your recipe though because it looks easy and fun to make a variety of breads.

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  4. Thanks for this recipe! I remember doing this a long time ago...probably in the early 90's and it was SO good! I love the one you did in the little ramekin too. Looking forward to seeing your packaging idea. :)

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  5. Oh yum! I have been given the starter pack more than once, but never followed thru :(
    Enjoy!

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  6. A couple of years ago we had Amish Friendship Bread starters running rampant through the office and neighborhood but I actually haven't had anybody pass along a starter for quite some time. I suppose it has gone through phases in my neck of the desert! However, I didn't know you can freeze the starter so if I do ever receive some, I will definitely remember that option! :)

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  7. I haven't waked friendship bread in years. I remember how yummy it was though. I may just have to start some myself. Thanks

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  8. I made this years ago but didn't keep up with the starter. This is a reminder to me about how good it is and how much fun it is to pass along. Thanks!

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  9. Never baked my own bread Carol, but this seems like something I could try! Love banana bread too, my favorite flavor of all! Thanks for sharing and all the tips!

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  10. Thanks for the recipe Carol ... your bread looks delicious. You make it tempting to try this Friendship Amish Bread.
    Thanks for stopping by Timeless Treasures with a sweet comment. Hope you will come again.
    Blessings,
    Audrey Z.

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  11. Carol, I have heard about the starter, but have never actually received one. To be honest, I think I was offered it once when the kids were toddlers and I politely refused, because I just didn't have the time. Now that they are teens, I may be able to give it a shot...in between carpooling! :)

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  12. Yum, yum, yum! I need to make this!

    Thanks for joining our Twirl and Take a Bow party! We would love to have you join us again...every Tuesday we go live!

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  13. Amish bread is the best! We did it once and it was very delicious!!!

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  14. Carol,

    Your Amish Friendship Bread looks and sounds delicious. Here on the island, starter has been part of the villagers baking routines for hundreds of years! They like to use cinnamon, allspice and cloves in their breads, as well as raisins, as that's what has been available here for the longest time.

    Thanks for sharing all the sweetness!

    Poppy

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  15. What a great idea to use banana pudding!!! I might have to get another starter for this bread! I swear that was the only kind of loaf we ate, for years!!!

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  16. Yummy! I'd love it if you'd add it to our link party @ http://thecraftiestallie.blogspot.com/2013/11/its-that-time-again-friday-follow-along.html

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  17. This looks delicious. I've always wanted to try this with a starter. I need to try your recipe. Thanks for sharing with us at our Thursday Favorite Things Blog Hop.
    Angel

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  18. I didn't know you could use it as the base for all different kinds of bread! I've only ever made it with candied fruits. Thanks so much for sharing all the good ideas. I think you should make some more using ramekins--how cute is that little round loaf?!?

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I truly love to hear from you and try to respond to each and everyone. If you have "no reply blogger," I will respond in my comments section and then visit your blog as soon as I can.

Make this a great day!
Carol

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