I just received a starter for Amish Friendship Bread.
The deal with Amish Friendship Bread is that typically, you receive a strange ziploc bag like the one pictures above from a friend and you follow the recipe at the bottom. The starter you get had flour, milk and sugar mixed to feed a live culture of yeast. You have to keep the bag for 10 days (on the 5th day, adding more flour and sugar), before you use it. This makes about 4 starter’s worth, which allows you to give three away and use one to go to the next step, adding some ingredients and baking.
I had a sample at work the other day, it is the best nut bread I’ve ever had.
So if you want a starter and are feeling creative, let me know and I’ll give you weird ziploc bag to.
Here is the recipie:
– DO NOT use any type of metal spoon or bowl for mixing (everyone warns you, it must be something about the yeast)
– DO NOT refrigerate
– If air gets in the bag (presumably CO2) let it out
Day 1 (The day you get your starter) – Do nothing
Day 2 – Mush the bag
Day 3 – Mush the bag
Day 4 – Mush the bag
Day 5 – Mush the bag
Day 6 – Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk, Mush the bag
Day 7 – Mush the bag
Day 8 – Mush the bag
Day 9 – Mush the bag
Day 10:
- Pour entire contents into nonmetal bowl
- Add 1.5 cups flour, 1.5 cups sugar, 1.5 cups milk
- Split 1 cup of batter each up in to 4 ziplocs (these are the same starters you got 10 days ago, keep one for yourself, give 3 to friends… get it? Friendship bread.)
- Preheat oven to 325
- To remaining batter (won’t be alot) add:
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup oil (or you can use 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup applesauce… hmmm)
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup sugar
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp vanilla
- 1.5 tsp baking power
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 cups flour
- 1 large box of INSTANT vanilla pudding
- Grease 2 large load pans and mix additional 1/2 cup sugar and 1.5 tsp cinnamon in a separate bowl.
- Dust the greased pans with half the mixture.
- Pour the batter evenly in to the pans and sprinkle the remaining sugar/cinnamon mixture on top.
- Bake 1 hour (may be longer, toothpick test works)
- Cool and enjoy.
By the way, you can Google to find your own starter if you choose to do this yourself without being friendly.