For those of you that haven't been exposed to Amish Friendship Bread, let me take a moment to explain. Amish Friendship Bread is a type of bread (more like cake really) made from a sourdough starter that is shared in a manner similar to a chain letter. The starter is a substitute for baking yeast and can be used to make many kinds of yeast-based breads and shared with friends.
One day you'll receive a starter and you'll get sucked into the task of baking bread every 10 days. Luckily the starter can be frozen if you need some reprieve from the cycle. As you can guess, I received a starter from a friend and have been sucked into the chain.
My plan is keep my starter going the entire year and offer you a different recipe for Amish Friendship Bread each month. A quick look online reveals that the starter can be used to bake everything from bread and muffins to brownies and biscuits.
To get us started, I baked the traditional cinnamon bread recipe which is the most basic and frequently used. The sweet, cake-like cinnamon bread is a simple, stirred yeast bread that includes a substantial amount of sugar and vegetable oil. It has the characteristics of both pound cake and coffee cake. My recipe below includes what to do on days one through ten in case you get a starter from a friend.
Amish Cinnamon Bread
Directions and Ingredients
Day 1:
Do nothing with the starter.
Days 2-5:
Stir with a wooden spoon.
Day 6:
Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Stir with a wooden spoon.
Days 7-9:
Stir with a wooden spoon.
Day 10:
Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir. Take out 3 cups and place 1 cup each into three separate plastic containers. Give one cup and a copy of this recipe to three friends. To the balance (a little over one cup) of the batter, add the following ingredients and mix well.
1 cup oil
½ cup milk
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1-½ teaspoon baking powder
2 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 (5.1 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup nuts
Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into two well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.
Heather's Helpful Hints
As I mentioned earlier, it's perfectly acceptable to freeze a batch of your starter to use at a later date. The first day you take the bread out of the freezer then becomes day 1 in the cycle.
Tuscan olive grove girl
I love the name and idea of 'friendship bread', plus it looks yummy. I've just discovered your blog and I want to eatalmost everything on it!
Heather (Sweet Precision)
Greetings! The Friendship Bread really is a fun thing to keep going over a few months. I had to take a break and now mine in in the freezer but I plan to bring it back out sometime soon!
Amanda
send me a starter please!!!! please!!!! oh heather will you please send me a starter?
Heather (Sweet Precision)
I will send you a starter next time I make the bread!! I have one in the freezer right now and will be baking another loaf sometime this month :)
Sprout Health Lifestyle
oh how fun! I love this idea! Community- through food? yes please! Can't wait to see them all!
Heather (Sweet Precision)
I know, it's such a fun idea! It's like a baking chain letter ;)
Anthony
How do I get or Mae a starter
Anthony
Make,
Heather (Sweet Precision)
I actually found a recipe for the starter (usually it's passed along from someone that made the bread). Check it out at: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/amish-friendship-bread-starter/
Stefano
And your Amish friendship bread looks deliciously moist! :-)
Heather (Sweet Precision)
Thanks Stefano!!
Francesca
Wow, Heather! This is a huge commitment! I admire your determination. Brava!
Heather (Sweet Precision)
Hopefully I can keep up with it! I've got a bag in my freezer all ready for March :)