Earlier this fall, a friend and colleague of mine gave me a starter of Amish Friendship Bread. I had no idea what it was, but I am always open to trying new things in my kitchen! I now can't imagine my kitchen without a batch of Amish Friendship Bread on the go in my pantry. What is Amish Friendship Bread you ask? Well! Amish Friendship Bread is a cake/bread that is made from a sourdough starter and as it grows the starter is passed on to friends, kind of like chain mail... but for baking (WAY better!).
The starter is a combination of yeast, water, flour, sugar, and milk that ferments for 10 days before it is ready for baking. It's pretty easy to maintain... I mean all you have to do is squish, squash, and mush the bag once a day! On day 6 you add more milk, flour, and sugar and then continue squishing and squashing until you reach day 10. Then the real fun begins. Baking day! Take the big bag of starter that you have and pour it into a non-metal bowl. Why non-metal you ask? The acids that are created in the starter react poorly when interacting with metal (who knew?!). I did some more reading and apparently most stainless steel products today are ok, but not all stainless steel products are created equally. Personally, I'll stick with glass or plastic bowls and wooden spoons! After nurturing this starter for 10 days, I don't really want to have it die from using the wrong bowl! But you do you!
Once you have the starter in your non-metal bowl add more flour, sugar, and milk (1 cup of each). Portion out the starter into 4 ziplock bags that each get 1 cup of starter. That should leave your with 1 cup left of starter left in your bowl. Keep 1 starter for yourself, pass 3 along to friends, and add in the remaining ingredients to whatever is left in your bowl and bake away. So easy!
As far as add-ins go, the options are endless! I have done a simple apple cinnamon friendship bread with a streusel topping and with no streusel topping. Both were good. But today I wanted to try something new, so I added 1 apple, 2 carrots, 1/2 cup raisins, 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut, and 1/2 cup chopped walnuts. This has been my favourite variation so far! I also find with my family that muffins are more popular than loaves, so I made 24 mini muffins and 12 regular muffins out of my starter. One starter will also make 2 loaves if that is what you prefer. I've also seen recipes for buns and white bread out there, so there are no shortages of options for what you do with your starter. Have fun!
Amish Friendship Bread
Instructions:
*Do not use any type of metal spoons or bowl for mixing. Do not refrigerate. If air gets into the bag, let it out. It is normal for the batter to rise, bubble, and ferment.
Day 1: Do nothing. This is the date on which you receive the bag. Squish, squash, mush the bag. Make sure the bag is dated.
Day 2: Squish squash mush the bag.
Day 3: Squish squash mush the bag.
Day 4: Squish squash mush the bag.
Day 5: Squish squash mush the bag.
Day 6: Add 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar to the bag. Squish squash mush the bag.
Day 7: Squish squash mush the bag.
Day 8: Squish squash mush the bag.
Day 9: Squish squash mush the bag.
Day 10 (also counts as day 1): BAKING DAY! Mix and divide the starter as follows:
Pour entire contents of the bag into a large non-metal bowl and add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk. Measure out 4 separate batches of the starter batter: 1 cup each into 4 ziplock bags. Keep one bag for yourself and give the other 3 to friends along with a copy of this recipe.
Preheat oven to 325F.
To the remaining batter in the bowl, add:
3 eggs
1 cup canola oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups flour
1 small box of vanilla pudding (or chocolate pudding!)
Add Ins:
1 finely chopped apple
2 carrots
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Topping (optional):
Mix 1/2 sugar and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Sprinkle 1/2 sugar mixture on bottom of greased pan, add in batter, and sprinkle remainder of sugar mixture on top.
Baking Instructions:
Loaves (makes 2 loaves): 325 for 1 hour.
Muffins (makes 24): 325 for 22 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Mini Muffins (makes 48): 325 for 15-18 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
Note: If the starter isn't passed on to a friend on the 10th day, be certain to tell the recipient which day the bag is at when it's given to them. If you keep a starter bag for yourself, you will be baking every 10 days.
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