Anyone ever made Amish Friendship Bread?

[Sarah K]

I'm seriously thinking about starting some(pun intended:lol:).
I have NEVER made starter OR yeast bread from scratch. The closest thing to bread that I've made is homemade banana bread.
It seems easy enough to follow the directions for the 10 day cycle. Is it?
Those of you who have done it, do you keep your starter alive to use over and over again? That part confuses me.

I just love Amish Friendship bread. I haven't had it in years and thought I'd try it!

[CyndiinOKC]

Hi, Sarah~! :hi:

I made it years ago and it was SO delicious, but I got tired of the stirring everyday. (geeze, that makes me sound REALLY lazy if I couldn't be bothered to stick a spoon in something and make my arm go 'round and 'round, huh?!)


Yes, I think you can keep it going indefinetly. (I'm too tired to spell!)


On a related note, wanna come over for our bread baking day? I am hosting a FIAR bread baking get together. :cool:

[Merrilee Morse]

The only problem with this for me was everyone got sick of it because you are always having to bake the stuff every week. My crew didn't ever want to look at it again we ate so much of it. As for giving it away, friends started running when they saw me coming! :roflol: :lol: :D

[DD in IL]

Yeah you feed it and keep it alive......ours was called Herman and I had several recipes for it. We got tired of it and alas poor herman died. Merrilee knows what she is talking about.

[Reina in AK]

Sarah we just started doing this and my kids love it. I dont know how everyone else's is but ours is in a ziplock bag and we much is everyday. The girls do this part they think it is fun. Then when it is time to make it we all do it together. We really like it. I did not make my own starter someone gave it to me and I just followed the directions. So yes every 10 days we are baking. We have had fun coming up with different ways like one time the bread was chocolate, another time we made bananna, cream cheese, zuchinni we just have fun with it. The left over bread I freeze. I have tried to give some starter away but of course some people do run so for the most part I just keep 2-3 bags on hand. A friend of mine uses hers to make pancakes. So I guess it has many uses.

[JavaJackie]

Yeah you feed it and keep it alive......ours was called Herman and I had several recipes for it. We got tired of it and alas poor herman died. Merrilee knows what she is talking about.
OK ...Thats just scary!:roflol:

[DebinNC]

I found that after I made the BIG batch and divided it up into little baggies, those little baggies would freeze quite nicely! I wasn't sure, at first, but it worked.

So, when I want to make one loaf of bread, I thaw 1 baggie. When I'm down to my 4th baggie, I make another big batch with it, bake one loaf and freeze 4 baggies again.

[Heather P]

I haven't had this in years but it was SO yummy! We also had ours in a zipblock bag and just mushed it around for stirring. We became pretty creative with the things we would try with it. We traded it around quite a bit but I do remember towards the end people not wanting it...:roflol: and at that point we just let it die. Have fun! ;)

[Heather P]

I haven't had this in years but it was SO yummy! We also had ours in a zipblock bag and just mushed it around for stirring. We became pretty creative with the things we would try with it. We traded it around quite a bit but I do remember towards the end people not wanting it...:roflol: and at that point we just let it die. Have fun! ;)

[Merrilee Morse]

Okay ladies...one question. After you keep making something every ten days and filling up your freezer to the brim with frozen baggies of bread...what do you do with it when you RUN OUT OF ROOM? :D :roflol: :lol: ;)

[Kelly in Kentucky]

Okay ladies...one question. After you keep making something every ten days and filling up your freezer to the brim with frozen baggies of bread...what do you do with it when you RUN OUT OF ROOM? :D :roflol: :lol: ;)

You can freeze the starter itself and just thaw when you are ready to bake. Works like a charm. :kiss:

[JenniferSylvie]

OK, now who has a tried and true recipe??? Please:D

[Merrilee Morse]

Here ya go, Jen. This is a good one.

http://busymomsrecipes.com/amish-001.htm

You can change it up all kinds of ways by adding different ingredients. Although not traditionally Amish, obviously, you can even use instant pudding mix to add different flavours to the bread. Experiment with it; heaven knows, you will have PLENTY of dough to experiment WITH! :lol: :roflol: :lol: :D

[JenniferSylvie]

For those of you who mentioned they keep theirs in a bag, is this what you start it in from scratch? and just squish it around? Or does it need the air exposure to get started?

[Julia in MO]

These recipes are tried-and-true. The starter recipe gives plenty of info to newbies of this type of bread.


* Exported from MasterCook *

Amish Friendship Starter

Recipe By :Marcia Adams
Serving Size : 4 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Breads Breads: Sweet
Breads: Yeast Easy

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
4 cups all-purpose flour -- divided
2 cups warm water
1 package active dry yeast
2 cups milk -- divided
2 cups granulated sugar -- divided

DAY 1: In a glass or ceramic bowl, mix 2 cups flour, warm water and yeast thoroughly. Leave uncovered on kitchen counter; don't refrigerate. (You may have received one cup of starter from a friend. If so, you do not have to make the above culture and can directly to the bread recipes, unless you want to keep the starter going. If you do, then continue with the following directions.)
DAYS 2, 3 and 4: Stir well with wooden spoon.
DAY 5: Stir and add 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Stir well. This is called "feeding the starter."
DAYS 6, 7 and 8: Stir well with wooden spoon.
DAY 9: Stir and add remaining 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Stir well.
DAYS 10 and 11: Stir well with wooden spoon.
DAY 12: Ladle 1 cup starter into each of 4 containers (such as glass jars with lids) and refrigerate. Use one in a recipe, keep one for your use another time and give the two others to friends. Don't forget to include recipes (including the starter) for your friends. (Use this starter to make Nik's Friendship Bread. -jlw)

This recipe is from "Heartland: The Best of the Old and the New from Midwest Kitchens" by Marcia Adams. It was reprinted in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch (mid-1990's, exact date unknown). Part of the article appears below.

"Some of you have learned to tame the relentless feed-and-bake, feed-and-bake cycle that dooms many pots of starter. When Ann Simpson of Bridgeton makes bread, she freezes one cup of the starter for the next batch. Be sure to let the starter come to room temperature and stir well before using.

"Last fall, a friend gave some starter to Etta Taylor of St. Louis. 'I was really beginning to feel disenchanted with its reproductive necessities when I got a copy of "The Baking Sheet" from King Arthur Flour (in Vermont),' she wrote. 'This gave me the courage just to keep a container of this starter in the fridge (alongside my 20-year-old regular sourdough pot!) and feed it with some sugar about every two weeks. Before I get ready to make some more bread, I double the starter and use about 2-1/2 cups of it for the bread recipe and return the rest to the fridge. Now I feel like *I* am in control.' "

Source:
"Heartland: The Best of the Old and the New from Midwest Kitchens"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 922 Calories; 5g Fat (5.2% calories from fat); 18g Protein; 202g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 17mg Cholesterol; 68mg Sodium. Exchanges: 6 1/2 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 1/2 Non-Fat Milk; 1/2 Fat; 6 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : "It is my observation that having this starter around is like getting married -- it is a real commitment, and it is forever. And like that institution, it gets better with age," wrote Marcia Adams, author of "Heartland: The Best of the Old and the New from Midwest Kitchens."
"Some rules to observe: Use non-metallic bowls; use wooden utensils for stirring, not an electric mixer. Leave the starter outside the refrigerator, uncovered. This is so it can pick up from the natural yeast flying about your kitchen. If the open dish bothers you terribly, it can be covered with a single layer of cheesecloth.
"Do not use the starter the day you feed it; the bread will not rise as high. Do not refrigerate it until day 12. The starter really multiplies after the fifth day, so be sure your container is large enough; I use a 10-cup bowl. I also keep a paper and pencil next to it and write down what I do when, so I don't get off schedule."

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0


And now, the bread recipe:


* Exported from MasterCook *

Nik's Friendship Bread

Recipe By :Leroy Nikolaisen
Serving Size : 16 Preparation Time :1:30
Categories : Breads Breads: Sweet
Easy Fruit

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1 cup Amish Friendship Starter -- at room temperature
3 large eggs
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
5 1/8 ounces instant vanilla pudding mix -- (I use Jello, 5.1 oz., 6-serving size)
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
4 medium Granny Smith apples -- peeled, cored and chopped (if the apples are large, use only 2 or 3)
1 cup chopped nuts -- optional
1/2 cup raisins, seedless

Grease 2 (8-1/2x4-1/2-inch) loaf pans. Preheat oven to 350°F.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together starter, eggs, oil and vanilla. In a separate bowl or Ziploc bag, combine flour, sugar, pudding mix, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon. Stir into starter mixture. Fold in apples, nuts and raisins. Transfer batter to prepared loaf pans.
Bake in preheated oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until bread tests done. Allow bread to cool in pans 10 minutes. Remove loaves from pans and place on a wire rack to finish cooling.
Wrap loaves in plastic wrap to keep bread moist, or freeze individual slices and warm in microwave as needed. This bread tastes best the second day.
Makes 2 loaves (16 servings).


- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 327 Calories; 16g Fat (43.8% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 43g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 35mg Cholesterol; 288mg Sodium. Exchanges: 1 Grain(Starch); 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Fruit; 3 Fat; 1 1/2 Other Carbohydrates.

NOTES : To make muffins from this recipe, lightly grease three 12-cup muffin tins. Transfer the batter to the muffin tins, filling the cups about 3/4-full. Bake at 350°F for about 23 minutes, or until the muffins test done. Let cool in pans 5 minutes. Remove muffins from pans; place muffins on wire racks to finish cooling. Makes 36 muffins.

Nutr. Assoc. : 0 0 0 0 0 0 5409 0 0 0 0 0 0 0