Savory and Sweet Twists for Amish Friendship Bread (Starter and Recipe)

You may have received a cup of Amish Friendship Bread starter from a friend with a recipe to bake the bread (two loaves). And perhaps even learned how to keep it growing. However, do you know how to make the actual starter itself?

You can also make many very creative variations with additional spices and about a cup of several different optional ingredients. It can be a savory bread or a sweet snack cake!

For example, you could turn it into pumpkin bread, banana nut bread, apple spice, pear spice, peach, a holiday fruit cake, as well as zucchini or carrot breads. Even jalapeno cheddar bread! You can make a brown sugar and cinnamon swirl loaf or make a loaf chocolate bread with chocolate chips.

You can even do toppings! After baking, you can drizzle a few stripes or zigzags of glaze (plain, lemon, orange, chocolate, etc.) over the top of each loaf or dust the tops lightly with powdered sugar and/or cocoa powder. Before baking, you can decorate the top with nuts, such as pecan or walnut halves or almond slivers.

Amish Friendship Bread (Starter and Recipe)

Starter:

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110°F)
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup milk

Feedings:

Each feeding will require —

1 cup granulated sugar
1 cups all-purpose flour
1 cups milk

For the Bread:

1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 cup starter
2/3 cup oil
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

Day 1:

Make your starter:

Stir yeast into warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes.

Whisk sugar and flour in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk in milk. Be sure to scrape the sides, bottom, and especially the sides at the top of the mixture as you whisk.

Stir the yeast mixture into the flour mixture.

Pour into clean 2 quart canning jar, cover with breathable cloth (lint free or cheese cloth) or disposable coffee filter, and use rubber band or string to secure filter in place.

Store at room temperature kept between 68 and 78 F degrees. Keep away from any sources radiating heat and cold drafts.

Days 2-4 :

Stir the mixture once per day.

Day 5:

Feed the mixture:

Stir 1 cup each sugar, flour, and milk into the starter. Cover with secured breathable cloth or disposable coffee filter and store on the counter.

Days 6-9:

Stir the mixture once per day.

Day 10:

Feed the mixture: (You’ll want to do this no matter what kind of variations you choose (including savory)

Stir 1 cup each sugar, flour, and milk into the starter. Cover secured breathable cloth or disposable coffee filter and store on the counter. Then, proceed as follows:

Remove 1 cup of starter to use in the Amish Friendship Bread Recipe (see directions below).

Remove 2 cups of starter and give 1 cup each to two friends, with the recipe.

There will be 1 cup of remaining starter. You can give this to a third friend, or you can seal in airtight container and freeze this 1 cup to bake in the future (Note: It will NOT grow again properly once frozen).

Or continue the cycle of friendship bread. Since you have your starter, cover and store at room temperature as before and begin with “Day 2” directions above tomorrow (on the 11th. day) and keep it going.

Note:

Once you have fed the starter on day ten, you will have 4 cups of starter.

On day 10, bake with 1 cup of starter.

Gift 2 cups to two different people in clean canning jars with a copy of these
instructions:

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Friendship Bread Recipe

Ingredients

1 cup starter
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
2/3 cup oil
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease two 4×8” or 9×5” loaf pans with butter or shortening. and lightly flour.

Whisk baking soda, baking powder, salt, and flour in a medium bowl. Set aside.

Stir in starter, oil, and 1 cup sugar (or sucralose) with a wooden spoon or spatula.

Stir in eggs, 1 at a time, then stir in vanilla. Gently fold in dry ingredients.

Divide batter between two prepared loaf pans.

Bake for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool for 1 hour before removing from pan.

Note: If making savory variation such as jalapeño cheese bread, do not add sugar and vanilla.

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Keep one to continue growing. This is now Day 1 for this batch. All you need to do today is: store in a clean 2 quart canning jar and cover with a coffee filter as directed before, store at room temperature again. then, begin again tomorrow with the steps at Day 2 in the cycle.

If you do not wish to start another cycle, you may:

a) gift this cup to a third person with a copy of the bread recipe,

OR,

b) use it to make another batch of bread,

OR,

c) freeze for up to 3 months after placing the starter in airtight container (label and date) to be baked at a later date. NOTE: If frozen, the culture will die and no longer grow properly in the future but you can still bake bread with it after thawing at room temperature. You may wish to use freezer bags or designate your container to be used only for this purpose from now on since it is difficult and takes quite some time to get rid of the fermented odor.

NOTE:

Properly wrapped and well sealed to prevent freezer burn (i.e. very well sealed in plastic wrap or a freezer bag and then wrapped in a double layer of heavy duty foil) any fully prepared and baked loaves of bread will keep in the freezer almost indefinitely — but generally are best if used within 12 to 18 months. Label and date each loaf before freezing.

(Optional) Make Creative Variations

For variations you may add any desired spices, plus, approx. 1 cup of your choice(s) of ingredients, such as —

chocolate chips (plus 1/4 to 1/3 cup baking cocoa powder if desired)
chopped nuts
cinnamon and brown sugar (to swirl)
dried fruits, blanched
frozen berries (add and bake while still frozen)
raisins, blanched
cranberry raisins, blanched
dates
shredded coconut
maraschino cherries, well drained, pat dry with paper towel
finely shredded carrots
finely shredded zucchini
finely diced apples (see below)
finely diced spiced apples, pears, or peaches (pre-cooked or canned; well drained)
mashed bananas
pumpkin pie filling
finely diced jalapenos
shredded cheese
seeds (such as sunflower, flax, chia)
diced onion or green onions

Blanch any dried fruits, raisins, or cranberries before adding. To Blanch: Place in pan and cover with water, bring to a roiling boil, remove from heat, and allow to sit for 5 minutes, then drain well.

Some fresh apple varieties contain more juice than others. It is recommended that they be tossed with just a small dash/pinch of salt and allowed to sit for a few hours to release excess fluids. Remove with slotted spoon and allow to drain well on paper towels or in a colander. If needed, pat with paper towels. If desired, may toss with spices such as cinnamon and allspice, and/or brown sugar lightly before adding.

Another alternative is to substitute other flavors of extract in place of vanilla such as almond extract, coconut extract, rum extract; or, in addition to vanilla, add tablespoon of fruit juice (lemon or orange) and/or even add some of the zest (grated peel).

Berries should be frozen (if not already) when loaf is baked to prevent the release of too much liquid and any discoloration of the bread during baking.

ATTENTION:

Sucralose, or a sucralose and brown sugar blend, may be used as a substitute in the actual baking — but NOT for growing the starter. The yeast and bacteria require real sugar to feed upon during the fermentation period prior to baking.