Amish Friendship Bread and Starter

Square side shot of a loaf of easy amish friendship bread on a cutting board.

5 from 12 votes

Amish Friendship Bread and Starter

A soft, sweet cinnamon Amish friendship bread made from a 10 day starter that you can share, freeze, or use to bake this classic loaf.

Course Breakfast

Cuisine American, Amish

Keyword Amish bread, amish friendship bread, amish friendship bread starter recipe

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 1

Total Time 10 1 15

Servings loaves

Calories 223kcal

Author Blair Lonergan

Ingredients

TO MAKE THE STARTER ON DAY 1:

¼ cup warm water (about 110-115°F)
1 package active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk (use at least 2% milk or higher fat)

TO ADD TO THE STARTER ON DAY 6:

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk (use at least 2% milk or higher fat)

TO DIVIDE THE STARTER ON DAY 10:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 ½ cups granulated sugar
1 ½ cups milk (use at least 2% milk or higher fat)

TO BAKE THE BREAD:

1 cup of Amish Friendship Bread Starter (what’s left in your large bowl after dividing on Day 10)
3 large eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 large (5 ounce) box vanilla instant pudding mix (just the dry mix)
1 cup canola oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup milk (use at least 2% milk or higher fat)
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
½ teaspoon salt
For the Topping: ¼ cup of granulated sugar + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

MAKE THE STARTER:

In a small bowl, combine the warm water with the dry active yeast. Set aside until bubbly, 5-10 minutes.
In a large non-metal bowl mix together the all-purpose flour and the granulated sugar. Stir in the milk and the yeast mixture.
Cover loosely and leave on the countertop at room temperature until bubbly.
Place starter in a large (gallon size) Ziploc bag. Seal bag and squish, squash, and mush until well combined. Let stand at room temperature overnight. The day that you prepare the starter is DAY 1.
Day 2: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 3: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 4: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 5: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 6: Add to the bag – 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of milk. Squish and mush the bag.
Day 7: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 8: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 9: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 10: BAKING AND DIVIDING DAY. Pour the entire contents of the starter bag into a non-metal bowl and add 1 ½ cups of flour, 1 ½ cups of sugar, and 1 ½ cups of milk. Measure out 4 separate batches of the starter batter (1 cup each) and place into large gallon-size Ziploc bags. Keep one bag of starter for yourself to continue the process (Day 10 is equal to Day 1) and give the other 3 to friends along with a copy of these instructions. After dividing the starter into separate bags, you should have about 1 cup of the starter batter still left in your large bowl. The starter that remains in the large bowl will be used for baking your Amish Friendship Bread.

BAKE THE FRIENDSHIP BREAD:

Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C. Spray two loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
To the bowl with the remaining 1 cup of starter, add the eggs, flour, instant pudding mix, canola oil, sugar, milk, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Stir just until combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the two greased pans.
In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle the top of each loaf with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and then remove bread from pans.

REPEAT THE 10-DAY PROCESS OR FREEZE THE STARTER:

If you keep a starter bag for yourself, then DAY 10 is equal to DAY 1 again, and you can repeat the baking process every 10 days. If you do not want to continue the cycle right away, place the 1-cup bags of starter in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you take the starter out of the freezer, you can treat this as DAY 1, or you can use that starter right away to bake the loaves of Friendship Bread.

Notes

• Use a non metal bowl and wooden spoon for the starter to avoid unwanted reactions.
• Keep the starter at room temperature and squish the bag once a day.
• Feed the starter on day 6 and again on day 10 so it stays active.
• Expect bubbling and rising during fermentation. This is normal.
• Do not seal the bag tightly. Let excess air escape.
• Discard starter if it develops mold, odd colors, or an acetone smell.
• Stir the bread batter gently so the loaves stay tender.
• Do not prepare the pudding mix. Add it dry to the batter.
• Loaves freeze beautifully for up to 3 months.
• Extra starter can be shared, frozen, or used to bake more bread.

Remember that you can also download a printable PDF of the Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe.

Nutrition