Amish Friendship bread

Amish Friendship Bread


This is more than a recipe - it's a way of thinking. In our hi-tech world almost everything comes prepackaged and designed for instant gratification. So where does a recipe that takes ten days to make fit in? Maybe it's a touch stone to our past - to those days not so very long ago when everything we did took time and where a bread that took 10 days to make was not as extraordinary as it seems today.

The recipe comes to us from Mrs. Norma Condon of Los Angeles. Amish Friendship Bread is a great bread for the holidays. When you've made your bread, you can give your friends a sample and the starter that made it! Then your friends can make their own and pass it along to their friends. This is why the bread is called "friendship bread". It makes a great homemade birthday and Christmas present. Church groups and hospitals have spread a lot of love and cheer by making Amish Friendship Bread for their members. Many people make it regularly just because it tastes so good!

Amish Friendship Bread is a genuine starter bread. If you know someone with a starter, you are in luck. For those of you without access to a starter, we've done our research and found a great option. It's a special starter in powder form that can be activated with flour and water; it's safe, very inexpensive and we can send it to you.

Starter for Amish Friendship Bread
Important Note: Don't use metal spoons or equipment. Do not refrigerate. Use only glazed ceramic or plastic bowls or containers.
This is the Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe that you’ll need to make the Amish Friendship Bread. It is very important to use plastic or wooden utensils and plastic or glass containers when making this. Do not use metal at all!

Ingredients:
1 pkg. active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup warm milk (110 degrees F)


Directions:
1. In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water for about 10 minutes. Stir well.

2. In a 2 quart glass or plastic container, combine 1 cup sifted flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or the flour will get lumpy when you add the milk.


3. Slowly stir in warm milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Loosely cover the mixture with a lid or plastic wrap. The mixture will get bubbly. Consider this Day 1 of the cycle, or the day you receive the starter.


For the next 10 days handle starter according to the instructions for Amish Friendship Bread.




Required Main Ingredient

1 cup live yeast starter (see above)

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
1/2 cup milk
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1-1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 - (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup nuts

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into two well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325

Amish Friendship Bread Recipe Variations


When you have Amish Friendship Bread starter coming out your ears and your friends stop answering the door when they see you coming with that familiar bag of bread-to-be; you need different and tasty ways to use up your starter.



Even if you aren't sick of the basic recipe, a little variety is a good (and very delicious) thing! Try any one of these fantastic variations of the classic Amish Friendship Bread. They are all just as wonderful as the orginal.



Banana Nut Amish Friendship Bread

When making the basic recipe, reduce oil to 1/3 cup. Omit cinnamon.
Increase vanilla extract to 1 1/2 teaspoons.
Add 3 large very ripe bananas, mashed (banana skins should be almost black) and 1/2 cup chopped nuts.



Chocolate Amish Friendship Bread

Omit cinnamon from the basic recipe and add 1 (5.1 oz) box of instant chocolate pudding, an additional 1/2 cup milk, 3 tsp. cocoa and 3/4 cup chocolate chips.
Bake for 1-1/2 to 1-3/4 hours.



Apple Cinnamon Friendship Bread

To the basic recipe add one cup of raisins and one ripe, medium diced apple.
Carrot Cake Amish Friendship Bread

To the basic recipe add 1 (5.1 oz) box of butterscotch pudding, an additional 1/2 cup milk, and 1 cup of butterscotch chips.
Omit the cinnamon.



Mounds Bar Amish Frienship Bread

To the basic recipe add 1 (5.1 oz) box of chocolate instant pudding, an additional 1/2 cup milk, chocolate chips and coconut.



Chocolate Mint Amish Friendship Bread

To the basic recipe add one box of fudge pudding mix and an additional 1/2 cup milk. Omit the cinnamon.



Lemon Amish Friendship Bread

Substitute Lemon Extract for the vanilla flavoring.
To the basic recipe add 1 box of lemon pudding and an additional 1/2 cup milk.
Omit the cinnamon and nuts, and add 1/4 cup of poppy seeds.
For extra flavor, add 2 cups shredded coconut.



Cranberry-Orange Amish Friendship Bread

When making the basic recipe, substitute orange juice for milk.
Before baking, stir in 1 tablespoon grated orange zest (colored portion of peel) and 1 cup dried cranberries.



Banana-Chocolate Chip Amish Friendship Bread

When making the basic recipe, reduce oil to 1/3 cup.
Reduce cinnamon to 1 teaspoon.
Add 1 (5.1 oz) box of instant banana pudding mix and an additional 1/2 cup milk.
Before baking, stir in 1 cup very ripe mashed bananas and 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate minichips.



Cherry Amish Friendship Bread

When making the basic recipe, substitute almond extract for vanilla.
Omit the cinnamon.
Before baking, stir in 1 cup dried cherries.

Caramel Apple Friendship Bread

Omit cinnamon from the basic recipe.
Add 1 (5.1 oz) box of instant caramel pudding, an additional 1/2 cup milk and 2 cups dried apples.



Pumpkin Spice Amish Friendship Bread

When making the basic recipe, reduce oil to 1/3 cup.
Reduce cinnamon to 1 teaspoon. Use brown sugar instead of white sugar.
Add 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice.
Before baking, stir in 1 cup canned pumpkin.



Strawberry Amish Friendship Bread

To the basic recipe add 1 small box of strawberry jello and an additional 1/2 cup milk.
Add 1 cup thawed strawberries.



Chocolate Cherry Amish Friendship Bread

Omit cinnamon from the basic recipe.
Replace the vanilla flavoring with almond flavoring.
Add 1 (5.1 oz) box of instant chocolate pudding, an additional 1/2 cup milk, 3 tsp. cocoa and 1 can tart red cherries in water, drained.



Carrot Cake Amish Friendship Bread

Increase the cinnamon in the basic recipe to 1 Tablespoon.
Add to the basic recipe the following ingredients:
3 medium carrots shredded
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup chunky homestyle applesauce
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon clove
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Use a a bundt pan instead of a loaf pan. Bake until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Can be frosted with cream cheese frosting.

FREEZING

 I saw the notes about the Amish Friendship Starter and thought I would let you know how I freeze it for future use. (Saves wearing out my friends presenting them with a new starter every 10 days! )
After the tenth day, when you've divided the starter up to give away or use for yourself, simply put one portion in a quart-size ziplock bag, squeeze all the air out, seal and freeze. Go ahead and give away the others, use them for baking or freeze them in individual portions, too. When you're ready to use the starter again, take it out of the freezer, let thaw in the bag and then place in a larger bag or immediately place in a larger bag and let thaw (see? this stuff is versatile ), then begin the process with the DAY ONE instructions. Start counting the time as soon as it's thawed. Usually this will take only a few hours at room temperature so the day you take it from the freezer becomes DAY ONE.


Also, since DAY ONE is the same day that the original preparer baked with
the Starter (it's a loop, you know), you can also thaw the Starter and bake with it immediately. This way you could freeze two individual portions for later use; prepare a recipe with one as soon as it's thawed and use the other to start a new round as described above.


ENJOY
JL&B