Amish Friendship Bread and Starter
Amish Friendship Bread has been described as an “edible chain letter”. The origins of it are uncertain. One thing is certain, though: it’s delicious.
Amish Friendship Bread begins with a sourdough starter that is passed from friend to friend. It includes the starter and complete directions for how to care for it and a recipe to make the bread.
Once you receive a start you must care for it for 10 days before you can make bread. When day 10 comes, you make some bread for yourself and divide the starter between 2 or 3 friends. You must take care of your starter. Otherwise it may turn bad. Store it in a glass or plastic container and use ONLY a wooden spoon to stir it. You may also store it in a plastic gallon-sized zip-top bag and squish it instead of stir it.
Friendship bread gets its distinct flavor from the acids produced in the starter. It’s a cinnamon quick bread with a crust of sugar and cinnamon on top. The flavor is kind of hard to describe. It’s sweet and cinnamon-y, but slightly tangy.
If you’re not fortunate enough to receive a from a friend, don’t despair. You can make your own start. We have a recipe and directions below.
For your convenience we have a printable version of the recipe to pass along to your friends. You can download it here.
For the Starter
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup flour (whole wheat or white)
- 1 cup milk
For the Bread
- 1 cup Amish friendship bread starter
- 2/3 cup vegetable oil
- 3 eggs
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/4 tsp baking powder
- 1 tsp vanilla
- sugar and cinnamon for sprinkling on top
For the Starter
For the Bread
