Amish Friendship Bread

This is a fun little recipe you can share with friends. A neighbor brought me some of the baked bread and my kids have been begging me ever since to make more. I love that you change it up each time you make it with a difference flavor of pudding. The chocolate is yummy!

Starter Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 cups white sugar, divided
• 3 cups milk

Directions

1. In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely.
   

*Do not use any type of metal bowls or spoons for mixing. Do not refrigerate. If air gets in bag, let it out. It is normal for the batter to raise, bubble and ferment.

Day 1. Do nothing! This is the day you receive batter. Make sure the bag is dated!

Day 2. Mush the bag

Day 3. Mush the bag

Day 4, Mush the bag

Day 5. Mush the bag

Day 6. Add to bag: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Mush the bag

Day 7. Mush the bag

Day 8. Mush the bag

Day 9. Mush the bag

Day 10. Mix and divide starter.

Pour entire contents of bag into non-metal bowl adding: 1 ½ cups flour, 1 ½ cups sugar, and 1 ½ cups milk. Mix. Measure out 4 separate batters of 1 cups each into 4 separate gallon Ziploc bags. Keep one for yourself and give the other 3 to friends along with a copy of this recipe.

Preheat oven to 325. To the remaining batter in the bowl add: 3 eggs, 1 cup oil (or ½ cup oil and ½ cup applesauce), ½ cup milk, 1 cup sugar, 2 tsp cinnamon, ½ tsp vanilla, 1 ½ tsp baking powder, ½ tsp baking soda, ½ tsp salt, 2 cups flour, and 1 large box INSTANT pudding mix.

Grease 2 large loaf pans. Mix in a small bowl ½ cup brown sugar and 1 ½ tsp cinnamon. Dust greased loaf pans with half of this mixture. Pour batter evenly into the 2 greased pans and sprinkle remaining sugar mixture over the batter. Bake 1 hour. Cool until bread loosens from the pan, about 10 minutes. Turn out onto serving dish. Serve warm or cold or devour with your bare hands!!!

Option: Add 1 cup chopped raisins or nuts. Use whatever pudding flavor you would like to try. You can add chocolate chips.

Note: When you divide the starter, write the date on each bag. This helps keep better track of which day you’re on. If you keep a starter bag for yourself, you will be baking every 10 days. This bread is very good and makes a great gift. Only the Amish know how to create a “starter” so if you give them all away, you’ll have to wait until someone gives you a starter back