Aug 18 2009
Received the starter to Amish Friendship Bread recently!
All I have to say is WOW, that was a lot of work! I had to send my husband to the store for the instant pudding, and he came home with cook and serve! Called him told him it was wrong, need INSTANT! He brings home the right thing, I start mixing the last day and trying to divide it into four bags for my “friends” so I can pass this along and it is going everywhere in the kitchen. I get to the final step, and I have no oil. I hardly ever bake with oil. Back to the store I go! It did make two huge tasty loaves of very very sweet cake like bread (so my husband said). He loved it, and my dogs happily cleaned the pans.
Not so sure I want to be the recipient of this again though - it was quite the project. I had my husband pawn off the remaining bags at work today! 
Here is the starter recipe in case anyone wants to pass it along!
Amish Friendship Bread Starter
This is the Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe that youll need to make the Amish Friendship Bread (above). 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°F)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup warm milk (110°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.
Day 2 - stir
Day 3 - stir
Day 4 - stir
Day 5 - Add 1 cup each flour, sugar and milk.
Day 6 - stir
Day 7 - stir
Day 8 - stir
Day 9 - stir
Day 10 - Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Divide into 4 containers, with 1 cup each for three of your friends and 1 cup for your own loaves. Give friends the instructions for Day 1 through Day 10 and the following recipe for baking the bread.
After removing the 3 cups of batter, combine the remaining cup of Amish Friendship Bread starter with the following ingredients in a large bowl:
2/3 cup oil
3 eggs
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 to 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 package vanilla INSTANT Pudding
1 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
Using a fork beat by hand until well blended. You can add 1 cup raisins and 1 cup nuts (optional).
Grease two loaf pans with butter, sprinkle with sugar instead of flour.
Bake at 325 degrees F for 45 minutes to 1 hour (individual oven temperatures vary). Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans. Makes two loaves of Amish Friendship Bread.
Just wait until you have so much of the stuff that it seems none of your ‘friends’ will take it, then your ‘new friends’ won’t take it, and so on and so on…and you find yourself throwing it out.
Did that a long time ago, but it’s the best bread to sourdough…yum!