Mmm. Who hasn’t had a loaf of this cinnamon-sugared sweet bread? It’s one of those things that you receive with enthusiasm, and send on its way with equal enthusiasm! The constant “squishing” of baggies full of dough can feel relentless, but the look on my family’s face when they see what’s cooling on the counter…? Worth it every time!
I’ll share the from scratch starter recipe followed by the ten day instruction sheet and recipe for our favorite Amish Friendship Bread. Anything with two boxes of instant vanilla pudding has to be superb, right?(Maybe someone else can explain why it seems so “un-Amish”…I mean, honestly…ziploc baggies and instant pudding? Give me a break!) 
Amish Friendship Bread Starter
(for an Easier/Smaller Batch follow this link)
Always use a wooden spoon for stirring the starter. Never use a metal spoon.
1 package active dry yeast
¼ cup warm water (110 degrees F)
3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
3 cups granulated sugar, divided
3 cups warm milk (110 degrees F), divided
Day 1
In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes.
In a 2 quart 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 at room temperature until bubbly.
Days 2 through 4
Stir starter with a wooden spoon.
Day 5
Stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk.
Days 6 through 9
Stir starter with a spoon.
Day 10
Stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 or 2 cups to make your first bread, give three cups to friends along with the recipe. Store the remaining starter in a container in the refrigerator and begin the 10 day process over again.
You can also freeze this starter in 1 cup measures for later use. Frozen starter will take at least 3 hours at room temperature to thaw before using.
Yields 6 cups starter.
Amish Friendship Bread Recipe instructions
(to be given with 1 cup starter in Ziploc bag)
Once again, DO NOT use a metal spoon and DO NOT refrigerate! (Using a metal spoon or bowl or fork will have an acidic reaction with your starter)
Day 1—Do nothing day
Day 2—Squish bag
Day 3—Squish bag
Day 4—Squish bag
Day 5—Squish bag
Day 6—Squish bag
Day 7—Add to bag: 1 ½ cups each: flour, sugar, milk. Squish bag to mix.
Day 8—Squish bag and let air out.
Day 9—Squish bag and let air out.
NOTE: If you don’t let air out, the bag will explode!
Day 10—Empty contents of bag into a large mixing bowl. Add ½ cup each of flour, sugar and milk. Combine ingredients thoroughly. Pour 1 cup of this mixture into each of 3 sturdy Ziploc gallon size bags and give to friends along with a copy of this instruction sheet.
Add to the remaining mixture and mix well:
- 1 cup oil
- 3 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
In a separate bowl, mix the following dry ingredients:
- 2 cups flour
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
- 1 cup chopped pecans (optional)*.
*Optional: add 1 cup chopped nuts, or ½ cup: raisins, blueberries or chocolate chips.
Combine the wet and dry ingredients thoroughly. Grease 2 large bread loaf pans well. Mix up some additional cinnamon and sugar and shake into greased loaf pans to coat bottom and sides (this is optional!). Pour mix into pans. Sprinkle extra cinnamon and sugar on top. Bake at 325 degrees F for one hour. If freezing, cool completely beforehand.
*****************EDITED TO ADD******************April 14, 2008******************
Due to the numerous comments this post has generated, I’ve compiled the best of the Q&As and reader suggested recipe variations into another blog post. FAQs and Recipe Additions for Amish Friendship Bread. So check it out, unless you feel like scrolling down hundreds of comments…then, by all means, be my guest! Happy Baking!
You’re very welcome, Carlotta! :O)
Is there a way to make the bread less heavy. I live at a high altitude and the bread is heavy and seems to fall? Thank you for your response.
Karma Vance
Hi Karma,
I’m not sure? Maybe someone else will chime in with an answer. It is a heavy bread, even at a more normal altitude, but mine hasn’t ever fallen during baking. Sorry I don’t have an answer!
Mary
Karma Vance, Try only half the pan filled for baking.
Low calorie version: substitute with Splenda for baking. Splenda did not work good in the 10 day fermentation process. You can substitute whole grain for flour, healthy oil varity and do on. Only the starter must be virgin
Hi Mary- So I asked about the start that was in my freezer for 2 years and I wanted to report back. I am happy to say it worked out fine. The bread baked up just like normal with no problems. Thanks-
my daughter brought me this mix and i have to say i was dubious but nurtured it for the ten days i did not pass it on but instead cooked it all i divided the mixture and made a batch with apple cinnamon raisin and pecan nuts (it was amazing) and a batch with banana and toblerone again delicious well worth the effort so now i have cake in my freexer to last some time until someone brings me another batch
Wow! Thanks Anita for updating us! I will file this away, b/c it’s a question asked every so often! 2 years! Amazing!
When Day 10 arrives – do I have to add the sugar, flour and milk and split it into 4 bags? Can I bake with what I have on Day 10 without adding the extras? I ask because I have 3 bags in the freezer at Day 9 and don’t want to keep freezing or giving away all the time (running out of people!). I can’t bring myself to add those ingredients, split into 4 bags and then have to throw them away. Thanks in advance for any help!!
Hi Carrie,
You can bake the entire batch up on day 10, but you do need to add the sugar, flour and milk before baking. No need to save any back. Your friends or co-workers would probably rather eat up that fresh bread than get a starter anyway! Especially if they’ve already been hit up! ;O)
Hope this helped,
Mary
Thanks Mary! So, once I add the sugar, flour and milk, do I have to split it up before adding the rest of the ingredients and then add those ingredients to each one to bake? Or do I add the rest of the ingredients to the “big” batch and then split it up into different pans to bake? I apologize for the questions, but I don’t want to mess it up and have it ruined!!
No problem on the questions, Carrie, I understand! ;O) Since you would normally be taking 3 cups out of this batch to give away to friends AFTER adding the day 10 ingredients, instead, you will need to measure the total batter (including the supposed 3 cups that you decided not to separate out) and see from that if you need to double or triple your “breadmaking” ingredients. See what I mean? Let’s say you have a total of 6 cups starter when you’ve measured it all, well, that will be simple, just double all your ingredients for the bread you’re going to bake. You can have fun with making different kinds of bread by separating the batter as well. Then just bake it all up and enjoy! Hope this makes sense, let me know if you have further Q’s!
Once you add the milk, shouldn’t you refrigerate it or it will spoil?
Hi Zoe, this is a fermented bread, so actually, contrary to what common sense tells us about milk going bad unrefrigerated, it’s actually okay for Amish Friendship Bread. :O) At least, no one I know has ever gotten sick from eating it, and refrigerating the batter would mean your starter wouldn’t ferment and do its thing.