The Amish Friendship bread is said to be a sweet bread that is the favorite of many families. It is rather a quick bread, which means that one does not have to let the bread rise. The sweet sourdough starter makes enough for baking one’s own quick bread loaf and to have it shared among two friends. This is a traditional custom with the recipe that is followed for a long time.
Amish bread recipe
The name ‘Amish’ has been included in the recipes for giving it a special color. The very idea of making a dessert right from scratch and having the recipe shared, along with the starter with friends surely is termed to be quaint in the modern world. This could be the reason why the ‘Amish’ part might seem to resonate. One can imagine buggy people and horse making the bread and then dropping it by their neighbor’s house for sharing the bounty.
How to prepare this recipe?
Like any sourdough, one should avoid using bowls or metal spoons. The following ingredients would be required.
- Active dry yeast, 1 pkg.
- Warm water, ¼ cup
- All-purpose flour, 1 cup
- White sugar, 1 cup
- Warm milk, 1 cup
Directions to make Amish bread
Take a small bowl and dissolve yeast in warm water for about 10 minutes. Then in a 2-quart glass/plastic container, combine one cup sugar and one cup flour. Use a whisk for mixing thoroughly and unity. Now slowly include dissolved yeast mixture and warm milk to sugar/flour mixture and cover it with a towel. Every day, the starter is to be stirred and it needs to be fed every 5 days. While feeding it, include one cup each sugar, flour, and milk.
The 10-day baking cycle is considered to be traditional. It is ok for baking the bread quite often. One can take a starter cup for one loaf recipe actually before feeding the starter. Moreover, the starter can be cut in half. When ready for baking, one cup of the starter is to be placed in the mixing bowl.
The following things are to be added then,
- Oil, ½ cup
- Eggs, 3
- Salt, ½ tsp
- Vanilla, 1 tsp
- Cinnamon, 1 ½ tsp
- Sugar, 1 cup
- Flour, 2 cups
- Baking powder, 1 tsp
- Baking soda, ½ tsp
One can also add raisins, fruits, and nuts to the batter, which needs to be poured into 2 greased loaf pans, to be baked for 40 minutes at 325 degrees. If the knife comes out clean, then it is ready to be served.
For a sweet gift, one can consider wrapping bread loaf with a recipe card and give to a friend. This method is sure to be appreciated, rather than handing the person with a photocopy of the recipe or a Ziploc starter bag. If the friend asks for a starter, be it sweet or sourdough, one can happily hand them over. It is quite true that the person is likely to be ready to accept starters. Sharing starter is extremely fun, however, much excitement is in preparing quick bread.
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