Amish Friendship Bread Starter recipe...Great Gift Idea!

I was so excited to get another starter STARTED for Amish Friendship Bread. I did this years ago when the kids were younger and loved it!

A dear friend gave me the directions to start another one!

I waited patiently for 10 days and today was baking day!

My first flavor was Chocolate with Chocolate Chips! The bread turned out amazing!

Amish Friendship Bread 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 covered at room temperature.

2.On days 2 thru 4; stir starter with a spoon. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 thru 9; stir only.

3.Day 10; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe, and your favorite Amish Bread recipe. Store the remaining 1 cup starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the 10 day process over again (beginning with step 2).

I gave a fresh loaf of Friendship bread to my girlfriend with a copy of this book and her own Amish Friendship bread starter. You could also include a wooden spoon with a cute ribbon tied around it. I placed all the gifts in a basket(or you could buy a mixing bowl) and included all the goodies I mentioned!! You can also give your friend a copy of this list of detailed instructions as well as an excellent Amish Friendship Bread recipe!

Amish Friendship Bread
- Do not use metal spoon for mixing
- Do not refrigerate
- If air builds up in bag. Burp it. It is normal for batter to thicken, bubble and ferment.
DATE:          ACTION:
____           Receive the bag. Do nothing
____           Squeeze the bag.
____           Squeeze the bag.
____           Squeeze the bag.
____           Squeeze the bag.
____           Add one cup of:Flour, Sugar, Milk. Squeeze bag.
____           Squeeze the bag.
____           Squeeze the bag.
____           Squeeze the bag.
____           Pour batter into a large bowl. ADD one cup each
               of Flour, Sugar, and Milk. Mix
                with a wooden spoon. Pour three one(1) cup
               Starters into gallon size zip lock bags. Keep one
               for yourself and give the other two away with a
               copy of these instructions.


To the remaining batter add:
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix
1 cup of oil
1/2 cup milk
3 large eggs
1 cup chopped nuts(I use walnuts)
1/2 cup raisins
Mix well by hand.
Sprinkle 2 well-greased loaf pans(or 4 mini loaf pans) with mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Pour mixture into pans and sprinkle tops with sugar and Cinnamon mixture. Bake at 350* for 50 minutes to one hour.
I use all different kind of flavor combinations. I use Chocolate inst. pudding and add Chocolate chips. Vanilla pudding, leave the raisins out and add cinnamon chips. Butterscotch inst. pudding with Butterscotch chips. The possibilities are endless. I leave the Cinnamon out when making the chocolate flavor!