Amish Friendship Bread Starter

Amish Friendship Bread typically uses a sweet sourdough starter.

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Cuisine: American

Pour the warm water into a small glass bowl. Sourdough doesn’t work well with metal!
0.25 cup warm water
Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Let this stand for 5-8 minutes to allow it to dissolve.
2.25 tsp active dry yeast
In a larger glass or plastic bowl, mix together the flour and sugar with a wooden spoon.
1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup granulated sugar
Stir in the milk and then the yeast mixture.
1 cup milk
Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow it to stand until bubbly.
Once the mixture is bubbly, pour it into a gallon-size zippered plastic bag and seal. Do not refrigerate. Allow the sourdough mixture to sit out at room temperature. This counts as Day 1. You can also leave in the bowl at room temperature.
Day 2: Mash the bag.
Day 3: Mash the bag.
Day 4: Mash the bag.
Day 5: Mash the bag.
Day 6: Add 1 cup each of flour, sugar and milk. Mash the bag until it is mixed well.
Day 7: Mash the bag.
Day 8: Mash the bag.
Day 9: Mash the bag.
Day 10: Pour the sourdough into a glass (or other nonmetal) bowl. Add 1/2 cup each of all-purpose flour, granulated sugar and milk. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup milk
Divide out 1 cup portions of the starter, placing each one-cup portion in separate zippered plastic bags. You'll get about 4-5 bags.
Seal the bags and give the starter away to friends along with the instructions, keeping one for yourself if desired. The starter then goes back to Day 1.

There are many ways to use this friendship bread starter! Here are a few ideas.

Tips:

Don’t have a thermometer to check the temperature of your water for the starter? Here are some tips for testing the temperature!

The classic Cinnamon Friendship Bread calls for Vanilla Pudding Mix. Here’s a hack for making your own!

Want to share friendship bread without using a starter? Here’s a recipe that uses buttermilk instead. Make your own buttermilk!
Don’t want to use the starter right away? Store in 1-cup portions in the freezer! When you pull the sourdough out of the freezer, treat it as Day 1. Or just go ahead and use that cup to bake loaves of friendship bread!