what is Flashback Friday? click HERE! **************************************************** Original post date: September 24, 2009 Original post link: http://umami-quest.blogspot.com/2009/09/project-amish-friendship-bread.html **************************************************** we have many interesting conversations at the office where i work. i learn so much there - not only about work things, but about life, politics, ethics, current events, and my favorite thing - food and cooking. they love to eat and try new things, and i'm all for that! in one of our lunch-time conversations, "Friendship Bread" came up. a couple of people (the slightly older crowd) knew what it was, however i did not (basically the younger crowd didn't know what it was). about a month later, UH lab school was selling a cookbook as a fundraiser. i purchased one, and suprise! - a friendship bread recipe was smack in the middle of the book! a few months after that, my co-worker walks in the door and hands me a plastic zip-top bag full of white-ish goo, and says LOOK! she recieved some "starter" from a woman down the hall. now, if you're not familiar with Friendship Bread, i'll try to tell you what i know.... it is supposedly Amish in origin - SUPPOSEDLY. from what i can tell, the sweet cake like recipe currently being circulated is actually nothing like the "real" Amish Friendship Bread. while theirs is more like sourdough (sourdough is made in a similar fashion, using a fermented "starter" - thats how it gets sour), this one is more like cake. the recipe and accompanying starter goo is passed around like a chain-letter, but this is one chain-letter you might actually be happy to get. at first, i was hesitant to take the mysterious bag of goo - i wasnt sure i'd have time to bake, and then, i wasnt sure who i would pass along my starters to.... but i took it, and what resulted was delicious! RECIPE: Amish Friendship Bread For best results, do NOT use any type of metal spoon or bowl for the mixing process. Do NOT refrigerate the bag. If air gets into the bag, let it out. It is normal for the batter to raise bubbles and ferment. If you do not see any bubbles after a day or two, your starter might be un-usable. Be sure to mush the bag!~ Day 1 - Do nothing Day 2 - Mush the bag Day 3 - Mush the bag Day 4 - Mush the bag Day 5 - Mush the bag Day 6 - ADD: 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk, then mix within the bag by kneading and mushing Day 7 - Mush the bag Day 8 - Mush the bag Day 9 - Mush the bag Day 10 - Baking day! Follow instructions below Combine in a large non-metal bowl, the batter (starter), 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir thoroughly and...... pour out FOUR 1 cup starters into four gallon sized Ziploc bags (1 cup of starter per bag). Give away these four starters to four friends, along with these directions. OR - You can keep one starter for yourself, and bake more friendship bread every 10 days, and give away the other 3 starters w/ directions. To the remaining batter left in the bowl, add the following ingredients and mix well. - 1/2 cup oil - 3 eggs - 2 and 1/2 cups flour - 1 cup sugar - 1/2 cup milk (i used skim milk) - 1 tsp. vanilla - 2 tsp. cinnamon - 1/2 tsp. salt - 1/2 tsp. baking soda - 2 (3oz.) boxes pudding, any flavor (i used banana cream and vanilla) - 1/2 tsp. baking powder > i also added 1 cup of chocolate chips to mine - you can add in pretty much anything you want. Mix an additional 1/4 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and coat the inside of 2 large greased bread pans (or 5 small loaf pans). Add batter and sprinkle with remaining sugar cinnamon mixture. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour to 1 hour and 20 minutes. Cool, and remove from the pans. If the starter is not passed on to a friend on the 10th day (your baking day), be sure to inform your friend which day/stage of the process the starter is on that day. i think i'm going to start calling this "Friendship Cake" as it is not Amish, and it tastes nothing like bread. its good no matter what you decide to call it.
i just realized - what if you have no one to give you any starter?! well, i also have a recipe for that! Friendship Bread Starter - 1 (0.25 oz) packet active dry yeast - 1/4 cup warm water - 2 cups AP flour - 2 cups white sugar - 2 cups milk Day 1: Dissolve yeast in warm water in a small bowl. Let stand for 10 minutes. Combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar in a 2 quart glass, plastic or ceramic container (do not use metal) and mix thoroughly. Slowly stir in 1 cup of milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Store loosely covered at room temperature. Day 2 - 4: stir with a non-metal spoon Day 5: stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk Day 6 - 9: Stir with a non-metal spoon Day 10: Proceed with Friendship Bread recipe thats it! have fun!
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