Amish Friendship Bread and Starter

Amish Friendship Bread and Starter

Amish Friendship Bread begins with a sourdough starter that is passed from friend to friend.  It includes the starter and complete directions for how to care for it and a recipe to make the bread.

Once you receive a start you must care for it for 10 days before you can make bread.  When day 10 comes, you make some bread for yourself and divide the starter between 2 or 3 friends.  You must take care of your starter.  Otherwise it may turn bad.  Store it in a glass or plastic container and use ONLY a wooden spoon to stir it.  You may also store it in a plastic gallon-sized zip-top bag and squish it instead of stir it.

Friendship bread gets its distinct flavor from the acids produced in the starter.  It’s a cinnamon quick bread with a crust of sugar and cinnamon on top.  The flavor is kind of hard to describe.  It’s sweet and cinnamon-y, but slightly tangy.

If you’re not fortunate enough to receive a from a friend, don’t despair.  You can make your own start.  We have a recipe and directions below.

For your convenience we have a printable version of the recipe to pass along to your friends.  You can download it here.

Save