Submitted by: Friendship Bread Kitchen
Image (c) Friendship Bread Kitchen
“We love all the wonderful variations but the classic Amish Friendship Bread recipe is by far the simplest and the best!”
>> Need an Amish Friendship Bread Primer with the ten day instructions? Go here!
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 16
Yield: 2 loaves
Ingredients
1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1-2 small boxes instant pudding (any flavor)
1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)
1 cup raisins (optional)
Directions
- Preheat oven to 325° F (165° C).
- In a large mixing bowl, add ingredients as listed.
- Grease two large loaf pans.
- Dust the greased pans with a mixture of 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
- Pour the batter evenly into loaf or cake pans and sprinkle the remaining sugar-cinnamon mixture on the top.
- Bake for one hour or until the bread loosens evenly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
- ENJOY!
Kitchen Notes
If you’re watching your cholesterol, this recipe can be a little tricky. Fortunately there are plenty of oil and egg substitutes available; our favorite is flaxseed meal. If you like raisins, combine different variations (golden, Thompson, and red flame) to keep it flavorful and interesting! We also like to use candied pecans or walnuts (leftover from the holidays and kept frozen in our freezer) to add an extra sweet crunch.
From May Naing: “Add one cup of chopped apple.”
From Jenni Frederick Fruth: “I made the starter with half white and half white whole wheat flour and it was fantastic! For the bread, I only used 3/4 sugar, again the half/half flour, half applesauce/half oil, and no pudding. I greatly reduced the calories and fat and added a little fiber. It was delicious!”
From Jenni Barr Minarik: “A two loaf recipe makes 24 muffins. I sprinkled the tops with cinnamon-sugar and baked them at 400 deg. for 20 minutes.”
Nutritional Information
Approximate nutritional information, per slice (based on 10 slices per loaf and not including optional nuts and raisins): 300 calories, 13 g fat, 1.5 g saturated fat, 35 mg cholesterol, 300 mg sodium, 41 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 29 g sugar, 3 g protein
Nutritional analyses by Joannie Dobbs, Ph.D., C.N.S.
Image Gallery
L to R: Basic cinnamon-sugar recipe in round cake pan (c) Friendship Bread Kitchen; Flax and Three Raisin Variation (c) Friendship Bread Kitchen; (c) Friendship Bread Kitchen; Apple Variation (c) May Naing; (c) Anne M. Alesauskas | Annie Bakes; (c) Anne M. Alesauskas | Annie Bakes; Chocolate Syrup on top before baking (c) Tim Samoff; Dusting pan with sugar-cinnamon (c) Gale Reeves | I Want To Bake In Pictures; Dusting top with sugar-cinnamon (c) Gale Reeves | I Want To Bake In Pictures; (c) Gale Reeves | I Want To Bake In Pictures; (c) Diane Stinson; Top sprinkled with cinnamon, sugar unsweetened cocoa powder before baking (c) Gina; (c) Sharon Lucock; (c) Sharon Lucock; (c) Sharon Lucock; Ingredients (c) Sharon Lucock; 10 loaves of bread (c) Becky Bolen, WA; (c) Nancy L Hubbard (Walla Walla, WA); (c) Glenn Wright; (c) Glenn Wright
How do I get the starter
Hi Emma! I hope you found the Starter Recipe by now! if not, here it is: http://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/pantry/amish-friendship-bread-starter
Thanks and stop in at the Forum and let us know how things are going and what questions you have!
this is day 10– wow my bread turned out so yummy! I made french vanilla ( used 1 small box of pudding) with lots of nuts and dried fruit and it turned out so good! I got 4 small plump mini loafs and still have 5 bags of starter – which froze for now >>knowing what I want to make next–” raincoast crisps”, but need to get some ingredients and 2 new loaf pans.
i got the recipe for starter and bread but from making it once before this oen does not show what to do each day of the ten day process…u got recipe for starter then the actual recipe but it doesnt show what to do each of the ten day, any help????
How can I obtain a starter for Friendship Bread
Hi Sue! Welcome to the Kitchen! If you haven’t heard of anyone where you live passing around a starter, you can easily start your own!
Here is the link: http://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/pantry/amish-friendship-bread-starter
If you have any questions along the way, stop over and leave your comments & question in the Kitchen Table Forum!
Is there a recipe for a friendship bread starter that makes its own yeast? putting certain ingredients together causes a reaction such as yeast does. i just don’t know which ingredients they are. it’s been such a very long time since i made this particular starter. thank you for your time and consideration of this email.
Hi Debbie,
Welcome to the Kitchen! You can actually use all the starter ingredients and leave out the yeast. What happens is that the natural yeast in the air will pop in and ferment.
Stop on over at the Kitchen Table forum and let us know how this is working for you!
*Happy Baking*
will enjoy trying this!!
hello. Well folks today is day10 for me and my starter. I am going to the next step, so wish me luck.
I have tried making sourdough starter before and it didn’t work for me. So, I am going to try this and hope for the best.
Betty
I made my starter last night! You can see a picture of it here:
http://ceceliadowdy.blogspot.com/2011/04/amish-friendship-bread-starter-day-one.html
I’m going to get my five-year-old son to help me squeeze the bag and add stuff during the 10-day process! I’ll be sure to leave another comment once we’ve made the bread!
Question – what if day 10 is a weekday and you don’t want to make the bread that day? What if you want to wait until the following Saturday or Sunday to bake the bread? is it possible to do this? Will it mess up the bread?
Hi Cecelia, yes it ok to wait a few extra days! The starter is wonderful that way!
where do I get the starter bag. Or can I make one for myself.
Hi Trish Here is the link to the starter recipe. You can start your own! If you have more questions, stop in at the Kitchen Table Forum and let us know!
http://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/pantry/amish-friendship-bread-starter
I had my starter on the counter for 10-14 days past the time I was suppose to bake. Is it still good or should I throw it away ?
This stuff is incredibly flexible.
Simple and delicious. I made my starter from scratch and I ended up with more starter than usual. But that was great for me! I made loaves for family, friends, and coworkers. And still have plenty left for myself which I put in the freezer.
I am so excited to see this. It has been years since I had a starter..Thank you for posting this on facebook!! Patty
My starter’s almost ready to bake with! Any recommendations on which flavor of pudding to use in the bread? And is one box enough or does it really need two? Thanks.
Hi Jill
If this is your first bread, vanilla is a good one to start with. Same for how many to use, if this is your first time baking, start with one. If you find you want a stronger flavor or more moisture to your bread, add two next time.
Thanks for stopping in. You can also pop on over to the Kitchen Table Forum for more Freq. asked questions.
Happy Baking!
Thanks
It’s in the oven now and that’s what I did! I will check out the forums, didn’t think of looking there.
love the things I am able to make with the starter
help, in Spring I froze a cup of starter. I would like to start it up, what’s the next step?
How do I determine whether I need one or two boxes of pudding?
Smiles
Hi Caren,
Thanks for stopping in. In the Kitchen we tend to use just 1 small box which seems just right. On some occasions, though, we have used two when we want the extra flavoring from the pudding/jello mix.
Hope that helps!
Hi. I have a question. In the directions in the book, in one place it says you can bake yours the day you divide the starter ( day 10) and in another place it says you will be baking in ten days. (day 20?) If you give someone part of your starter can’t they also bake that day? Thanks. BTW I am on day 6.
Hi Barb,
Thanks for stopping in and asking that question. It is such a flexible starter. Once you have an established starter you can feed and bake on Day 10 or you can feed and wait a few days. On Day 10 you can also divide off all your starters and bake from any of those starters.
Hope that helps.
Happy Baking!
Hi Shelia
Just pull the starter out of the freezer and let it get to room temp. Once it is at room temp. you can feed it and bake or just bake with that starter.
Happy Baking!
What would cause my Amish bread to fall in the middle?
Hi Karen,
Best bet is to make sure you do the toothpick test before removing your bread from the oven. If it comes out clean, remove the bread. If not, increase your baking time. It will fall if it isn’t all the way done in the middle. Another cause could be from too many wet ingredients in the bread.
Does this help? If not feel free to describe what you changed for the original recipe and if you did the toothpick test.
thank you for stopping in!
I’ve been making this for the past few months and have a modification to add that I just realized today.
My bread turns out SUPER moist by using whatever starter’s left in my bowl after measuring out my Ziploc bags. A friend used just 1 cup, as the directions say, but I found it too dry to eat. I usually have at least 2 cups of start left in my bowl.
Hi Robbin,
Thanks for stopping in. Yes, some people do use the leftover in the bowl which can easily be 2 cups of starter. If the bread is too moist we do suggest the 1 cup amount listed with most of the recipes.
We appreciate you sharing your modification with us!
Happy Baking.
I made this bread today it is soooo good
Thanks for sharing Dollie!
I just found your website & printed the starter receipe. I baked 18 loaves last fall, from a starter & threw away 10 because they were very very moiste inside & were only about 3 to 4 inches tall. I bought glass loaf pans thinking that would help. Did a little. Do you think using the large box of pudding caused it not to raise & be so moiste? I baked some of the loaves 70 – 75 minutes! Thanks!
I think this is right, if you give away 1 cup of starter and your friend bakes with it then she won’t have any left. It’s best to give her 1 cup of starter and that would be “Day 1″ for her. That way she can continue to grow her starter and bake with it on Day 10.
If your friend gives you 1 cup of starter: add 1 cup milk 1 cup sugar 1 cup flour this IS day 9, day 10 stir, day 11 stir. day 12 you have 4 cups.
I have a question. if you do not cook bread today feed it with 1 teaspoon sugar and put it in the fridge. Do i do this every day until i cook bread?
let me clear up my comment above.
I use the 12 Day friendship bread.
Day 12 divide into 4 containers
At this point you can feed the 1 cup sugar 1 cup flour 1 cup milk to all 4 containers ( Day 9) day 10 stir, day 11 stir day 12 divide again…..ect.
this is so madden do you know how many pages i click on and never got the starter recipe for the starter what does a person have to do to just get the simple recipes when i used to make it it was just
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup milk then you made it with box cake mix what happen am very dispointed never had such a run a round in my life
Hi Penny!
We are sorry you are having problems! The page that you are on is the Amish Friendship Bread basic bread recipe. In the recipe you will see that it uses 1 cup of Amish Friendship Bread Starter. If you click on it, it takes you to the Amish Friendship Bread Starter recipe for those who do not have already have an established starter.
You are right, you add 1 cup each of flour, sugar and milk to an established starter.
In our Kitchen Recipe Box, we do not have a recipe for using 1 cup each of flour, sugar and milk and then mix it with a cake mix. If you would like to bake it, take a picture and send us the recipe, we would be happy to add it to the Recipe Box!
Let us know if you have more questions and thanks for stopping in at the Kitchen!
Susan
Friendship Bread Kitchen Assistant
Wish me luck, tomorrow I’m making my Amish Friendship bread, and I’m going to add strawberries and pecans!
Good luck, Anna! Let us know how it turns out. We how you will take a picture of it and share the recipe of the variation you create! Have a great day!
Oh how i just luv Amish Friendship Bread, I would like to get a starter from someone but i don’t know anyone that is doing the breads, Please send the recipe to my email i would very much appreciate it so very much
J’aimerai me lancer dans la préparation de la recette, pour certains ingrédients, comme le Pudding, je ne sais pas si j’en trouverai en France ? Se pourrait-il qu’une amie française ait déjà réalisé la recette ? Pourriez-vous lui transmettre mon message afin qu’elle me donne sa recette ?
En tous cas, le livre m’a énormément plu, ce n’est que du pur bonheur, merci de l’avoir si bien écrit !!
A bientot, je l’espère….
Une amie de France
My friend gave me a starter already started with the add one-of-everything days marked on it. She gave it to me on the 29 and that was an add day, I didn’t get a chance to add that day. I did add today, the 30. Is it still good? Can I still bake on the 3, as marked? Or should I wait and bake on the 4?
You should be all set to go, Sam. It is a very forgiving starter and doesn’t mind if you are later. Just carry on and feed and bake once a week or so. Happy Baking.
It has been a number of years since I have made amish bread. I enjoyed making it and giving it away. One of my favorites was a white choclate with almonds and a triple choclate. I have just made some starter I am using plastic bags. I can not wait for day 10.
I started a starter without yeast last month and fed it as I was supposed to. I have since used the starter in some friendship bread. Although the bread tastes great it does not rise very high. The finished bread barely comes halfway up the loaf pan. Does this mean my starter is not quite right? HELP!
Hi Erika
Yeast is what makes bread rise. If you didn’t use yeast in your starter that is why it isn’t rising as high as bread you see in our photos. There is natural yeast that will have found its way into your starter. Our experience is that if you want more rise out of your bread you will need to add commercial yeast. Hope that helps!
Susan
FBKitchen Assistant
How long can the starter be left in the freezer before it “goes bad?” As much as we love friendship bread, sometimes we need a break and I don’t want to lose a good starter. Thanks!
Hi Stephanie,
As for as we know, the Starter can be frozen indefinitely.
Happy Baking,
Susan
FBKitchen Assistant
How do I know when my starter is ready, and when do I put my starter in a bag?? Thanks for your help. This is my first time making Amish Friendship Bread and very excited. I have my mix in a plastic bowl and it’s been sitting on the counter, loosely covered for about 1 hour.
Once you get it mixed, you can add it to your baggie or wait up to an hour or so. There isn’t an exact time.
Happy Baking,
Susan
FBKitchen Assistant
How come some of the breads in your pictures look so smooth? Are they without cinnamon? They look like they didn’t even crack on the top. I just took 2 loaves of original Amish Bread out of the oven now I have 2 loaves of regular with chocolate pudding and chocolate chips in the batter in the oven. Can’t wait to taste it!
Hi Stacey,
You are right that some of them probably do not have the cinnamon sugar on top! So happy to hear that yours turned out!
Happy Baking,
Susan
FBKitchen Assistant
This probably a stupid question, but once you start your starter (yeast, water, 1 cup each milk, sugar and flour), what do you do then? What is the 10 day process? I’ve never made it before, but my mom used to make it when I was in university and she’d send me some and I’d like to try it, but I don’t want to mess it up. Please help.
I am terribly confused, and not sure if I should be. I printed out the recipe for the starter and was getting ready to print out the recipe for the bread, when I realized the starter says to”Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. For the next 10 days handle starter according to the instructions for Amish Friendship Bread.” I used to make this all the time with my mom when I was a girl, but I haven’t seen a starter in probably 15-20 years. I know there are things you add every so many days to your starter, but this recipe for Amish Friendship Bread does not give the directions for the steps to increase your starter. Do I need to increase my starter? Is there a way I can find the steps? My mom passed away in 2004 and I would like to teach my daughter how to make this like my mom did with me. Thanks!
Never mind!! I searched around this wonderful site and found what I was looking for. But, I do want know if anyone has ever heard of a starter that you add canned peaches to?? If could have been something else Mom was making, but I really don’t remember.
Check the Kitchen Table forum. I believe someone asked about that awhile back.
Happy Baking,
Susan
FBKitchen Assistant
Hi Denah I know you already got your answer!
Happy Baking,
Susan
FBKitchen Assistant
Thank you for poasting the starter I love this bread but lost it and have been wanting to know how to start it,, I put a chopped up apple insted of the raisinis and black walnuts. Everyone loves it
Thanks you, Almeda for telling us! We are thrilled you got inspired here at the Kitchen. Love your added touch to the recipe. Next time share a photo with us! We love seeing them.
Happy Baking,
Susan
FBKitchen Assistant
Hi there,
it’s been years since I’ve made AFB, I can’t wait! I have my starter all set but where are the instructions for the next 10 days? I know I am missing something here. Thanks so much!!
Wonderful, Jill! Here you go: http://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread
Happy Baking,
Susan
FBKitchen Assistant
Confused on the math from
http://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread
Day 1 = 1 cup starter
Day 5 add 3 cups stuff = 4 cups plus rise from yeast
Day 10 add 4 1/2 cups stuff, mix and take out 4 cups = 4 1/2 cups left to add eggs, oil etc to.
Recipe on this page starts with 1 cup starter and adds egg oil, etc.
What am I missing
Hi Dean,
Sometimes it’s easier to see it in the original form, so here: http://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/02/SCN_0001.jpg.
Basically there are two parts: the care and feeding of your starter, and then the actual baking. Days 1 through 10 are about caring for your starter. On Day 10 you add the final flour, milk, and sugar before dividing into equal portions of 1 cup each (the original instructions say 4 portions of 1 cup each, but because many people make their starter from scratch, they tend to end up with more as brand new starters are always more “enthusiastic” than ones that have been around the block!).
Now the recipe for the actual baking of the bread is the list of ingredients that begins with 1 cup of starter.
So if someone gave you a bag of starter, which should be about 1 cup, the day they gave it to you is Day 1. You go through the 10 days and then on Day 10 you bake.
Does this help?
I still see two different starting points for baking:
1. You get a starter bag and just want to make two loaves, ie. no feeding.
2. You complete the ten day process and end up with 4 starter bags and what is left in the bowl which is significantly more than 1 cup.
We did #2 above and bread turned out great, but I can’t see #1 being the same
Hi Dean! If you received a starter that’s been around for a while, #1 can taste great, too. #2 is great because you add a bit of your own kitchen (and starters do love to be fed) and you also get to share it. If you have an active starter (or one that’s been recently made using commercial yeast), the yield will be more than 4 cups (1 cup per bag – 3 bags + what’s in your bowl to bake with) so freeze the extra or give away a couple more bags. These are the original instructions that have been passed around for decades and works on the premise that your starter is healthy but not necessarily frothing and bubbling as much as the ones that have been “alive” longer (as the commercial yeast boost has died off or is no longer there).
Thanks for the input
When we made ours we used everything that was left in the bowl after taking out the 4 cup starter bags, (probably 4-5 cups of starter left in bowl) and the dough turned out very thick but baked a good tasting bread. We will do another with just the 1 cup starter and see how it turns out.
Hope to come back and post the results.
Yes, Dean, we’d love an update the next time you bake!
i recently received a starter from a friend and am following the directions. i love this bread and its been years since i have participated in one of these “swaps”. however, i found that as my friend was trying to pass on her started most people were not receptive to receiving them. so my question is when i get to the end of my days (day 10), instead of taking out the 4- 1 cup starters to give away, can i just make it all into bread? how would i do that? thanks. oh and i will be keeping a 1 cup started for myself to continue on. thanks
can you bake the bread before day 10?
If you made your starter from scratch, wait 10 days for the best flavor results and also so the yeast has a chance to do it’s magic in the starter. If you received a starter from someone else, then you can bake anytime.
I cant find the starter recipe i lost mine help me plz.
http://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/pantry/amish-friendship-bread-starter
that dont tell u what you have to add for the next 10 days
Kathy, you only add ingredients on Day 6 and Day 10. The rest of the days you just mix the starter (or squish the bag). On Day 10, after you feed it, you divide it into equal portions of 1 cup each. You can bake or save your portion. If you save it, the ten day cycle starts over again. The starter is only fed twice in a 10 day period. Hope this helps.
i understand that part but what and how much do you feed it
Kathy, are you referring to the 10 Day process? This link provides the complete care and feeding of AFB in detail:
http://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread
oh my gosh thank you Darien so very much i have been looking for this for months my family and friend will be so happy I lost mine and couldnt make them anything thank you again
Is it possible to do this gluten free?
Cheryl, check out the Recipe Box for these starters:
Amish Friendship Bread Starter (Gluten-Free)
Amish Friendship Bread Starter (Gluten-Free and Casein-Free)