Love Amish Friendship Bread, but don’t love waiting 10 days to make it?
I totally get it. Sometimes we just want to bake, well, RIGHT NOW. If you don’t have a starter, don’t have time to make a starter, or just want that warm, delicious cinnamon-sugar crunch in time for your morning coffee, this recipe is for you. ☕️
A search on the Internet will show a ton of alternatives, but which one tastes best? I’ve got your back.
Which variation works best?
I spent two mornings testing three different no-starter, starter-free Amish Friendship Bread variations: plain Greek yoghurt, buttermilk, and sour cream. I also made a regular loaf with a starter as my control loaf. So yes, LOL, after 250+ recipes I am finally going to show you how to make Amish Friendship Bread without the starter!
Note: another great plus of this recipe is that it’s considered yeast free since it doesn’t use the starter, so it’s a great option for those with a yeast intolerance or allergies.
Here’s a quick video overview (spoiler included, so if you want to draw out the suspense, read below first):
(For those of you with a discerning eye, this starter was fed with whole wheat flour a couple of cycles back and has since kept its darker, nuttier color. Not to be confused with this.)
And the winner is…
Let me start by saying that all of the loaves were tasty. I had a small panel of taste testers (my neighbors and my kids, all of whom have refined their Amish Friendship Bread palate by now), and they liked different loaves for different reasons. When I asked them which was closest to the original Amish Friendship Bread flavor, the winner was (drum roll) the buttermilk substitute.
In the old days, buttermilk was what remained after the butter was churned. The liquid cream was left to ferment, converting milk sugars into lactic acid (sound familiar?). Nowadays we have to pasteurize things, so lactic-acid bacteria is added to pasteurized skim or low-fat milk to make buttermilk.
Once I knew buttermilk would solve our no-starter problem, I made it several times (count: 4) until it turned out as close as I could get it to the real thing. Of course if you want the real thing, just bite the bullet and shake out your bag of starter. But if you can stand a pretty darn good imitation, this is it.
(A note on making batches of Amish Friendship Bread: consider baking them in disposable pans, like the paper pan above, so you can gift the extras to friends and neighbors. I made this recipe four times, which means 8 large loaves, and who knows how many mini loaves. All were delicious and giftable.)
No Starter (Starter Free) Amish Friendship Bread
Ingredients
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup oil
- 1½ cups buttermilk
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ teaspoon vanilla
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- 1 small box vanilla pudding
- 1 cup nuts chopped (I used walnuts)
- 1 cup raisins
Instructions
- 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 ½ cup sugar and ½ teaspoon cinnamon.
- Pour the batter evenly into loaf or cake pans and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar 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!
Notes
>> Have you tried this recipe? Share your best pic with us or leave a comment below and let us know how it worked for you!
calories please. how big is a slice? 1″? 1/2″?
i have health issues and must watch my calorie count and nutritional values. i eat what i like but i have to plan ahead and consider what i put into my mouth. i’m sure others are in the same position.
I finally set aside some time to try your Amish Friendship Bread without the starter. But I did make a little change. I used the powdered buttermilk and, in my opinion, it turned out wonderful. I mixed 1 1/2 cup water with 6 tablespoons powdered buttermilk and slightly wisked the mixture to get the lumps out. I also used 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 loaf pans. The bread “peaked” and turned out so very soft and light. I think I was using loaf pans that were too big. Thank you so very much for coming up with this “starter free” recipe. Now I can get back to baking Amish Friendship Bread.
I don’t keep fresh buttermilk on hand because I don’t use it up. I do, however, have Seco buttermilk powder on hand. Do you know what the equivalent amount of powder is to make the 1.5 c. of buttermilk?
Hi Jackie! Here is a great post about substitutes for buttermilk: https://bakeorbreak.com/2020/07/buttermilk-substitutes-in-baking/
Hi Jackie. I used 1 1/2 cup water plus 6 tablespoons of the powdered buttermilk to get the amount you need of buttermilk in this recipe. I wisked it a little to make sure it was blended well and then just added it to my batter like I was using buttermilk. And I think my bread turned out wonderful. I plan on using my Seco buttermilk powder for other recipes for now on because I don’t keep buttermilk on hand.
I did exactly as the recipe instructed using a buttermilk substitute of milk and white vinegar, and left out the nuts and raisins(my kids don’t like them) and it turned out perfect! Thank you for a exceptional recipe I plan on making again!
So glad you enjoyed the recipe, Leanne. Thanks for sharing!
I have made this several times before, but lost my recipe. I like to make a bunch of small loaves at Christmas to give away with platters of goodies. Unfortunately, my first batch came out flat as well and stuck to the top sides of the pan as well as the rest of the pan. I could not get one to come out complete. I put less in each pan on the second batch and greased burg did not add the cinnamon and sugar to the pan…only the top of the bread?
hoping this batch comes out!
I did my loaves without raisins and nuts, but they turned out completely flat and dense! Any ideas why? Was going to gift one to our new neighbors, but want to get it right first!
Hi Jess! It’s so disappointing when your bread doesn’t turn out. One possible issue when your bread is flat or dense can be over-mixing. Another issue could possibly be that your baking soda or powder isn’t fresh. Here’s a FAQ that you can use to check that: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faq-baking-powder-or-baking-soda-fresh/
I’ve GOT to try this, tired of mason jars with starter sitting around on my kitchen counter, taking up valuable real estate space!!
I made lemon Amish Friendship bread, adding lemon juice instead of the cinnamon. But my loates turmed out too moist and stuck to the bottom of my pans! Did the lack of cinnamon cause this?
Help!
Hi Linda! How did you grease your pans? Your bread may have turned out more moist because of the additional liquid from the lemon. You can try our Lemon Amish Friendship Bread recipe, if you’d like: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/lemon-amish-friendship-bread/
Try lemon pudding instead of vanilla.
Do you need to refrigerate this, after baking?
Hi Diana! No, you do not need to refrigerate the bread after you make it. However, it will last longer if you refrigerate it in an airtight container. Let us know if you have any other questions!
I substituted one cup buttermilk for the starter in the Blueberry Lemon Ricotta Scones
They are delicious!
I have made the recipe with the starter numerous times -both the regular recipe and a sugar free version
All three are amazing
I also made a glaze using lemon juice and confectioners sugar to drizzle on top for the extra lemon flavor
Thank you for all the recipes!
That sounds delicious, Rose! Thanks for sharing your tips! ❤️
I had an over abundance of milk kefir so I made No starter Amish Friendship Bread with one of my bags. (I put it [kefir]in breast milk bags to freeze for smoothies) each day.
Delicious!
Thanks for sharing, Letty! That sounds delicious.
Maybe I made a mistake, but this recipe, followed to a T, only made enough batter for a 9×5 loaf pan? Which is fine, but…. I consider a 9×5 loaf pan, a ‘large pan’. I can’t wait to try this! The batter is DIVINE!!!
how should i treat fresh cranberries? Any and all ideas r welcome! Got 2 have my cranberries!!!! Is there a place 4 the addition of Vanilla pudding as i have seen in the traditional ‘starter’ recipes? The pudding as an ingredient intrigues me.
thx , M H E
If you’re using fresh cranberries, you should toss them in a teaspoon of flour or sugar so they don’t sink in the dough, and we would advise trying a 1/2 cup first and seeing how you like the consistency. This recipe does call for vanilla pudding, as well. Let us know if you have any more questions!
I have eliminated the cinnamon and used all flavors of pudding. Comes out delicious and moist. Chocolate with mini chips and nuts was a big hit.
That sounds so good, Denise! Thanks for sharing!
My loaves turned out flat..I wonder what I did wrong? I did sprinkle a lot of the cinn and sugar mixture on top and it created a crust that kind of flattened them??
I used fresh ingredients and it still happened. I think I over mixed it.
My very first from scratch cake. Bunt cake. Amish bread cake. We ate the first quarter befor it fully cooled.
It is outstanding! I mixed it with a wisk because I didn’t trust the electric mixer. I took pictures but I don’t see where to show them to you.
I would like to keep my starter going on the counter but I don’t want to keep finding people to share or freeze it. What ratio of flour, sugar, and milk do I feed the starter, and how often, so I may continue to have a couple cups worth so I can bake when I want?
1/3 cup of mild, flour, and sugar. On day 5 add the same amount.
Sorry. It should be milk.
I made this with buttermilk. My husband really liked it.
Made the Lemon Poppy seed Friendship loaf today and it was absolutely astounding, even if I do say so myself. thank you so much for this starter, it has made baking very easy.
Excited to try this
Wonderful recipe, much faster and easier to make than ten day starter. My batch was gone as soon as it hit the table. Wish there was a way to show you a photo…….thanks for posting this recipe…..can’t wait to make this again.
Do the wet ingredients (eggs and milk) need to be at room temperature?? Also do the ingredients get added at once all together then mixed or mix wet ingredients and then add dry??
Thank you so much! This is my first time trying to make it 🙂
I usually have starter in the freezer, but this recipe would be nice for when I bake on the spur of the moment. It looks really moist, and yummy!
Great memories of early teen-hood here! I couldn’t free up two of my loaf pans, so 9″ rounds worked nicely. Same cook time and temp. My daughter never heard of this stuff before, but I have a feeling we’ll be getting a new countertop pet (starter).
Can’t wait to try this, I don’t always have starter and this will make my husband happy.
Made it today, taste great maybe add a little extra cinnamon next time I cooked it for 1 hour 10 mins still could have used a little more and didnt rise in center very high, I made two sets one with raisins one without but great take on amish bread thank you
Hi, love this recipe & make it all the time!! Here’s some things I’ve done w/ the recipe… used lemon pudding & added 1/4 cup poppyseeds, omitting the cinnamon.
I also did one where I added orange rind, a little essential orange oil & chopped fresh cranberries again omitting the cinnamon, those are great @ Holiday time.
Going back to the lemon pudding & adding fresh blueberries…just a hint, lightly dust the blueberries w/ flour so they don’t sink to the bottom of the bread.
Hope you enjoy these versions as much as we do.
Recipe for chocolate friendship bread: no starter please!!!
The simplest solution: use chocolate pudding instead of vanilla pudding, and add chocolate chips instead of raisins!
So true. Works out deliciously.
I remember this as a kid but without all the nuts and no cinnamon or pudding, it was just plain sweet bread great with just butter. I cannot find a simple plain recipe. can you help
Hi Ray — You might be thinking of the Amish Friendship Bread potato flake bread. The recipe is here:https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/potato-flake-amish-friendship-bread/
I love the Friendship Cake, can I incorporate some of the fruit that goes in the cake in this bread?
Hi George! Yes, up to 1 cup dried or, if wet, well drained and patted dry. 🙂
I made this and have a few comments. First of all, it is good…pretty darn good without a starter. However, it is wetter than my bread made with a starter. Also, it doesn’t rise as well since it has no yeast in it. I’ll definitely make it again. Is your bread wet??
It should turn out pretty close to the original, but next time you could bake it a bit longer and see if that helps! 🙂
This didn’t work out for me at all. Possible culprits: non dairy milk and cheesecake pudding? I dunno, they didn’t rise at ALL. Rectangle paper weights. My house smells amazing, though, so there’s that!
Hello! So sorry that your baking adventure did not turn out as planned. The cheesecake instant pudding mix is probably not the culprit, unless of course the box was expired. Many of our recipes call for the cheesecake instant pudding to add moisture and flavor. The dairy-free milk is much more likely the problem. Because this recipe uses no Amish Friendship Bread starter, it needs the kick provided by the buttermilk in order to resemble Amish Friendship Bread. Hope this helps!
🙂 I did add vinegar to the non-dairy milk, which I have done for vegan recipes for the buttermilk effect. Oh well, will just have to try again! Hah.
Just to clarify- 1 cup sugar goes in the mixture and then an additional 1/2 in the pan and on top of the bread?
Hi Kelli — 1 cup is in the recipe. You then dust the greased pans with a cinnamon-sugar mixture (you won’t use the full ½ cup of sugar), and also sprinkle on top. This is an optional step.
Thank you for this recipe. I am wondering if I can use this in my bread machine. It’s an old West Bend that works great but is just basic. Thanks again, and Merry Christmas.
Do you use self rising flour or plain flour.?
All purpose, Judy!
When you remove 1cup of frozen starter ,do you find that it feels more like a slushy consistency, than frozen solid ?
Yes. It won’t be frozen like a block of ice, but have more of a sludge-like consistency.
Thank you !!
I’m so happy to have found the
Friendship Bread Kitchen !.
I’m bringing some of the most delicious Banana bread I’ve ever had in to work today. These recipes are great !
I would love to try this recipe but live at an altitude of 6500′ and usually have to make adjustments to recipes for baked items. What recipe changes would you suggest?
You’ll find some help in our FAQs, but here’s a nice guide by allrecipes (http://dish.allrecipes.com/high-altitude-cake-baking/):
Adjustment for 5000 feet:
-Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon, decrease 1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon.
-Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 0 to 2 tablespoons.
-Increase liquid: for each cup, add 2 to 4 tablespoons.
-Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F.
Adjustment for 7000+ feet:
-Reduce baking powder: for each teaspoon, decrease 1/4 teaspoon.
-Reduce sugar: for each cup, decrease 1 to 3 tablespoons.
-Increase liquid: for each cup, add 3 to 4 tablespoons.
-Increase oven temperature by 25 degrees F.
Hi, can I not put the starter in a plastic bag? Could it stay in a bowl with clingwrap over the top? (have almost finished “Friendship bread” by Darien Gee and thought I had to give this a go. from New Zealand)
Hi Rachel! There are multiple ways to store your Amish Friendship Bread Starter. You can certainly store it in a glass bowl and cover it with clingwrap. This often makes it easier to stir and feed. You can also store it a Starter Storage Jar, available in our store. For more information on how to care for your Amish Friendship Bread, you can check out our Amish Friendship Bread 101 page. Happy baking!
trying this bread tonight
Let us know how it turns out!
I made this bread for a Christmas party to hand out as gifts , everyone loved it! Someone even asked if I had any starter left so I had to confess and tell them it was a no starter recipe!
Did you use mini loaves or regular pans? I’f like to use mini loaves and wonder how much time to bake them for.
Thank you for your website. I make all my bread, from no knead bread to quick breads. All my recipes have notes from me on them, that’s why I have them all in 3 hole binders. It works and when I get recipes from the net I print them on letter size paper. It works great! I have binders for different kinds of recipes. This looks great. I just have not been able to keep a starter going. I can’t wait to try this out. Glad I fould you!!
Welcome to the Friendship Bread Kitchen, Shirley! Glad to have you here! 🙂 Darien
Hi there,
For those of us in other countries with no access to pudding mix, how much is in a small box and what are the ingredients of it? Cornstarch and vanilla like with custard powder?
Hi Linda! Great question! We actually have a few homemade pudding recipes here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/?s=pudding, but lots of people make the recipes without using pudding at all. You could try it both ways to decide what’s easier for you — not having to make homemade pudding would eliminate one step, and the whole point of Amish Friendship Bread is making something without a lot of hassle. Good luck and keep me posted with how it goes!
Would it be possible to sub 1/2 c. applesauce for half of the oil?
Hi Tammy,
The rule of thumb for replacing oil with applesauce is ¾ cup applesauce to 1 cup oil. So if you’re just going to go half, you would want to use ½ of ¾ cup applesauce. Or experiment and see what works! Keep me posted, I’d love to hear your results or see a photo!
I have baked the full amount of batter in a tube pan and it turned out very nicely .
Thank you. I did bake the batter in a bundt pan. It also worked very nicely.
I want to use a bundt pan in place of the loaf pans, any suggestions? May I use all the batter in one baking?
How much sour cream do I use if I want to go that way? Thanks in advance.
1-1 with starter, Tee! 1 cup (8 oz).
Thank you for this receipe. I made it–in fact I have made it several times& it was delicious. I like easy to follow receipes & ones that you don’t have to go out & buy things you’ll only use once in a blue moon. This will be a favorite of mine. Thank you again.
Recipe says “Add ingredients as listed” – Do I stir after adding each ingreadient? Or put them all into the bowl in order listed & Stir all at once?
Thanks
I love Amish Friendship bread and can’t wait to try this without a starter, did you use instant vanilla pudding or regular?
Hi Karen! We use instant. You can also make your own: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/vanilla-instant-pudding/
Ok, I think I’m going to try it the same way as the bread (which was delicious). I’ll let you know how it turns out.
Sounds great, Deb!
I’m looking for a recipe for NO STARTER Amish Friendship CAKE. Thanks.
Hi Deb! Sorry, we don’t know much about the 30-day Amish Friendship Bread cake that uses the fruit starter, so I’m afraid we can’t be of much help! Let us know if you find it, though — we’re always up for learning more about other variations!
My starter is on the counter in a canning jar. Do you have your lid over the top of the jar ,without the latch closed ?
Hi Finn,
If you’re keeping your starter in a jar it’s best to drape it with a dish towel or some loose saran wrap but to keep the jar unlatched. If the jar is sealed the starter can build up gases so quickly that you could have a mess on your hands. 🙂 Thanks so much for being a part of the Friendship Bread Kitchen!
Have you tried this with gluten free flour?
No but it should work, Rosemary, especially if it says on the package that it can be used in lieu of regular flour for baking! Good luck and let us know how it goes.
Many many years ago, my mom-in-law gave me a bag of starter. I made it and everyone loved it but got too busy to keep up with it and forgot all about it. Just recently I picked up your book “Friendship Bread” and it all came back to me! Now, an Empty Nester I have all kinds of time to nurse along a starter for 10 days and am looking forward to looking through the variations on my Kindle as I wait for that glorious BAKE DAY!
I am also excited to read your other novels in the Avalon series!
Thanks for bringing back happy memories to my kitchen!
Thanks for the kind comments and for reading, Rhonda! Happy baking!
You rock! I LOVE Amish Friendship Bread but hate messing with the starter. Thank you!
You’re welcome, Dianna!
Does this work without the nuts and raisins? Do any of the other ingredients need to change if I omit the nuts and raisins?
Yes, the recipe should be fine without the nuts and raisins, Susanna!
Darien, this is awesome. I love it uses buttermilk which I often have left in the fridge. Thank you, it’s on my too do soon list.
Thanks, Paula! Please share a picture if you end up making i, I loved to see it! 🙂
Does this mean we can replace the starater with buttermilk in all recipes?
I only tested it with the original recipe, Margaret, so I can’t say for certain. I’d recommend trying this one and if you like it, try a substitution with another recipe (just keep an eye on measurements — you may have to increase/decrease your other liquids, etc.). Let me know how it goes!
Am trying this tomorrow and will hopefully have it ready for church on Sunday.
Hope it’s a hit, Kelli! Keep us posted and thanks for being in the Kitchen with me!
Yay!
Glad to have you in the Kitchen with us, Patricia!
I’ve given up on making Amish friendship bread because I can’t seem to keep a starter alive. I would love to have the bread again, it’s popular with my family and friends.
I hope you’ll give this version a try, Carolyn. It was super tasty and a great shortcut if you don’t want to use the starter. Good luck!
It’s just me and my husband now so it’s not worth it for me to keep a starter on hand. It just gets away from me. Very excited to try this.
Let me know how it goes, Dawn! Snap a picture if you can and submit it here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/submit-your-photo
I cannot wait to try this!!!! Thank you!!
You’re welcome, Lis!