Kitchen Friend Marti Yount submitted this recipe for a traditional rustic sourdough recipe using one cup of Amish Friendship Bread starter. Even though Amish Friendship Bread is traditionally sweet, this variation opens the door to more traditional uses of the bread. Think thick slices slathered with butter. Sandwiches. French toast. Mmmm!
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This recipe can also be used to make rolls. Add more warm water to the recipe if the batter is too thick. Every kitchen is different so your rise time may vary. For Step 6, roll into balls and place in a greased rectangular casserole or cake pan. Let dough rise for an hour or until doubled, then bake in a preheated 375° F (190° C) oven for 25 minutes or until golden on top. Keep an eye on your dough and be careful not to let it overrise, otherwise you risk having your bread collapse once it’s in the oven.
Lots of people in the Friendship Bread Kitchen community have tried this recipe. Cheryl Olson’s loaves turned out beautifully (see above) but it didn’t happen right away. “My first attempt at baking the sourdough bread resulted in a loaf that didn’t rise (it ended up being made into bread crumbs), so I decided to start baking a day after feeding the starter, which is quite active the day after feeding. Second attempt was a winner.” Several people agree that making the bread within 24 hours of feeding the starter (or immediately after) resulted in a higher rise.
Kitchen Friend Brenda Halbardier also gave the recipe a try. “If the sugar is left out of the ingredients, the bread will be a little more tart,” she says. “Try letting the dough rise for 12 hours and then 8 hours for the second rise. To help the rise along, put a pan of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven. This bread has a really great texture.”
If your bread isn’t rising much, and you’re using an active, bubbly starter AND your kitchen temperature is good, you might not be kneading the dough long enough. Knead for 10-15 minutes, taking a break every five minutes — if you use a stand mixer, do the last five minutes by hand. A stand mixer isn’t preferred because it can add too much heat to the dough, so keep an eye on that if you notice your dough is getting too warm.
- 1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter active and bubbly
- 6 cups bread flour
- 1 tablespoon kosher salt
- ¼ cup sugar
- ½ cup corn oil plus extra for hands and bowl
- 1½ cups warm water
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Put all ingredients in a very large mixing bowl and mix until batter is stiff.
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Oil hands with corn oil and knead the dough into a smooth mound. Lightly coat the insides of the bowl with oil.
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Cover and let rise overnight or until the dough has doubled in size.
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Remove dough from bowl and knead for 10-15 minutes, in 5-minute intervals to give your hands a rest. If using a stand mixer, knead by hand for the last 5 minutes.
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Lightly oil 2 loaf pans.
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Gently cut the dough evenly and place in prepared loaf pans.
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Let dough rise again all day or overnight.
- When ready to bake, preheat and bake at 325° F (165° C) until golden brown.
- ENJOY!
- Use starter that’s been recently fed (today or in the past 24 hours), and is bubbly and active.
- This recipe can also be used to make rolls. Add more warm water to the recipe if the starter is too thick.
- For Step 6, roll into balls and place in a greased rectangular casserole or cake pan. Let dough rise for an hour or until doubled, then bake in a preheated 375° F (190° C) oven for 25 minutes or until golden on top.
- Rise times may vary depending on the temperature in your kitchen.
- If your bread isn’t rising much, and you’re using an active, bubbly starter AND your kitchen temperature is good, you might not be kneading the dough long enough. Knead for 10-15 minutes, taking a break every five minutes — if you use a stand mixer, do the last five minutes by hand. A stand mixer isn’t preferred because it can add too much heat to the dough, so keep an eye on that if you notice your dough is getting too warm.
>> Have you tried this recipe? Give the recipe some stars or leave a comment below and let us know how it worked for you!
my first sourdough bread came out great!!!
I just put another batch of dough in the bowl for its overnight rising and this time I omitted the sugar altogether hoping for more of a sourdough flavor
Can you substitute whole wheat flour in this instead of the bread flour?
I have used whole wheat flour in bread recipes and it doesn’t work quite right. There is, however, a whole wheat bread flour out there that works wonders! The bread flour has increased gluten, which works with the yeast to create the wonderful texture we love in homemade bread. Hope it works for you! (I bought mine at a Whole Foods Market)
I use this recipe to make dough for flatbread that I grill. I add a bit of rosemary to the dough then cut pieces off after rising the second time, roll out in rounds brush with olive oil, sprinkle with sea salt and cook on a high grill until lightly browned on both sides.
I love the way this bread came out. It is not as tart as regular sour dough, probably because of the way the starter is made. My first batch I let rise for about 14 hours the first time and 8 hours the second. I am going to check mine at about 10 hr for the first rise this time and see how it goes. I omitted the sugar the first go round, this time I added it to check the taste. I have included this recipe with the starter I give away!
Does this come out sour? I’m seeing that some people are omitting the sugar…that the 1/4 cup sugar in the recipe, right? Because the starter already has so much sugar? Or are they omitting the sugar in the starter?
I have made this recipe 3 times now and it has quickly replaced store bought sandwich bread. Like other posters I omitted the additional sugar, it is not really a sour dough per se but it really is a tasty loaf. I have also found the loaf comes out best when I let it rise over night, then knead it the next morning and let it rise a whole day more, baking it the second morning. Voila! Warm bread for lunch that day!
I made it the same way as Liz, this bread is wonderful!! I omitted the sugar and let it rise 2 full days. The loaves were huge. I baked them for 45 minutes and they turned out perfect.
I was given a Amish Friendship Bread stater by my brother in eary December. I followed the recipe that came with it but found it waaaaay tooooo sweeeet. In searching for an alternative recipe to use for my multiplying starters as Christmas gifts I was thrilled to see your bread recipe. Instead of giving away the starters I baked them all up and shared them with family; what a treat, I forgot how much my brothers enjoy fresh bread. Went to visit my brother today and came home with two more bags of starter and a request for the “Christmas Bread Recipe” from my brother. I don’t think we will be buying bread anytime soon! Thank you!
You’re welcome, Karen! Thanks so much for stopping by and letting us know, and so glad you found a recipe that worked for you (and your family).
Approximately how long do you bake the loaves? The recipe just says til golden brown.
Thank you so much! I have never had bread turn out so good! I use whole wheat and brown sugar to feed my starter and used brown sugar in the recipe instead of white. Turned out great and not too sweet! Not sure how to post a picture but it looks beautiful too 🙂
I received the starter from a friend, I followed the directions when it came to feeding it and mixing the dough etc. I have made this recipe twice and both times my dough doesn’t rise hardly at all. What can I be doing wrong? Would it hurt to add yeast to the starter? Help!
Mine took forever to rise because my kitchen is generally on the cool side. A couple things I tried and worked: put a pan of water in the oven on the bottom rack and turn it to 200 degrees Fahrenheit. When it reaches that temp, open the door and put the dough on the top rack to rise. You can also use the light inside the oven. A friend let’s her dough rise in the microwave with the door shut. Also my oven has a proofing setting for dough but it tends to run about 95 degrees which I think is probably too warm. I let my dough rise overnight the first rise then let it sit the rest of the day in the oven, turning the bulb on and off throughout the day. Baked it the next day and it turned out tasty. I could have probably even let it rise longer but I was impatient. My kitchen was running about 65 degrees so it’s way too chilly to let yeast grow. I have to be creative.
I made this today, well, over the last three days. Turned out great in the end, but I didn’t knead it enough the first day. It barely rose the first night (like I couldn’t tell it had risen at all) but I kneaded it like crazy the next day and it rose well over the next 18 hours. One loaf wasn’t as pretty as the other, but it tasted great. It will make really good toasted sandwich bread (for paninis and such). And I left out the sugar.
I was just about to start my first batch of bread with my new starter (this is day 11 and it’s nice and bubbly after feeding it yesterday).
I used the starter that was given to me. I didn’t grow it out, just used the starter for this recipe. It’s ok bread, but it takes way too long to make. I prefer to mix bread and bake the same day. I let it grow 24 hours in the bowl. shaped loaves and let it rise overnight. it was slow starting but I noticed it rises faster the 2nd and 3rd times. I reshaped the loaves and let rise 4 more hours. baked for 35 minutes. I won’t use this method for my weekly bread baking but it was an interesting experiment…..and I got rid of the Amish starter 🙂
Hi Star — you could always do that, of course! The charm with Amish Friendship Bread and its starter is that it’s passed along and shared. Here in the Kitchen, we love sharing different recipes for people to try if they’ve been gifted one cup of starter. Thanks for stopping by!
Hi Darlene! This recipe doesn’t use pudding mix. Were you referring to another recipe? And in general you can leave it out unless it’s obviously necessary for a flavor boost (i.e. pumpkin spice pudding for Amish Friendship Bread pumpkin spice bread). Hope this helps and let me know if you have any more questions!
I’ve nursed my starter for 9 days and I’m getting ready to make my sourdough loaf. I have a question, though. At what stage do you use the starter? Day 10, before feeding it or after? Thank you so much!!
Day 10 after feeding it (same day)! Whatever starter remains now goes through the cycle again and Day 10 becomes their Day 1. Make sense? 🙂
How much water do you use combined with the yeast to begin
the starter? Thanks so much!! I made this bread for a year with
starter given to me but want to be able to start it on my own.
Hi Elizabeth! ¼ cup warm water should do it! You can read more here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread-starter/. Good luck!
We really like this recipe, but without the sugar. Will probably share my next batch with relatives.
My loaves turned out great. Used 9 inch pans.
Will this recipe still work if I only have all-purpose flour?
Hi Bailee — Yes, it should!
What starter? Friendship starter? Fully mature starter?
Hi John,
This uses an active Amish Friendship Bread starter that has gone through at least one 10-day feeding cycle. We’ve had good luck using the starter a day after feeding. 🙂
DO YOU HAVE TO USE CORN OIL? OR CAN IT BE VEGETABLE OIL?
Hi Shannon, vegetable oil should be fine! Or olive oil (not extra virgin).
Hello FBK. I have never made bread before but was given a starter 9 days ago and I am so excited for my first attempt at bread making. I want to make this sourdough bread tomorrow (day 10) but I’m a bit confused. Do I add (per original instructions on day 10) the 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 milk to the starter and then measure out and divide into four/five 1 cup starters? Would I then use one of those 1 cup starters for the sourdough recipe at which point I’d add to it the sourdough bread ingredients (6 cups bread flour, etc.) ?? OR do I skip the flour, sugar, and milk per original recipe instructions and instead divide the pre flour, sugar, milk mixture into four 1 cup bags and only then add the sourdough bread ingredients to one of them?
Thank you in advance!!!
Amanda 🙂
Hi Amanda! Welcome to the Kitchen! To answer your question, it would be after you did the Day 10 feeding, yes Feed the starter, divide it into 1 gallon bags of one cup each, and use one of those (or the remaining batter) to start your sourdough.. But since you’re a newbie to Amish Friendship Bread, I really wouldn’t recommend this recipe — I would go for something a little easier with a high success rate, such as any of the ones here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/sweet-breads/. Making traditional loaves takes time and patience, and also a strong starter. Let me know if you have anymore questions! 🙂
Hello Darien Gee and thank you for your reply! I didn’t get your message until after I made the bread but ended up feeding, dividing, and using one of them to bake with just as you stated. The Bread Goddesses must’ve been with me that day because I even successfully made the sourdough recipe!! Aside from a few worries along the way and under baking just a tad, the bread was beautiful and delicious!! I’m all the more impressed with my wonder bread, lol, knowing now it’s not usually a beginners recipe. Beginners luck perhaps? I’ll take it, lol. THAnks again and happy baking, Amanda.
Oh my goodness, I just remembered that it was in fact the Amish White Bread I made and NOT the sourdough!! How embarrassing! Lol. I wasn’t sure which one I was going to bake that day but opted for the white bread recipe precisely because it seemed easier. It still had that sourdough taste to it and so I must’ve convinced myself it was sourdough and not white, lol. All in all, I still believe the Bread Goddesses were with me that day because bread making is no easy task and well, the bread still turned out wonderful, sourdough or not, lol.
I should have read this reply first! I made the Friendship bread and wanted to do the sourdough this week. I didn’t have bread flour and used all purpose but it doesn’t look like the dough has risen at all overnight. I read somewhere to knead it more? Could I add yeast or the starter should have enough to make it rise?
Hi Beth! You can use all-purpose flour without a problem — the trick is always the condition of your starter (and your kitchen!). Your starter should be fed on the day you make this recipe (or within the past 24 hours), and bubbly when you use it. That’s what helps the rise. And if your kitchen is cool, you may need to be prepared for a longer rise time (when you let it rise overnight, it doesn’t seem to rise a lot, so that part is normal). You’ll want to make sure you see some bulking of the dough, however. You might want to try this recipe and see what kind of results you get: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread-no-knead-sourdough-bread/
does any one have the recipe how to make sourdough bread letting the dough stay to rise for three days in order to get rid of all the phytates and gluten ,by using mason jars with airlock lids
The bread turned out wonderful, I am very happy with this recipe .
Hi Diane! I would time it so that at Step 6, you are forming the dough into balls and then letting it rise until it doubles in size or for sixty minutes, which ever comes first. Then bake at 350°F for about 25 minutes or until a light golden brown (be careful not to overtake).
How can I revive my starter. I neglected it and now when I feed it, it is not bubbling.
If it still smells sour and a little alcohol no link tho you can take 1/2 cup water warm add 1 tsp dry yeast and a little sugar stir it and let it start bubbling then add 1/4 cup flour stir and then add to your existing sour dough starter
Hi, where is the yeast in this recipe?
Hi Helen, there is yeast in the Amish Friendship Bread Starter, which is a key ingredient in most of our recipes. If you’d like to look over the ingredients or make your own starter, you can check out our Amish Friendship Bread Starter recipe.
I saw this made over 20 yrs ago. I have been trying this off and on for over 15 years. I have yet to suceed! It will not rise! Very frustrated because i love the taste of this bread. What am i doing wrong? I follow the receipt however i do not have a dough hook and kneed this by hand and if the dough is too wet it forms a crust on the dough. I dont know if the dough needs to be wet or dry? Kneed with flour until stiff? If i put the dough to rise wet it dries out. Help!
Hi. This is new to me. How do I know when to stop kneading? Can you over work? I know it says till stiff and it became stiffer? (If thats a word lol) but how do I know when to stop? TIA, I am loving this starter. But my family thinks its bizarre that it has a name.
Omg. I just tried to make rolls out of half of it and they are hideous. The batter doesnt want to be reformed. So they are more like blobs. I think I have gone wrong some how. Hopefully they will taste ok. I am worried they will be dense. But Ill try again after the next feeding.
Hi Christy! This recipe doesn’t call for kneading. If you’ve got a stand mixer, you shouldn’t have to knead the dough. Simply use your dough hook attachment. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you’ll know that you’re all done kneading when the dough is no longer sticky and springs back when you press it with your finger. It’s possible to overwork almost any dough. If the dough is overworked, your bread will turn out dry and dense. This could be why your rolls didn’t turn out. Next time you make them, be sure not to over-knead and to let your dough rise for the right amount of time to make sure that your dough become fluffy bread. Hope this helps!
The dough hook to my kitchenaid went missing so I had to do it by hand. I tried 2 more times and was successful with the last but it was still on the dense side. But I ended up with a sweet old Hobart with a all the attachments so I can give it a shot.
I appreciate someone being real about their failure and giving great tips to help with success in making sourdough bread from Friendship bread.
I love sourdough bread and will definitely be trying this recipe.
I’ve tried this recipe and it worked great! My sourdough took a bit longer to ferment. I think it is because it’s really cold and damp where I live. But once it got going it was a yummy recipe!
My potato flake sourdough tried to work, in fact it started bubbling right away. But I forgot about it and left it unattended, so the poor thing died before I had a chance to use it… I will do it again though, I’m really interested in how it turns out!!!
Started on your website about a week ago. Saw the sourdough recipe and will be trying it when my next batch of starter is ready to cook. Looking forward to soup and sandwich bread!
I have always wanted to make sourdough bread but thought it was to much trouble. I have tried making starter to make it but must have done something wrong. it was a flop.
this recipe looks like something I can do and will definitely try it.
I have friends who tell me they want to make sourdough when they get time. I am going to be sharing this recipe with all of them.
thank you.
you have made my like bread friendly again.
Growing up in NY, lots of bakeries sold tangy rye bread, the likes of which are unavailable where I now live. Sourdough loaves have a similar tang, and I’d like to be able to make them, starting with this basic recipe.
My husband loves sourdough, Mt grandmother used to make it for him so I’ll definitely be trying this!!
I want to use this recipe to make sourdough bowls for soup. My kids would get a kick out of edible bowls!
I have never made sourdough before, but always wanted to try and for some reason was always intimidated by it. I think I am ready to give it a whirl. Thank you for all the recipes and starter recipe!
I think this will be the next recipe I try. Looks outstanding!
My hubby loves sourdough bread, so i cannot wait to try this recipe
I love this recipe, and have made it multiple times!
I have made sourdough bread for years but have not tried the AFB starter to make it. I have two bread starters, one traditional San Fran Sourdough and the other is a Potato Flake similar to the AFB Potato Flake. The Potato Flake makes a softer sourdough and haven’t found anyone who doesn’t like it. The dough can also be used for rolls, sweet rolls, etc. Patience is the name of the game with sourdough. I do add yeast to my dough so that it will rise higher and quicker; this is not done with traditional recipes. However I like the results by adding yeast to the bread dough. I believe everyone would be pleased with the AFB Potato Flake recipe, but the traditional San Fran SD would most likely require the rustic or similar recipe.
Love the bread.
I’ve made the recipe several times, using different methods, and love the taste. Thank you!
Use the oil to coat your hands and put enough to grease the bowl before putting the dough ball to rise. You don’t want the dough ball to get stuck on the sides while it’s rising.
Am I understanding that the oil is just for my hands & bowl & not added to the mixing bowl with the flour?
Yes that is correct.
The oil goes in the recipe, and you need some extra for your hands and the bowl. I’ve clarified it in the recipe notes, thank you for asking!
Will a basic sourdough starter work? I’ve already got one going and I am just trying to find a good working recipe. Also, can the amount of sugar be reduced? That seems like a lot of sugar for just 2 loaves of bread.
How did yours turn out? I can’t get mind to rise enough during second proof. I’m so frustrated. This is my third try.
Homemade sourdough bread can be tricky, Shea, and if you don’t have an active starter or a warm kitchen, it’s even harder. If you are letting it rise overnight, and it’s not doubling, try kneading it a bit longer — set the kitchen timer for 15 minutes (which is long, I know), and knead the dough five minutes at a time. That will help build up dough strength.
Thank you for your response! It’s doubling on the first rise nicely. I take it out and knead it enough to form and then it rises a little bit but not coming over the top of the pan. It’s about 1” from the top. Right now, I have some that’s on the second proof for 12 hours exactly. I live in Mississippi and usually keep the air on 71, but I turned it up to 74 today trying to make sure it was warm enough! 🥵. I’ve kept it in the microwave with a hot bowl of water and still it just hasn’t gotten there yet. My starter is def active, I woke up to a nice explosion this morning. One loaf has risen more than the other. I’m def a newbie but I’m getting so discouraged!!! Do I just keep letting I sit??
How long did you knead it for? Possibly it needed more time for the dough to develop some structure (people usually knead for 1 minute but sometimes 5-10 or even 15 is called for). It takes a while to get a handle on homemade bread baking with a starter and figuring out what works/what doesn’t. Another option is to try the No Knead recipe we have, which uses a slow ferment in the fridge. At some point when a dough just isn’t doing its thing (the unevenness of the two loaves tells me where’s a chance the dough wasn’t kneaded enough, but that’s just a guess). How did it turn out?
I made the Sourdough Friendship and it turned out great and i’m using for sandwiches. Only thing for me it took a long time for first rise, the rest of the day and overnight and then when I put in pans for 2nd rise that took a little less time just overnight before i was satisfied it had risen enough to bake.
Glad I waited as it turned out great. I will make again but use less sugar.
That sounds delicious, Marion! So glad your bread turned out. If you took any pictures, we’d love to see them! Feel free to post them to our group Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/amishfriendshipbread/?ref=bookmarks
Can you make this in a Zojirushi bread machine?
Hi Darrell! We haven’t made tried this recipe in a bread machine, so you’ll have to experiment. We would probably recommend you trying the kneading in bread machine, but taking it out for the rises (so you can make sure it isn’t going to stick to the sides of your bowl). It can be tricky using a bread machine on a bread with no additional yeast, so it may take some experimenting. Let us know how it turns out if you end up making it!