Looking for something to bake, but trying to cut out sugar? We’ve got you covered. This sweet, low-sugar Amish Friendship Bread uses sugar-free ingredients to yield a moist, cheesecake texture without the sugar overload.
Sugar-free vanilla instant pudding can also be used in this recipe; however, the cheesecake flavor seems to produce a more moist bread.
Amish Friendship Bread (Low Sugar)
Looking for something to bake, but trying to cut out sugar? We’ve got you covered. This tasty, low-sugar Amish Friendship Bread uses sugar-free ingredients to yield a moist, cheesecake texture without the sugar overload.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter (Sugar-Free)
- 3 eggs
- 1 cup oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup Splenda
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups flour
- 1 small box sugar-free cheesecake instant pudding
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325° F (165° C).
- In a large mixing bowl, add ingredients as listed.
- Grease two large loaf pans.
- Pour the batter evenly into loaf or cake pans.
- Bake for 40-45 minutes or until the bread loosens evenly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
- ENJOY!
Nutrition
Serving: 1sliceCalories: 74kcalCarbohydrates: 14gProtein: 1gFat: 1gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 96mgPotassium: 38mgSugar: 5gVitamin A: 28IUCalcium: 16mgIron: 0.5mg
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Sue says
I don’t see any recipe listed that is not a sweet dessert-type bread. Can i use this recipe to make a savory or plain sandwich bread?
Darien Gee says
Hi Sue! There are a bunch here:
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/sourdough-breads
here:
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/biscuits-buns-and-rolls
and here:
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/pies-and-tarts.
Plus many of the recipes are savory, like herbed crackers or garlic onion breads. Happy baking!
Lisa Alberti Brown says
How do you make the starter sugar-free? Do you put Splenda in the starter instead of sugar?
Darien Gee says
Just leave the sugar out, Lisa. Splenda contains sucralose which does not appear to metabolize with yeast (regular sugar feeds yeast), so better to leave it out of your starter.
Belinda says
Finding a sugar free starter recipe has been impossible. I have two diabetics here and have been making amish bread for a long time. I have made my starter the regular way and have just been omitting the sugar from the recipies on baking day. Which of course isnt totally sugar free due to the sugar in the starter. My family absolutely loves baking day and I really need a sugar free starter so I just want to make sure I understand. When you say leave the sugar out, do I just make my starter from day one the regular way and on feeding days only add milk and flour. I thought sugar had to be in it in some form for the yeast to do its job right. I tried making the starter with splenda and it doesnt work well at all and I ended up throwing it away.
Darien Gee says
Hi Belinda! So a couple of things: first, Amish Friendship Bread starter is just like a traditional sourdough starter except that we give it a BIG boost with commercial yeast and extra sugar (in the milk as well as cane sugar). So if sugar is a problem, make the starter with only yeast, flour and milk. If the sugar in the milk is too much, use water or a nut milk alternative if you do that. The starter will have to work a little bit harder to grow, but it can be done (traditional sourdough starters are just water and flour). Second, you can then use sugar-free baking ingredients for any recipe (like Splenda). Those sugar alternatives don’t work in starters as the chemical composition is different, but if you use it in other cooking, it should be fine for baking. Does this help? I’m not a doctor, dietician or a food scientist but as I understand it, there is going to the presence of sugar in any baked good as flour is a carb that turns to glucose in our bodies. For the starter, the fermentation process lowers the glucose levels in the flour and milk (which is why sourdough is a great low GI alternative), but you’ll have to make the call when it comes to the ingredients you use for actual baking. Probably the best test for your family would be to actually measure glucose levels before and after, and see if even a low-sugar AFB is a possibility. Good luck and please keep me posted!
Teresa says
Can anyone provide me a recipe for a sugar-free starter? Thank you!
Rebekah says
Here you go, Teresa: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/afb-starter-sugar-free/
Kathleen L Graca says
How do you make a sugar free low fat starter??
Melissa Essoufi says
Whats the recipe for the SUGAR FREE STARTER? It’s not sugar free if you use the original starter.
Rebekah says
Here you go, Melissa: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/afb-starter-sugar-free/
Theresa N says
I’d share this with a friend.
gwen says
alot of my breads sink in the middle, can you give me reasons why this happens/
Darien says
Hi Gwen, check our FAQs — we talk about this over there. Good luck!
Barb says
Does anyone know why Cinnamon is omitted from the sugar free Friendship Bread version?
Darien says
Mainly because this variation uses a cheesecake pudding flavor as a base — you could certainly add it back in, especially if you use the sugar-free vanilla variation.
Sharon King says
PS – I use the baking soda, vanilla, salt, & baking powder, too…was just noting in my 1st post the healthier versions of the other ingredients.
Sharon King says
I’ve made AFB often in the past & (though not a ‘true baker’) I was always trying to make it healthier. I used a 3-1 sucralose/sugar blend, egg substitute, skim milk, sugar-free pudding, no-sugar-added applesauce instead of oil, & a half & half or 3/4-1/4 whole wheat/white flour blend. Most of the time, everything turned out well – but, sometimes it didn’t (& I never knew why).
When using the sugar-free starter & replacing ALL the sugar with sucralose, do you lose any of the bread’s quality? Is it heavier with a coarser texture? I’m about to start holiday baking & hoped you could guide me.
donna coats says
I just made the starter, and I used a metal whisk. Is that going to ruin the start? Should I discard it and start over? And, if I freeze a cup of starter on the 10th day, when I want to use it do I just thaw it and make the bread. I don’t have many friends who share my love for baking.
Rebekah says
Hi Donna! Check out the “Health and Safety” section in our FAQ library: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faqs/#health4 It should help explain if you should use metal utensils or not!
gwen says
i have often had this problem of not being able to bake on the 10th day, would like the option to refreeze, what do you mean by “feed” it before baking?
Darien says
You can read about this on our FAQs, Gwen, but in general it helps to take your starter out a couple of days before you want to bake and let it “activate” again by bringing it back to room temperature for a few days and then feeding it (as you would on Day 6 or Day 10, depending on how much starter you want to share afterwards). If you don’t want to give out starter, then just bring your frozen starter back to room temperature, give it a couple of days, and then bake. You can bake with it on the same day it comes back to room temperature, too, but you might notice slightly better (flavor) results if the yeast is allowed to get going again.
Terri says
I have never frozen any batter. If I can’t bake on day 10, I have never had a problem with continuing to mash the bag and let the air out until I can bake. I think I have gone as long as 18 days before I could bake. When I was ready to bake, I just followed the directions and everything came out just as good as if it was day 10. I have so many people that want the batter that I never have any to freeze….good luck
Blue says
I know this one is old but, if the whisk was newer or didn’t have any scratched up or worn spots it should be fine, I forgot once and used a metal spoon to stir my starter and it survived. And yes, just thaw the starter and feed it the top section of the day 10 instructions (milk, sugar, flour or if you are doing sugar free the milk and sugar) and continue on. If you are going to freeze it I would feed it after you thaw and let it stand in a warm spot covered with a towel for about a half hour to let the yeast wake up again and get bubbly.
Tina Ray says
Remember, the oldest “starters” were probably often stored in tin pails and stirred with whatever was available. It doesn’t effect the outcome at all (in my experience).
Minakovic says
Where can I find sugar-free instant pudding ?? never seen any sugar free instant pudding at grocery store, they do not seem to be available in Canada… only the refrigirated Jello ready to eat no sugar added pudding…. Can I use this one ? or do you have any other suggestion ?
Thanks
Rebekah says
You can always get it off of amazon here, Minakovic. Otherwise, you can try the recipe without the pudding and see if you like it that way, as well. Good luck!
Robein Palmer says
This is great, I made my own version of this before I saw a recipe. I keep a friendship bread starter as well as a sourdough starter. I’ve got to make this for me and my daughters. I know we’ll love it.