How can you tell a good Amish Friendship Bread starter from a not-so-good Amish Friendship Bread starter?
This is tricky for a number of reasons, because:
- every starter is different (i.e. if it’s been passed on or if you’ve made it from scratch)
- every kitchen is different (drafty or warm, different wild yeasts in the air)
- ingredients may vary (i.e. milk can be whole, 2%, skim or non-dairy)
- maintenance may vary (you mix your starter daily or just giving the bag a small squeeze when you remember)
- your starter may not change color but may no longer active–it’s basically batter in a bag
Here’s another scenario: starters that are refrigerated or frozen for long periods of time do tend to change color, usually going a shade darker.
A common misconception
A “quiet” starter is not a bad or spoiled starter. It may look flat, but that’s usually because (1) it’s too cold so it’s actually dormant, or (2) it’s Day 4 or 5 and it’s eaten up all the sugars and is ready to be fed (this is usually the case with super active starters in warmer kitchen conditions). If it’s #1, you’ll want to move your starter to a warmed location (this tutorial might help). If it’s #2, you can either feed it (if it’s after Day 4 and you’ve had a couple of bubbly days) or wait until Day 6 (yes, your starter can be patient).
If you’ve ruled out those two possibilities and still worry that your starter might not be any good, read on.
No two starters are alike
No two starters are alike, with the exception being on Day 10 when you divide your starter to share with others. But once those starters go out in the world, they become unique and individual. Occasionally you’ll keep all your starters and several will be super active and another one, meh. (By the way, the “meh” starter is probably still good, just not as excited as its brothers and sisters.)
Here are two Amish Friendship Bread starters, side by side. One is good. The other … not so much. Can you guess which is which?
It’s pretty easy to tell which one looks healthier. The color, for one thing. The presence of a few bubbles is another. And if you were able to crack the bags open and take a whiff, the one on the left smelled nice and yeasty while the other smelled like nothing at all (this will not always be the case—old, underfed or spoiled starter can smell quite awful. Read more about that here). This particular bag had been neglected in the fridge for a few weeks so it was underfed and no longer active. As hardy as the starter can be, it needs to be fed. Period.
(Note: if for any reason you are using water instead of milk for your starter, be sure to use non-chlorinated water, as the chlorine can kill the good stuff in starters that keep them thriving.)
You should also be seeing some bubbly activity within 24-48 hours of every feeding. If the amount of bubbles starts to decrease, you might need to reduce your starter to one cup and start feeding it as if it were Day 6.
Other signs your starter may be N.G.:
- Presence of mold. This usually happens to people who pop their starter in the fridge, wanting to buy a couple of days of no feeding but not wanting to commit to freezing their starters, and then forget about their starter. Yes, AFB starter is hardy, but it needs to be fed. If your starter turns pink or has pink splotches, throw it out.
- After feeding it, nothing happens. Again, every starter (and kitchen) is different so you don’t want to be impatient. But if you’re feeding it at the proper ratios (1 cup starter = 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk) and nothing happens for the next 24-48 hours, then maybe give it a pass. I say maybe because if you have a cooler kitchen, you may want to go 72 hours. If you’re seeing SOME bubbles, this is a good sign, even if your bag isn’t blowing up or your starter overflowing. Move your starter to a warm place and give it a chance. If it looks flat after three days, let it go.
- It still smells bad after feeding and/or discarding a portion of your starter. That sharp acetone smell isn’t a bad thing exactly — it just means your starter is hungry. So feed it at the proper proportions (see paragraph above). If you have a lot of starter, say 3 cups, that means you need to feed it 3 cups flour, 3 cups sugar, 3 cups milk. I know you know someone who feeds their starter a minimal amount and it’s bubbly and thriving. That can happen, but starters need to be properly fed, so build a hardy starter by keeping the proper proportions. If necessary, stir well and then toss 2 cups of your starter and feed the 1 cup of starter with 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk. If it still smells strongly of acetone and there’s no activity, say goodbye.
The more you care for your Amish Friendship Bread starter, the easier it will be to determine if your starter’s ready to be baked or if it’s gone down a path of no return. Good starters require proper feeding ratios, lots of patience, and lots of love. And once you have a starter that just won’t quit, don’t forget to name it!
I love my amish sour dough and recipes. I have even made different recipes up. My question, I keep mine in a container and use almost weekly or every other week, feeding after each use. I usually bake a double batch of bread when using. I sometimes keep in freezer, I guess I’m trying to ask, does it matter if I don’t keep in bags for just one usage? Mine looks and smells right. I would appreciate your opinion. Thank You Judy
Hi Judy! You can store your starter however you like — we use Ziploc bags for the freezer and to give them away, and glass containers for our counter or fridge. The 1 cup is only a suggestion — do whatever works best for you!
Hi, are you only able to use the start every 10 days, or can you take some more often? I would love to be able to make different breads more often if it works that way.
Thank you,
Jacki
Hi Jacki! Once you get a starter going and you’ve done one 10 day cycle, then you can use it at any time as long as you’re maintaining it every 6 and 10 days with a feeding, feel free to bake away! In the beginning I was like you and baking ALL the time — it was great having it on hand and playing with the recipes. Good luck!
I don’t bag and just keep all in a container and use at least once a week and bake a double batch and feed once again. Always seems like it is ok. Am I doing this right?. I have made so many kinds of breads and give away and everyone loves them
Hi Judy! If it works, keep going! You just want to make sure your starter is active, but if you see bubbles and are feeding it regularly (and it smells yeasty), I’d say you have a happy starter. 🙂
What type of flour to use
All purpose flour, Harriet!
Can you add more yeast to starter if it’s not bubbly?
Hi Leslie! It’s better to reduce your starter to one cup and try one more round of feeding to see if it comes around. If that doesn’t work, I would make a fresh starter rather than adding yeast to one that’s no longer thriving. 🙂
Hello! Last year I had 7 starters going to make Friendship Bread with my students. I’m doing the process again this year but my starters are acting VERY differently. I made them on Monday (today is Wednesday) and nothing has been happening with them. There are a couple little bubbles but I haven’t had to burp the bags or anything, which is really worrying me. Last year the bags expanded so much I had to release the pressure half way through the first night, and this year there’s literally no pressure built up at all. Is something wrong with my starters? I really don’t want this to not work and disappoint my students!
Hi Stephanie! Sorry for the late reply, but yes, you’re right–you should definitely be seeing some bubbly action within 24-48 hours after you’ve made/fed the starter. The only thing I can think of is: (1) your yeast wasn’t fresh, or (2) your kitchen/classroom area is too cool. If the temperature of the room is cool to cold, the starter will go dormant, or at least slow down considerably. Can you let me know what happened? Happy holidays!
I have the same question.
Hi Vikki! See my response above. Happy holidays!
Hi, I love your site and the many tutorials as I am new to AFB. I went through my first 10 day cycle from a new starter that I made. That starter yielded 7 cups! I baked one and saved one for myself which is currently on day 2. So. This day 2 is much quieter than I’ve ever seen it but i do see few bubbles and still smells yeasty. Should I feed it to get it active again? I did just feed it yesterday on my day 10 right before I divided it into 1 cup portions. The thing was when I went to add the 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar and flour, i forgot and used a metal whisk briefly then switched over to a silicon whisk when I realized my mistake. After mixing I made the mistake Of using my metal 1 cup to divide and then switched to a glass cup after I realized my mistake. Do you think this is why it’s not as active as it was? I’d think it would be much more active as I fed it just yesterday before dividing and transferring to new bags. What should I do?
Hi Quyen! Great questions! No need to worry. Starters are often quiet after they are separated into bags and containers. As long as there are still bubbles, it’s a healthy color, and it smells yeast-y, your starter should be fine. No need to feed again until Day 6, then again on Day 10. Your metal kitchenware is not to blame. Most stainless steel coated whisks, measuring cups, and even bowls are safe to use with your starter as long as they are not scratched, exposing the cheaper, more harmful metal beneath. You’ll know if metal has affected your starter because it will turn faint green or faint pink in color and smell funny. Most likely, kitchen temperature is causing your starter to be less active. Make sure you store your starter in a warm place in your kitchen order to help your starter stay healthy and active. Happy baking!
Hi, I am new to AFB and made my first batch of starter 11 days ago. I was able to get 7 cups out of my starter! I portioned the starter into 1 cup ziplock bags and baked 1 cup for my first ever 2 loaves of AFB. It was delish! Thank you for posting the starter and original recipe as well as all the tutorials. My question is this. I accidentally used a metal whisk to mix in my 1 1 1/2 cups of flour, sugar and milk. But quickly switched to a silicone whisk. I then made the same mistake again and used a metal 1 cup to portion out 2 1 cups into bags before I realized it and switched to a glass cup. Now the 1 cup bag I have growing on my counter has been quite quiet since yesterday (my 10th day feeding/dividing/baking). It still smells yeast but doesn’t seem very active. I would think it would be as I just fed it yesterday. Should I give it one more day and refeed to try to wake it up or should I just make a new starter?
I have a starter. It is baking day, day 10. But I forgot to feed on day 6. What should I do?
If you still see some bubbles and activity when you stir it, and it smells okay (and not funky or spoiled), treat it as Day 6 and do a feeding. If you don’t see any activity in the next 24 hours, some bubbling or a foamy top, then discard and start a new starter. Hopefully it won’t be too late! 🙂
I made a rather large batch of muffins – 2 dozen, plus a small loaf last night. Morphed the recipe to dump the extra cup of sugar and milk (cuz it said u could use juice) at baking stage. Put a can of pineapple crush, 2 grated carrots, and a cup of choco chips. Quite yummy ifn I do say so myself!
I made a starter yesterday. It has been 17 hours. The batter rose but there is no bubbling. I only had yeast that was outdated by 4 months and the kitchen is cool. Should I wait 24-48 hours before I toss and start again? Since this is day 2, should I stir/mash even though there is no bubbling activity?
Hi Linda! So the outdated yeast isn’t a great sign. But the starter rising is! So yes, stir it anyway. I would hang in there a couple of days — place it near something warm, like the oven or toaster oven, and place in oven or microwave overnight so it doesn’t get too chilly. If you see no activity at all by Day 6, you have a choice: start over (with fresh yeast), or go for broke: feed your starter and give it a few more days. Regular sourdough starters take a while to get going, almost 2 weeks, so by using commercial yeast and all that sugar (sugar in the milk, too), we’re giving it a boost. I have honestly seen flat, no-movement starters come back from the dead, so sometimes it just takes time for the natural yeast activity to get going. What you don’t want is to neglect it. Regular feeding, baking, and discarding (if you have too much), is the key to a healthy starter. If you feed a starter regularly at the right ratios (1 cup of starter should be fed 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of milk, so 2 cups of starter would double the feeding), otherwise your starter won’t have enough food to grow. Hope this helps and keep us posted!
So my AFB has smelled like a very strong beer/ liquor through all 10 days, should I toss? It’s been quite active the whole time but the “Bready” smell reminds me of a college dorm…
LOL, it’s probably okay, especially if you saw bubbles and it didn’t turn color. If the smell is super strong, it’s usually because the starter has eaten up all the sugars and needs to be fed again (this is often the case with warmer kitchens). Also, it’s really important to stir (or mash) constantly. 🙂
I reached day 10 of my starter processing with a healthy and bubbling starter! Not much happened on days 2 & 3, just a few small bubbles after it was stirred. The starter took off when the sun came out and I was able to put the glass jar by the sunny window!
On day 10 I fed the starter and used 1 cup to bake with. I froze the extra starter in 1 cup portions. Unfortunately, the next day I read not to freeze the starter until it was frothy and bubbling. Mine had been sitting covered on the counter for almost 2 hours. It was just beginning to have small bubbles.
So when I defrost a bag, should I wait to see activity/bubbles before I bake with it?
Hi Linda! Freezing your starter just after feeding it shouldn’t be a problem. Starter is often most active just after feeding. You may find that when you pull your starter out of the freezer, that it is slow moving and somewhat “quiet.” This is completely normal. Your bread will have been dormant in the freezer. You can help to wake it up by feeding it after it is thawed out. At that point, you can treat it like it’s Day 1, Day 6, or Day 10 of the process. You can save it, bake with it, or give cups of it away. To learn more, check out our tutorial on Reviving Frozen Amish Friendship Bread here.
Hi,
So I have had Marge since march 8th and I have been worried about her. She seems like batter in a jar. She never bubbles up after feeding any more, her beery yeasty smell has gotten less and less she smells lightly of bread dough now. My friendship bread is divine but my sourdough loaf wont rise. Im worried that she has no pep in her step, I have a single back up in the freezer, should I take her down to a cup and try to revive her or pull out my back up?
I’m new to this. I just fed my starter and it was too soon, day 5. Am I doomed? Nothing is happening, no bubbles or apparent life. Should I just continue on and feed it on day 9 rather than day 10? I’m scared Help me please
Hi,
I did my ten day starter as usual and bake day should have been Tuesday. It’s friday! Can I still use it just Fred and how long to wait? It still has bubbles galore.
Hi Patty! If your starter still looks happy and healthy, never fear. Just feed it and bake with it as if it were baking day. The only time you need to be concerned is if it starts to smell like acetone (nail polish remover) and starts to turn either pink or green. However, if it looks okay, you can bake with it a few days late.
Wondered if anyone adds cinnamon to their bread before baking. I’ve recieved friendship bread before but if memory serves me it was a cinnamon sweet bread?
Hi Anna!
There is actually 2 teaspoons of cinnamon in the Amish Friendship Bread recipe. Plus the cinnamon and sugar mix that is sprinkled all ove the pans and the top. Super yummy!
Hi Anna! Yes, the original recipe is here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/recipe-amish-friendship-bread/. There is cinnamon in the recipe, AND you coat the pans with a mixture of cinnamon-sugar (that recipe is here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/recipe-sugar-cinnamon-mixture/), and finally you top the batter with the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture before you bake. 🙂
Can you take starter on day 10 and put in the refrigerator and then make bread with it the next day or two?
Hi Mary! Yes, if you’re going to make the bread the next day, otherwise freeze the starter. Make sure the starter has a chance to warm up to room temperature before mixing with the other ingredients, though!
Hello! I will be making starter later today. I have read a few starter ingredients over the web. Some ingredients are: All purpose four, baking soda, sugar and milk. No mention of salt….
Another starter recipe is: Self Rising flour, sugar and milk.. I confused on which one I should use.
Can you help me?
Thank you
Cherry ?
This is our starter recipe, Cherry: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread-starter/.
I can’t find my answer anywhere online.
How long can you chain a single batch of starter before needing to restart with fresh yeast?
So far mine has made it 3 weeks. Still creamy and bubbling. And it gets massaged regularly. Mainly cause it’s too much fun to play with and squish.
Hi! You never have to add new yeast if you are feeding it properly every 5-6 days and keeping the temperature even. That’s why some people have starters that have lasted for years!
I would like to make this bread with my students. I saw in an earlier post that temperature is important. Do you know the approximate temperature the starter should stay at?
Also, if day six hits over the weekend and I want the students to add the ingredients can I push day six back and add two extra mash days?
Thanks for any help!
Hi Tracy! Ideally 72-80 F. If it drops below that, the starter will go dormant. Usually keeping it in an oven with the oven light on, or near a heater/furnace (not touching), will work. If Day 6 hits over a weekend, feed early but keep the schedule (ie. feed on day 4 or 5). But someone will need to mash over the weekend, esp since good starters will get super active and you don’t want to come on Monday to a mess, LOL! Good luck and please share pictures when you’re done!
This was my question too- thanks for answering it!
This is most informative. Use your eyes. Use your hands, texture. Use your nose, good smells, use your ears, timer. And last but not least, your mouth, enjoy the wonderful flavors, textures.
This is i think would be helpful, when i received my first bag i did not know what to expect, i thought the bag was bad and i thew it away.
I never knew you could freeze or refrigerate starter…now i know what to look for if it’s gone bad!
I was very excited when I found this site. I love making Amish friendship bread, my family and friends love getting the starter that I share with them
This is the tutorial I would pick as the most helpful in the bunch. Why? Because you have several “What ifs” in the tutorials, but those can be salvaged (ie. the separated starter) But if a starter is bad, there is no hope for it, and unless you can tell that it’s bad, well, Like you said its just batter!
So this one gets my vote. I’m even going to pin it on my Pinterest page!
Merry Christmas, everyone!
I think this is the most useful tutorial. So many times I looked and wondered if my starter has gone bad.
Love this tutorial.I do have a question though.
My starter is ready and I plan to bake bread today.
All of the talk about metal utensils has me concerned.
I have a kitchen aid mixer that only had a metal mixing bowl…can I use it?? I did not use metal when making the starter.
Yes, you can use it, Vonnie! The metal utensil warning is for uncoated metals (like your grandma’s old aluminum muffin tins). A Kitchen Aid mixer is fine!
If using fresh raw cow’s milk must it be scalded before starting .
I have a question about the starter. Mine had some bubbles on day 1, and then during the forst 6 days (before feeding) the bag would fill with air. I am almost on day 10 and ready to separate and bake the first loaf but the starter seems very liquidy, is this normal?
It shouldn’t be super liquidy, but if it’s like a thick pancake batter, you’re okay. If it’s like milk, then maybe your feeding ratios were off on Day 6. Also, if you are in a warm climate, your starter might be metabolizing quickly (this is my guess based on the bag filling with air). So it is possible that it’s hungry and ready to be fed! It should be fine since you’re almost on Day 10!
can you use 1% milk in your starter?
So I have a sourdough starter that I have used for a few months now. It’s fed and alive and I have used it for different recipies and then a girl in my neighborhood said she had a friendship bread starter to share so I wanted to try that as well. So, today I am supposed to feed it (day 6) and I am a little concerned with how big this thing is gonna get and that I have no one to give it away to (covid-19). I dont think I could ever always find someone to give it away to every 10 days so is there a way to maintain it on a smaller scale? And how soon can you use it after it has been fed? I know you said to do a 10 day cycle, but if someone already did it why would it matter if I don’t and just use the extra after this feeding? My sourdough starter I keep at 50-70grams so this is huge compared to that.
Hi Krys! Freeze your excess starter so you can share it later, or have it on hand to bake with. Once you’ve established your starter after 10 days, you can bake with it anytime so long as you are feeding it regularly. Here are some tutorials that might help:
-https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/keeping-a-smaller-amish-friendship-bread-starter/
-https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-storing-amish-friendship-bread-starter-for-future-use/
With this round, you’ll have at least 4 bags of starter on Day 10, including the one cup you’ll bake with. You can store all of the starter in gallon-sized Ziplocs and just take it out as needed, instead of maintaining it on your counter and having WAY too much.
Stay healthy and safe, and take care!
I’m on day 3 and my starter smells good, the color looks good and I have bubbles. It does seem to have a liquid floating to the top. Not sure if I should start over or dump the liquid.
That’s normal, Susan — just stir it back in!
What if you forget to feed the starter at 6th day? Can you still use it or discard it?
LOL — here you go: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faq-i-forgot-to-feed-my-starter-should-i-throw-it-away/
Hello Darien,
Is there a link you can give me for a regular sour dough bread recipe, rather than the Friendship Loaf? My starter is ready to go 🙂
Thank you so much. Stay safe and healthy!
Hi Joanna — here you go!
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/sourdough-breads
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/biscuits-buns-and-rolls
Hi! I have been keeping the 6/10 day schedule but I haven’t had to burp the bag the last two rounds. It still has some bubbles so I cut it down to 1 cup and fed it the 1/1/1 last night but still no air in the bag. Is this a sign it’s on its last leg?
Hi Grace! It takes a lot for a starter to die out — what’s the temp in your kitchen? I’d put the bag some place warm (like really warm — in the sun-kind-of-warm) to see if that helps. The air in the bag usually happens after you first make your starter, and then again on really warm days. It’s okay if your starter is “quiet” so long as the color is good and you see some activity. But my guess is it needs to be warmer, too!
can i use brown sugar in place of regular sugar? I just realized i have a ton of brown sugar in my house and very little regular sugar left.
Hi Andrea — you can use it as a temporary sub, but ultimately you’ll want white sugar or none at all. Brown sugar has molasses in it, which some say might be good for your yeasts, but it will make your starter dark which will also subsequently make whatever you bake dark, too.
I just made your starter recipe but used bread flour, do you think it will work? I started a sourdough recipe with bread flour a few days ago and it’s doing great.
Hi Joyce — yes, it should work fine!
I started my starter batch last night. Put it in a ziploc and this morning it is a big puffy bag with lots of air. I didnt use the packet of dry active yeast. I could only find a container that said yeast. Is there a difference? Is it okay? Do I let the air out?
Let the air out.
As Andrea mentioned, let the air out, and whatever yeast you used is fine (as you can tell, LOL).
Hi! I have a question! It is the day to divide into starters and bake the bread. I FORGOT to take out the starters and already added everything to bake. Can I still take out 4 starters or is it too late?
Hi Teena — Just so I’m clear — did you feed ALL of the starter you had AND add everything to bake? The starter should only be flour, milk and sugar, so if there are other ingredients, your starter has become batter (but possibly too much and with incorrect proportions) so it’s not good any more. If you removed one cup to bake with and added ingredients to that, and have the rest of the starter sitting in a bowl, yes, you can still divide it (as long as they’ve been fed with the 1.5 cups flour, sugar, and milk each). Hope this helps!
I accidentally added 2 cups of milk on day 5 instead of 1, did I ruin it, do I need to toss it? 😭
Hi Regan! You may want to add a little more flour and sugar if your starter is looking extra runny because of the amount of milk you added. Then watch and see how it looks (bubbly or quiet) and smells. If it seems to be acting normally, it should be fine! If it starts to smell funky or doesn’t seem to show any activity in the next couple days, we usually recommend to be on the safe side and throw it out. Good luck!
Hello! I recieved a starter kit stating day one was May 17th, it is now May 30th. I have done nothing to my kit (because I was planning on just baking the bread….but then 13 days pass me by…). I belive it is still active because I have had to continue to let air out of it, but that is about all I have done. I am alble to measure out about 2.5 cups of the starter, so I know it has expanded even without me adding anything to it. My question now is, do I need to do any “feeding” to it before I start my recipies for bread (carrot and the original amish bread recipe) or can I just add whatever the recipes are calling for?
Thank you so much for your website/advice!
Hi Rachel! Because your starter hasn’t been fed in around two weeks, there’s a good chance it isn’t active any more, but if you have ingredients to spare, it would be worth trying to save it. Here’s our advice: stir well, then reduce your starter to 1 cup. Feed it 1 cup flour, sugar, milk, stir well, and see what happens. If it starts bubbling and smells and looks good, you’re in good shape! However, if you feel worried about it or it smells off at all, go ahead and toss it. As we like to say in the Kitchen, “when in doubt, throw it out!” I also recommend taking a look at this post for other helpful hints: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-maintaining-a-healthy-amish-friendship-bread-starter/