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This recipe for Amish Friendship Bread comes just in time for the holidays. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!
Your friends will love it. Trust me.
Remember Amish Friendship Bread
What I should have said is… “Your friends will love it until they don’t anymore and then run away from you because they don’t want any more starter.”
Okay, so I’m not really selling this recipe so far, am I? Let’s start over.
Have you heard of Amish Friendship Bread? I thought everyone had and then I asked Facebook, the knower of all the things, and it said that many people have no clue.
REALLY? Where were you in the late 80s??? Certainly not in Burlingame, CA, where I was. EVERYONE had a bowl of starter on their counter back in ’89. It was the in thing to do: wear leg warmers, rat your hair high, and babysit yeasted starter on your counter for 10 days.
Amish Friendship Bread, in all essence, is an edible chain letter. And while I delete chain letters and “share if you agree” statuses on FB on principle, I’ll never, ever turn down bread. Especially this bread. It’s the best bread. Really. I remember eating it for weeks in middle school. Then one day it vanished…never to be seen again…until now.
So what is it, really? Basically it’s a “quick” bread made with a sourdough starter. You grow the starter on your counter for 10 days, stirring it and feeding it and loving on it, and then at the end of 10 days you make the most amazing bread with it.
Then, because it’s so friendly, you share 2 cups of the starter with two friends and keep a cup growing on your counter for next time.
Then, 10 days after that, you do the same thing. And again and again to infinity.
Or, you can give it all away after 10 days…or freeze it for next time a craving hits.
You see, that’s what happened to me. All of a sudden I wanted Amish Friendship Bread. I had not had a bite of it in 25 years and one day last month I neeeeeeded a slice. But what’s a girl to do when she wants the bread but doesn’t have the starter?
Make her own, of course.
You start with yeast and water. Let it proof, like you’re making cinnamon rolls. Then you mix the frothy yeast with flour, sugar, and milk. Stir, loosely cover, and let it sit.
A day later, and each day for 4 days you stir it. Then, on day 5, it’s hungry. You can’t hear it’s tummy growling, but you need to feed it anyway.
This chick is a girl after my own heart. She eats sugar, flour, and milk.
Then you stir her again until day 10. On day 10, she’s hungry again. Then she’s multiplied to 4 cups of starter.
Pick two friends and give them each a cup of starter, with directions on how to take care of it – obviously.
Then put one cup aside to continue growing…or freeze it for when the urge hits next time.
That last cup? That’s what you make your bread with. At this point, making it is like quick bread. Just stir together all the ingredients and bake in loaf pans. No kneading or dough hooks or anything. The batter is pretty much like a banana bread batter.
A few notes about the recipe:
- I used two 9×5″ loaf pans, so my loaves ended up a little flat. If you have 4×8″ pans, use those.
- The plain bread can be made plain, or you can add chopped nuts or chocolate chips. It’s yummy both ways.
- I like to sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top the loaf before baking. It gives a nice crunch.
- Try not to eat it all in one sitting.
Hey, this bread might take some work, but it’s so worth it.
Plus, any bread you can share with friends is the best bread. Until they run screaming from you begging for no more starter. 😉
If you like breads like this, be sure to check out my zucchini bread recipe!
Amish Friendship Bread + Starter
Ingredients
Starter
- 1 package active dry yeast 2 1/4 teaspoons
- 1/4 cup warm water 110°F
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup milk (nonfat, regular or 2%)
Feedings (2)
- 2 cups granulated sugar divided
- 2 cups all-purpose flour divided
- 2 cups milk divided (non-fat okay)
For the Bread:
- 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup starter
- 2/3 cup oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 3 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- Nuts, chocolate chips, or cinnamon sugar optional (see note)
Instructions
- NOTE: Do not use metal utensils, spoons, or bowls. Do not refrigerate starter.
Day 1: Make your starter
- Make your starter: Stir yeast into warm water. Let sit for 10 minutes.
- Stir sugar and flour in a large bowl. Stir in milk until mixture is smooth.
- Stir the yeast mixture into the flour mixture. Cover loosely and store on the counter.
- Optional: place mixture in a gallon size ziploc bag and seal, releasing all the air. Store on counter.
Days 2-4
- Stir the mixture once per day, or mash the bag if you're using a bag.
Day 5: Feeding #1
- Feed the mixture: Stir 1 cup each sugar, flour, and milk into the starter. Cover loosely and store on the counter. (If your mixture is in a bag, just add the ingredients to the bag and mash until they are incorporated.)
Days 6-9
- Stir the mixture once per day, or mash the bag if you're using a bag.
Day 10: Feeding #2/Baking/Gifting
- Feed the mixture: Stir 1 cup each sugar, flour, and milk into the starter. Cover loosely and store on the counter. (If your mixture is in a bag, just add the ingredients to the bag and mash until they are incorporated.)
- Reserve 1 cup of starter to continue growing on your counter. Consider today (Day 10) to be Day 1, and repeat these instructions starting with Day 2 tomorrow.
- Remove 1 cup of starter to use in the Amish Friendship Bread Recipe (see directions below).
- For gifting: Measure out 1 cup of remaining starter and place in a new gallon size ziploc bag (or bowl for gifting). Repeat with a second 1 cup starter. You may have an additional 1 cup of starter, which you can place in a third bag to give OR you can make a second batch of the bread (recipe below). You can also freeze this 1 cup of starter to use in the future (freeze in a gallon size bag).
Friendship Bread Recipe:
- Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease pan(s) with butter or shortening or spray with nonstick baking spray (the cooking spray that comes with flour in it).
- Stir baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and flour in a medium bowl. Set aside.
- Stir starter, oil, and 1 cup sugar with a wooden spoon or spatula. Stir in eggs, 1 at a time, then stir in vanilla. Gently fold in dry ingredients. Stir in chocolate chips or nuts, if using (see note).
- Place batter in pan(s). Optionally, you can sprinkle with cinnamon sugar (see note).
- Bake according to your pan size below, until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool before removing from pan.
- Pan sizes:Two 4×8-inch or two 9×5-inch loaf pans: 40-50 minutesOne 10.5×16-inch loaf pan: 50-60 minutes
Recipe Video
Recipe Notes
Pan Sizes:
- Check your pan sizes. If your loaf pans are 4×8-inch or 9×5-inch, make two loaves. If your loaf pan is 10.5×16-inches, you can make one loaf.
- You can also use ONE 9-inch square or 9-inch round cake pan instead of the loaf pans.
Optional Fillings/Toppings:
- Add 1 cup chocolate chips or nuts to the batter.
- If you’re making two loaves, you can divide the batter in half and use 1/2 cup of either chocolate chips or nuts per loaf.
- I love topping the loaves with a mixture of cinnamon sugar before baking (1 tablespoon granulated sugar + 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon)
Recipe Nutrition
Other bread you might like:
Chocolate Swirl Zucchini Bread
Sweets from friends:
Amish Peanut Butter Pie by Nutmeg Nanny
Amish Breakfast Casserole by CenterCutCook
Chocolate Cinnamon Swirl Banana Bread by Something Swanky
Last Updated on June 1, 2022
1) I could somehow see the prior poster’s email filled in those boxes above and,
2) Holy smokes, all of the comments from those who’ve never heard of this delicious bread have made me feel ancient. We had it well into the 90s in the midwest (well, in Minnesota).
Dorothy,
 I made this years ago and had forgotten about it.  Thank you for posting it!!!  Do you do anything to the starter on Day 6?  Maybe stir it or do you just leave it alone?  🙂
Just stir days 1-4 and 6-9!
I never heard of this bread, and I lived just down the road, in Palo Alto, in the late ’80’s! Â Looks tasty; I will try it some day this winter. Â Don’t you just love home-baked warm bread on a cold day?
You must! If you’d been a part of the family back then my mom would have given you loads of starter. I think the family started to avoid us after awhile, lol.
Love love this bread! I haven’t made it in years! I reber in the recipe I had we used a box of instant  vanilla pudding but I would change out the flavor of the pudding and had flavored breads. Added chocolate chips, nuts. I even made a “healthy” version by adding oats, flax seed, coconut, nuts like sunflower seeds dried fruits and my sons loved having these good for you breads before their sports practices etc. Then I would bake in mini I loaf pans and wrap in plastic wrap and put I. Freezer bags and boys would take out what they wanted before they left for school and they would be thawed out by the time they needed them! Thanks!Â
Yes! I saw that in my research before making it. I still have some starter in my freezer and I’m trying the pudding next time!
I love Amish Friendship Bread! It was really popular in my hometown in the 90’s then a couple years ago it made a comeback. You are so right about some people running away when you try to give them a bag of starter, ha. This bread is so worth the extra effort though. Thanks for sharing it Dorothy!
Thank you Katie!!
I have not thought of this in years, and I love babysitting starter 🙂
OHHH my gosh does this bring back memories !!
You are sooo right, my whole neighborhood had this on their counter…we kept passing it around, exchanging variations and recipes. That was such a fun time…does anyone remember the muffin batter you kept in the ice box for 7 days ?? my kids loved having muffins at the drop of a hat…. I’m so glad you’re bringing the Amish bread back.
I never had that!! But now I want too! I need to find it. There are a couple of blogs totally devoted to this bread – I found them while doing my research. Here’s one: http://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com
Oh man. I had a starter years ago and I made and gifted SO MUCH BREAD. It was crazy. But then I moved and threw it away (didn’t think the starter would survive a 3000 mile drive!). And kind of forgot about it until RIGHT NOW reading this post. Thanks for the reminder. May have to get on board again in time for the holidays!!
It’s funny how we forget about things and then all of a sudden we want them again! Thank you Liz!
I’ve had someone give me a starter for some before, but up until then I had never heard of it either! This looks like such a fun idea and gift for the holidays!
It’s great for gift giving Danielle! Unless the recipients don’t like pets, ha!
I love Amish Friendship Bread so much, I could eat a whole loaf myself! There was a year (maybe 25 years ago) when there was a loaf on my counter and a bowl of starter on top of my fridge all the time. I may have gained 10 pounds that year, but I sure enjoyed it! 🙂 Only if I can line up a whole bunch of people to give this to (holiday gifts?) do I dare start this again! What fun to expose a whole new generation to the awesomeness of Friendship Bread!
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