Starter Recipe for Amish Friendship Bread (Sourdough Culture)

In this post, I'm sharing a simple starter for Amish friendship bread - a sweet and tangy Amish sourdough starter recipe that's the base for the classic Amish Friendship Bread. If you're new to this tradition, Amish Friendship Bread is a sourdough-culture-based sweet bread where the starter is shared among friends and community members.

The starter is made from flour, sugar, and milk and ferments for ten days, developing a sweet, slightly tangy flavor. After ten days, it's divided and shared with friends along with a bit of love and instructions on how to feed and use it. Recipients can then bake their own delicious loaves and keep the tradition going.

Friendship bread gets its name from this act of sharing - passing the starter along rather than discarding it like regular sourdough. Today's post only includes the Amish friendship bread starter recipe (homemade sourdough starter). You can find the cinnamon friendship bread recipe in another post.

Friendship Bread

I'm certainly no professional when it comes to working with sourdough cultures. Truth be told, I've never made Amish friendship bread until recently. Although, I have worked with regular sourdough before.

Creating an Amish bread starter is an easy process, but it demands time and patience as we allow the beneficial bacteria to carry out the fermentation process.

A friend gave my Amish mom a starter for friendship bread years ago, and I have memories of her using it to make bread, etc.

Sharing bread starter (sourdough culture) was a common tradition in our Amish circle when I was a kid. However, I think this is a tradition that may have gone by the wayside in some Amish communities. I don't remember hearing anything about friendship bread in my last number of years at home.

Starter with Commercial Yeast

Most friendship bread starters found online include active dry yeast in the recipe. If you want to have your starter ready to go in ten days, you can opt for the commercial yeast route.

Dissolve one packet (a scant Tbsp.) of active dry yeast in ¼ c. warm water. Add it to one cup of flour, one cup of milk, and one-fourth cup of sugar. Stir with a wooden spoon and count this as day one of the 10-day cycle.)

Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe Without Yeast (Takes Two Extra Days)

The starter recipe I am sharing today was found in one of my Amish cookbooks, and it does not include yeast. It is simply made with milk, flour, and sugar. Since there is no yeast, it takes two extra days to start from scratch.

On Day One, pour a cup of milk into a glass bowl and let the milk sit at room temperature for approximately 24 hours.

On Day Two, add a cup of unbleached flour and one-fourth cup of sugar to the room-temperature milk. Use a wooden spoon to mix the starter ingredients, cover lightly with a dish towel, and let it sit in a warm place overnight.

On Day Three, we are ready to proceed with Day #1 of the ten-day friendship starter cycle.

Creating a sourdough culture without commercial yeast involves capturing wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria from the environment.

Divide the Starter

Divide the remaining starter into heaping one-cup portions. (I say heaping because some of the starter will get stuck in the bag. You want to make sure your friends have a full cup to make bread with.)

Place each cup of starter into separate ziplock plastic bags or plastic containers. Keep one of the bags and give the other two bags of friendship bread starter to friends, along with a copy of the 10-day instructions and the recipe for friendship bread.

Save one bag for yourself and either toss it into the freezer until ready to use or start the 10-day process all over again and make more bread.

The starter tastes better over time, so rather than making it fresh whenever you want some Amish Friendship Bread, consider keeping a bag of it on hand. If frozen in an airtight freezer bag, it should be fine in the freezer for up to a year.

Freezing Amish Starter

Place one heaping cup of the active starter into a ziplock freezer bag and freeze it. (You may want to use a Sharpie to label and date it as well as write instructions on your bag.)

To use the frozen starter, thaw it at room temperature and begin the 10-day process again.

How Does Amish Sourdough Starter Work?

As stated, I don't claim to be a professional on sourdough culture. However, this is what I have gleaned from my research about how friendship breadstarter works. It goes through a process of fermentation driven by the activity of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria.

The overall process involves the following steps:

• Capture of Wild Microorganisms:
  • As you mix flour, milk, and sugar, the mixture is exposed to the environment. Wild microorganisms, including wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria, settle into the mixture.
• Fermentation:
  • The wild yeast consumes the sugars present in the flour and sugar, producing carbon dioxide and alcohol through fermentation. This process leavens the dough and contributes to its rise.
• Lactic Acid Production:
  • Lactic acid bacteria ferment the lactose in the milk, producing lactic acid. This contributes to the tangy flavor characteristic of sourdough.
• Acidification:
  • As lactic acid accumulates, it lowers the pH of the mixture, creating an acidic environment. This acidity is essential for the growth of beneficial bacteria and yeast and helps prevent the growth of harmful microbes.
• Stabilization:
  • Over time, with regular feeding, a stable community of microorganisms develops, creating a relationship between the yeast and bacteria.
• Leavening:
  • The carbon dioxide produced during fermentation acts as a natural leavening agent.

Through these steps, the starter develops its unique flavor, texture, and leavening properties.

Times have changed, and the majority of women no longer bake homemade bread. It has been replaced with commercial store-bought yeast bread. And the truth is, many of us find our stomachs are struggling to accept our modern diets.

In light of increasing health concerns and economic challenges, more people are actively seeking healthier homemade alternatives. Today, it seems like more people are turning back to sourdough bread because they've found it's a healthier option than bread made with commercial yeast.

Sourdough's natural fermentation process makes it easier to digest and boosts the availability of nutrients like B vitamins and minerals. Plus, it tends to have a lower impact on blood sugar levels compared to yeast breads.

Can I Use This Starter in Sourdough Recipes?

This Amish starter is great for making sweet sourdough baked goods and can be used to make lots of delicious treats. However, if you want to use this sourdough for making traditional Artisan-style sourdough bread, I would cut way back on the amount of sugar added.

If you are new to sourdough, you may want to do some research into using sourdough and how to keep your starter active. There's lots of information on the internet about sourdough nowadays, and I'm leaving one link for you to get started if you're interested.

Even though I enjoy a delicious slice of crusty sourdough bread, not to mention that it's healthier for you. It is still hard to beat a soft warm slice of homemade white yeast bread or honey wheat bread.

However, when it comes to quick bread, Amish friendship bread is one of the best! Seriously, this stuff is so moist and delicious!

Amish Quickbread Recipes

Quickbread makes some of the best breakfast breads. Similar to muffins, quick bread is perfect with a morning cup of coffee.

Amish friendship bread could also be called "cinnamon quick bread". However, I'm not sure that it can classify as "quick bread" since it is made with a friendship starter that takes twelve days before it's ready to use. 🙂

If you enjoy quick bread, you may also want to try my banana bread recipe, zucchini bread recipe, apple cinnamon bread recipe, and my delicious cranberry orange walnut bread.

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Items You May Need...

• Pyrex Smart Essentials 3-Piece Prepware Mixing Bowl Set, 1-Qt, 1.5-Qt ,and 2.5-Qt Glass Mixing Bowls
• 14 Inch Large Wooden Spoon for Cooking Mixing Spoon
• Glass Canning Jar with Hinged Lid - 2 Liter (If you want to make friendship bread every ten days, you may want to keep your starter in a pretty jar on the countertop. Leave the lid loose though, you don't want it airtight.)