If you love Amish Friendship Bread, having an active starter on hand is a must. It’s usually passed from person to person, so each bag of starter carries with it a little bit of love from the kitchen it came from (and any kitchen before that).
Amish Friendship Bread starter is the heart of what makes Amish Friendship Bread so special, because it’s all about sharing what we have with others. A little starter can go a long way.
Scroll down for the recipe for making your own starter, or read on if you want to learn more about how an Amish Friendship Bread starter works.
So what exactly is the starter?
Amish Friendship Bread starter is a type of sourdough starter. It’s sweeter than a regular sourdough starter, and is an (almost) no-fail way to get a sourdough starter going (you can read more about that here) if you don’t want the hassle and fuss of maintaining a traditional starter.
The starter is used to make an amazing cinnamon-sugar bread that’s similar to a quick bread, and I’ve come up with over 250+ ways for you to use 1 cup of starter.
The starter is kicked off with one packet of yeast, and from then on you can maintain your starter to bake with any time. With over 250 recipes in the Recipe Box, you’ll always be able to find something awesome to make — and share — with your starter.
The starter is passed from friend to friend, neighbor to neighbor. If you don’t have a starter, the recipe below will let you make your starter from scratch so you can not only bake for yourself but get some AFB love going in your community.
What happens on Day 10
After you make your starter, follow the 10-day instructions for caring for your starter.
On Day 10 you’ll divvy up your starter by measuring out 1 cup for every gallon-sized Ziploc bag and reserving 1 cup for you to bake with. You might end up with 4 to 6 Ziploc bags, depending on how active your starter is. You’ll then pass those bags to friends, neighbors and co-workers in your community and bake two loaves with your 1 cup.
If you only want to make Amish Friendship Bread once, you’re done. But if you want to be able to bake it whenever you’d like, save an extra bag for yourself and either toss it in the freezer until ready to use or start the process all over again, treating Day 10 as Day 1. The starter tastes better over time, so rather than making it fresh whenever you want some Amish Friendship, consider keeping a bag on hand.
Amish Friendship Bread Starter
Ingredients
- .25 ounce active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
- ¼ cup warm water 110° F/45° C
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup milk
Instructions
- In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes.
- In a 2-quart glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly with a whisk or fork.
- Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture.
- Cover loosely and let stand at room temperature until bubbly. Consider this Day 1 of the 10-day cycle. For the next 10 days, handle starter according to the instructions for Amish Friendship Bread.
Notes
- The starter should be left at room temperature. Drape loosely with dish towel or plastic wrap. Do not use metal utensils or bowls. If using a sealed Ziploc bag, be sure to let the air out if the bag gets too puffy.
- Your yield may exceed 4 cups depending on the temperature of your kitchen and eagerness of your starter. If this happens, reserve one cup for baking and divide the remaining batter into Ziploc baggies of 1 cup each to freeze for future use or share with friends.
- For instructions on how to care for your Amish Friendship Bread starter for ten days, click here. We also have a bunch of FREE instruction printables so you can gift your starter in style!
Starter storage
If you’re keeping an active starter on hand and baking every 10 days, consider giving your starter a happy home. Over the years I’ve used anything and everything you could store your starter in. Right now my favorite is the 9-cup Bormioli Rocco Fido Square Jar with Blue Lid (below). I can’t even begin to tell you how much I love it (hint: a lot). It’s around $10-15 on Amazon and leaves plenty of room for your Amish Friendship Bread starter to grow. It’s dishwasher safe and makes your starter look GOOD.
This jar has a latch lid with a rubber gasket. You never want to seal your starter in a jar, but you can hook the latch without closing it all the way so air can come in and out but you don’t have to worry about bugs or other things falling in.
Check out other storage jars in the shop, or read more about how to determine the right kind of container for you (bag, bowl, or jar).
Note: your jar should never be sealed tight — I latch it so the lid stays down but there’s room for air to come in and out.
On adding yeast
One of the most frequently asked questions is, “Why do I have to use commercial yeast?” Well, the answer is that you don’t. You can start a traditional sourdough starter and then convert it to an Amish Friendship Bread starter.
Commercial yeast gives your starter a kickstart, and after that it will use the wild yeasts in the air to keep itself going. The flour, sugar and milk feed the starter, and that’s what gives your Amish Friendship Bread starter its unique, tangy flavor.
You only need to add yeast in the beginning — once your starter is up and running, you won’t need to add yeast again.
On keeping your starter at room temperature
For those of you who are new to Amish Friendship Bread, it may seem strange and even unsanitary to keep it on the counter, especially since the starter contains milk. But the starter is quick to break down the flour, milk and sugar and it’s a fermentation process that keeps your starter healthy.
You can store your starter in the fridge (feed it weekly) or freeze it for future use. The key is to always feed your starter at the correct ratios. Read more about maintaining a healthy AFB starter here.
How your starter may look
A healthy and active starter is bubbly at least once during the 10-day cycle, especially 12-24 hours after being fed. Other days it may be “quiet” or flat. If your starter goes bad or spoils, you’ll know–it may discolor or smell funky. Granted, I’m not one of those people who thinks a starter smells great, but a simple sniff, bubble and color check will reveal the state of your starter.
Here’s a quick starter check-up, and be sure to check out our tutorials as well:
- Smell. Should be yeasty and beer-like. If it smells sharp and hasn’t been fed in the past 4-6 days, give it a feed and then give another sniff in 24-48 hours.
- Bubbles. After a feeding, it should be active and bubbly within 24 hours. This is especially true for brand new starters on Day 1 and Day 6 feedings (which means you’ll see activity fairly soon). On other days it may be “quiet” or flat like pancake batter, but a quick stir should reveal a few bubbles. It’s important to squeeze the bag or give your starter a stir on a daily basis, just to make sure all the ingredients have a chance to get metabolized.
- Color. Creamy, off-white.
Here’s a picture of an Amish Friendship Bread starter on the morning of Day 7. The bubbles had been going all night after its Day 6 feeding, and have formed a little crust. Don’t panic, just stir it back in and go on with your day.
Have more questions? Check out our FAQs or read on below before leaving a comment. Most of your questions are most likely answered in one of the two places. We also have great tutorials to help you troubleshoot any starter issues you may have.
Want to know what your starter’s doing when you’re not looking?
Can I make this with dairy free milk?
Ok so I have a 1 cup bag of frozen starter that I want to bake today to use up.
Do I add anything to this or just bake as is once thawed?
I went to print the printables and it says I need a password? Can you provide that. Or email it?
Does the milk need to be room temperature before adding to begin.a starter
Trying to figure out how to how and where to put the happy starter to get the printables
HELP
I’ve made amidh bread starter for years and had a blonde moment.
I put 2 cups of flour instead of ONE day 4. Is it salvageable???
Thanks
It’s just going to take a little longer to eat through the flour is all.
Just love. It
Have been making it for many years now
Can you use a colored glass jar? Does it need to be clear? Thanks
Today was Day 10 of my 1st starter I made it
Gluten-free and by looks of it smells & taste it came out perfectly bubbly ,it was very active especially last 3 days I yielded 8 cups tomorrow I will bake & started my 2nd badge for 10 days 😀 thank you for sharing this
I used King Arthur 1:1 measure Gluten-free flour
Hi, did the bread turn out non gritty and non dry?
I dont understand when you said to treat day 10 as day 1 does thaat mean you add the same ingredents on day 2_10 as you did on day 1 or do you leave it alone until day 10 when you can bake with it.
I remember as a child in the 70s my family and nabiors, church friends makeing this and thought it would be fun to make one myself for remembrance sake.
I’m not sure exactly and I’m a bit late on a reply for you, but I’ve been doing Amish Bread for almost 30 years… On day 10 when you bake you pull out a cup starter for you, and friends if you want, and you consider it day 1 for those starters to begin the cycle again
Such a heartwarming tradition! Your Amish Friendship Bread Starter brings a sense of community and love to the kitchen. The idea of passing along a bit of starter and the joy it brings in countless recipes is simply wonderful. Excited to try and share the love!
Can I make a starter without yeast?
Yes, the yeast gives it a kick start.
Did ur turn out without using yeast
I’ve “started” the starter numerous times by just putting a cup of flour, a cup of sugar, and a cup of milk together–no yeast.
Did urs turn out without using yeast
Can I use monk fruit instead of sugar?
I’ve done my 10 days on a starter. Now I’m asking why, if I give away my starter baggies to friends, do they start over again for 10 days on their starter bag???
Yes, they would start at Day 1 and continue on!
I think Kathy was asking why? I have the same question. It seems like the cycle has been completed, can’t the friend just use it to bake with or is it that they would start at day 1 if they want to increase their starter to include a couple cups of discard?
How do you feed the start but not make so much extra? I’m running out of friends to share it with.
I feed me 1/4-1/2 cup of each to keep the volume low. Try that, it works well for me and I’ve had my starter at least 10 years.
I feed mine 1/4-1/2 cup of each to keep the volume low. Try that, it works well for me and I’ve had my starter at least 10 years.
If you opt to freeze extra starter, how do you determine where to start feeding when you remove from the freezer? Treat the day you remove from the freezer day one?
Take it out before you go to bed so it can come to room temp. Wake up and feed as Day 1.
Where’s the link for making bread yeast with a potato? Seems it was clickbait.
I started my starter it bubbled alil and I added my ingredients and it isn’t bubbling to much smells sweet have been mashing the bag I’m supposed to add to it today i didn’t want to waste anymore ingredients if it isn’t right can u help please and ty
You should be okay to use it. I put my starter in a glass mason jar and it bubbles all the time. If it goes a little flat, I use it and add more to refresh the starter and it bubbles again.
What should I do??
I thawed out some starter that was given to me, I was going to use it that day but.. life… so it sat for two days and on March 14th I decided to add the one cup each of flour, sugar and milk. It did start to bubble that first day but then, on the second day, it flopped. It’s now the 16th and no activity since. Our house is kept on the chilly side at night (63) but warm all day (70ish)
I use mine for a bread even if flat and it works. Try a recipe then add your ingredients again to get the starter active.
So if I made a starter without yeast and it doesn’t rise. Can I still keep feeding then use on day 10 (even without the fermentation)?
I’ve finished my 10 day starter but want to create another so my starter is on day 10 it’s saying to go back to day 1 so do I add everything like I did when I made the first starter?
No, you treat it like a bag of ready-made starter you would have gotten from a friend or neighbor. If you’re keeping your 1 cup of starter in a ziplock bag, all you need to do is mash it. There’s a photo in this article that shows a baggie of starter with the instructions printed on it. Scroll down to just below the heading “What Happens on Day 10”.
I fed my starter on day 5 instead of day 6 by mistake and day 10 per directions. I made the Amish Basic White Bread recipe on day 10. It came out perfect and delicious. First timer, but my favorite bread recipe so far! I did use my Kitchen Aide and it worked fine. Can you please provide instructions for a two loaf recipe? Thank you!
Thank you for your great tutorials. I enjoy cooking and baking, and this was so helpful. The freezing info. was so helpful, as many of our neighbors don’t bake, so being able to freeze the starter and bake them later is really helpful.
Ok, I fed my starter on the wrong day, day 4. What should I do now?
Sometimes the cinnamon sugar mixture on bottom of pan sticks to pan when bread releases. Is it too hot still or has it cooled too long. Any suggestions?
How do u bake it?
Hi, I am trying to use a brioche bread batter as a starter. It does have eggs in it.
so far I have in a jar 1 cup of the batter mixed two times with 1/3 cup flour and 1/3 cup water.
It is rising okay , in my microwave off oven. I plan to feed it a third time..
Is there any reason not to expect good results with it as a starter since it does have eggs in it.
I look forward to a reply.
Can you use raw milk in the starter?
Hi Sue! We haven’t tried raw milk in the starter before, so you’ll have to experiment and see how it goes. The only thing we would wonder about is how the natural bacteria in the raw milk would interact with the bacteria in the starter.
Let us know how it goes if you try!
I was given a starter by a family member and I’ve never made this bread before. I fed the starter on day 6 but only had lactose free milk. After reading about how the milk stays safe I’m worried I’ve ruined this batch. Should I start from scratch or is it safe to use lactose free milk?
Hi Marie! That should be fine! Check out our page on what types of milk you can use, if you want to learn more: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/wp-admin/post.php?post=24593&action=edit
I have a question… I froze my starter last March and pulled it out of the freezer a couple days ago. I fed it using the day 10 amount(the 1.5cups of milk, sugar, and flour) but didn’t think it was doing good so I never cooked with it that day! I woke up this morning and it had grown and is bubbly. What should I do now or what day should I treat it like? I thawed and fed it on Thursday and today is Saturday.
Hi Mollie! You can just treat it like you’re on day 3! Here’s a great post to know when to feed your starter, as well: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faq-how-often-should-i-feed-my-starter/
While making the starter I accidentally used a metal fork to stir before I read in the notes where it said to not use metal. Should I dump it out and start over?
Hi Shelby! No, it should be fine! Check out our FAQ Health and Safety section to learn more about using or not using metal utensils: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faqs/#health4
Question:
I was keeping my leftover starter in my refrigerator freezer and took out to use it when I needed to with no issues.
However, because of space, I started putting the starter in my chest freezer, thawing overnight. Now my starter is not smelling like the beer yeasty smell. It smells like flour.
I made sure to feed my starter so it was active before dividing and freezing. Does the lower temperature of my chest freezer at zero degrees have an effect?
I have already thrown out one batch. Now I have ten other bags in my freezer that I’m afraid I may need to toss.
Any advice or suggestions?
Hi Debra! We haven’t heard of lower temperature affecting your starter, but we’d recommend thawing and feeding your starter and seeing what happens. I’ve found that some starters make it and some don’t, but the best way to test them is to see if they become active over a couple days after removing it from the freezer. As long as it doesn’t smell rotten, you can definitely try to revive it!
When do I separate the starter I made from scratch? After it bubbles? Or very soon after mixing yeast mixture with flour, sugar and milk?
Hi Beverly! You will separate your starter after you go through the ten day process and feed your starter. Let us know if you have any other questions!
Hello! I have a traditional sourdough starter that I discarded. So it’s not fed. Can I use this to start my amish sourdough?
Hello, I’m wanting to start the friendship starter. But my question is, can I use evaporated milk instead? We rarely keep regular milk on hand.
Hi April! We haven’t tried evaporated milk before, so you’d have to experiment, but you can also just use water, as well, if you don’t have milk on hand!
Is the flour okan, self-rising or all-purpose.
All purpose flour.
You can use self rising flour it already has everything in it so you don’t add baking powder
All-purpose!
I cannot find the answer to this important question. After day 10, if I continue my starter “ as if it is day 1” do I add more yeast as well? Every recipe assumes we know what that means!
Hi Bridget, you never add more yeast when you feed your starter after you first make your starter.
How long would this need do bake to make mini loaves and muffins? If here are no bubbles and the bag isn’t expanding is the batter bad?
Hi Shelley! Our conversion table has the conversion times for different pans: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/conversion-tables/ Let us know if you have any other questions!
Can I store my extra starter in the freezer in 1 cup portions and use that starter in a recipe on the day I remove it from the freezer without going through the 10 day feeding process if I don’t want to make more starter?
Hi Terri! In general, yes, you can use your starter after you thaw it without having to go through the ten day cycle. Here’s the tutorial on reviving your frozen starter: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-reviving-frozen-amish-friendship-bread-starter/
The only recipes we don’t recommend using your starter right after thawing it is recipes that call for the starter to do most of the leavening (like more traditional breads or buns). Let us know if you have any more questions!
My kitchen is drafty and on the cool side. What is the best place for my starter to thrive on a continious basis.
Hi Debra! Anywhere in your house that is warm or protected is going to be a better place for your starter. If you live somewhere that experiences cold winters, it can be more challenging to keep your starter warm and active. However, we know some people will put their starter in a sunny (but protected) place during the day or even turn their oven on the lowest setting and leave the door open while it preheats to give the kitchen some warm air (while leaving their starter on the stovetop or close by). You’ll have to experiment and see if you can find a place that it is happy in.
Let us know if you have any other questions!
This would be a fun Christmas present.
Yes, we love this idea, Stephanie!
I followed a started a started and it had me do 1/2 cup water until yeast dissolved then add another 1 1/2 cups of water 1 cup flour 1 cup milk and 1 cup sugar is my starter gonna work
Hi Pauline! We haven’t added that much water into the starter, but it should be okay. Just keep an eye on it and make sure it smells and looks healthy: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-good-vs-not-so-good-amish-friendship-bread-starter/ Let us know how it goes!
Just a thought… I accidentally used all my starter that was in the freezer! Boo. So making a fresh starter but when I freeze some this time, I will be barking “last one” on the bottom ziploc bag! Never want to run out! That one was gifted to me by a neighbor and it was started in 2020.
Live and learn! I also ordered a jar to always have some “live” and fresh!! Thanks for all the tips, recipes, and support when I’ve emailed!!
That’s a great tip, Jan! Thanks for sharing.
My starter is overactive!! On days 4-6 i woke up, walked to the kitchen and saw that it was spilling onto the counter! It’s in a 32 ounce jar, I keep stirring it down, but the next morning it’s a mess again! Lots of huge bubbles, but it smells and tastes yummy. Why is it doing this?
That just means that you have a really happy/active starter! We would probably recommend just getting a bigger jar for that. We usually recommend at least a 64oz jar (like these: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/product/starter-storage-jar-bormioli-67-5-oz-2-pack/) to avoid messes when your starter is metabolizing and growing.
I have a really huge mason jar used for making dill pickles, but it has the ring and twist lid. How could I store my starter in it?
Yes, that should be fine, April! Just don’t close it all the way. 🙂
What type of flower do you use?
Hi Kelly! We use all-purpose flour!
I want to make gluten free starter. Do I use the same amount of gluten free flour rather than the amount of regular flour or do I have to make adjustments in the amount? I can’t find a recipe for gluten free starter.
Hi Cyndi! We’re still working on perfecting the ideal GF starter, but people have reported limited (but short-term) success with different nut flours and blends. One option is to begin with a Potato Flake starter and test blending different gluten-free flour and starch options for baking.
I have transformed my starter to gluten free over the past several months. It is going great, happy and bubbles every day.
Hi Pam. Can you share how you transformed your starter to gluten free and what recipe you use for gluten free bread? Thank You, Kellen
I currently have 5 bags of starter on the go(with covid we couldn’t give it to anyone), on day 10 can I just use one cup of starter for each loaf I make to use it all up? I don’t want to store it but would rather bake and store those goods.
Hi Amanda! Yes, you can definitely use up your starter in bread if you are not wanting to continue with your starter!
How would you go about using it up? After day 10, if the plan is to use all of the starter would I need to add extra ingredients to be able to have enough batter for multiple loafs?
Hi Lauren! You have a couple options if you want to use up all your starter; you can just bake with it without feeding it first or you can add the ingredients then bake with all of your starter. If you’re wanting to make multiple loaves, we’d recommend you feeding your starter then baking with it. Happy baking!
Hi Lauren! You can also measure your starter to see how much it has grown before feeding it, but if you would want to just use it up, we’d recommend using what starter you have, instead of feeding it first before using it. Let us know if you have any other questions!
I did not feed my starter on day 6 is it safe to use, or should I throw it out and start over? It smelled a lot like alcohol.
Hi Patricia! Check out this post here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faq-i-forgot-to-feed-my-starter-should-i-throw-it-away/. If you didn’t make your starter from scratch (but got it from a friend), and it feels a little sketchy, you can either feed it immediately and see what happens or if you don’t want to waste ingredients, make your starter from scratch. There are a lot of tutorials/helpful FAQ’s in the LEARN area of the website to help you figure out if your starter is healthy. Good luck!
I have a starter from the cinnamon loaf. CanI use this starter for the pineapple Loaf? Thank You!
Hi Cindy! Yes, you can definitely us the original Amish Friendship Bread starter for making a pineapple loaf. Here’s a great recipe with for a pineapple coconut loaf with the AFB starter: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/coconut-pineapple-afb/
Enjoy!
How do I make breakfast biscuits with the starter?
Hi Connie! Here’s our recipe for Amish Friendship Bread biscuits: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/biscuits/
Happy baking!
I baked AFB for my neighborhood on holidays! This good one??? I’ll give it a shot. I have a Food saver I can put a few packages in my freezer! Thank you!!!!!
Let us know how it goes, Tracy! Happy Baking!
My Friendship Bread is crumbly—has an excellent taste but have trouble getting a clean slice to toast—need help.
My only suggestions temp the water you add to the yeast. I used a candy thermometer. I also warmed up the bowl with hot water so the temp wouldn’t drop
I also warmed up the milk just a bit do it wasn’t refrigerator cold.
I also mixed the flour and sugar together first … it helps keep the flour from clumping up bad.
Thanks for these tips, Nancy! That’s super helpful.
Where do I find gallon sized Ziploc bagd
Hi Mary! At most local grocery stores, they carry gallon sized Ziploc bags. However, if you are not wanting to use that option, you can also purchase it online: https://www.target.com/p/ziploc-storage-gallon-bags/-/A-15357048
Hello!
I have looked for the answer but can’t seem to find it. Is it possible to keep a friendship starter on my counter so I can bake anytime without freezing it? If so, how would I maintain it? I do have 10 bags already in the freezer, just looking for a bake on a whim instead of planning 4 days ahead.
Thank you!
Hello again! My bad… I found the answer on the questions site, where somehow I overlooked it a dozen times! 🙂
Thanks anyway Happy Baking!
Hi Gin! After you’ve gone through the first 10 day cycle, you can bake whenever you want during your 10 day cycle (https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faq-how-soon-can-i-bake-use-my-amish-friendship-bread-sourdough-starter/). Here’s a great post on maintaining a healthy starter on your counter: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-maintaining-a-healthy-amish-friendship-bread-starter/
I was just gifted a starter bag. I’m actually vegan and was wondering if using applesauce instead of eggs would work. Thanks.
We haven’t tried it before with this recipe, Karen, but that should work fine!
Keep in mind that, unless the person who gifted this to you used a vegan alternative, the starter recipe includes milk.
this is not vegan…it has milk in the starter
I just began my starter this week. Everything is going as expected and I am on Day 6.
My question is about the milk. Is is suppose to be cold?
Also, a few hours after my Day 6 feeding, the starter got really active and I was afraid it would bubble up out of my bowl overnight, so I went ahead and transferred it to a larger bowl. Will this disturb it too much?
Years ago I tried an Amish bread starter and used the baggie method. I am loving the bowl or container much better!
Thank you!
Hi Debra! Yes, the milk can either be cold or you can let it sit out for a bit before adding it. However, that isn’t necessary. No, your start should be fine if you need to transfer it. It is good to give it a good stir every once in a while. Happy baking!
I am so happy to find the actual starter recipe. I didn’t know I could freeze it for later, again very happy, the waiting is hard but so worth it, everyone loves this bread it’s the best treat…
Hi, I made the mistake of adding my flour, sugar and milk on the 5th day instead of the 6th day. Will my bread be ok to continue the 10 days process. I have made the bread many time, but this is my first time making my own starter.
Thanks.
Your starter should be fine, Phyllis! Happy baking!
Question: I made my starter last night but realized after making it I used 1 cup of water and not 1/4. Is it trash or can it be saved?
Hi Anita! It should be ok, but you may want to add some flour to thicken the consistency if it seems extra thin! Here’s a good post on what you want your starter to look like as you keep an eye on it: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-good-vs-not-so-good-amish-friendship-bread-starter/
Hello! I did an Amish Friendship bread share/exchange many, many years ago, but all the exchanging was done in person, so the container the starter was stored in wasn’t super- important we used zip-top plastic bags or jars. I know my daughter (6) would love to do this exchange with some of her friends who live a distance away (we’ve recently moved and they love sending “care packages” back and forth). Is it possible to mail a starter…. would it be safe in a zip-top bag for a few days?
Hi Allison! You’d have to follow the US Postal service guidelines on shipping food and liquids. Just remember that the AFB starter expands on its own as the yeasts release CO2, and the change in elevation could also cause the bag to burst. We know some people have done this without a problem, and others said the recipients had a mess on their hands when they opened it up. We recommend checking with your local post office to be clear on what’s permitted first. Good luck!
I just made the potato flake bread starter and made bread with it.
This is my first time making my starter from
scratch. I failed with my first try so I went back to this post and straight to Potato Flake Bread Starter101 and it worked beautifully. I rushed the process on my first try.
I love the bread and my 52 year old son is already hinting for some of the cinnamon bread I used to fix him for breakfast about 40 years ago.
We love hearing this, Hazel! So glad it turned out for you this time. Happy baking! ❤️
We have gotten away from using dairy. Will the started work with Almond milk or Coconut milk instead of regular dairy milk?
Hi Kim! Yes, that should be fine!
I have used this friend starter before and it is a truly delight. It makes the best bread but I would like to know can you make cinnamon rolls with it
Hi Ella! Here’s our cinnamon roll recipe: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/cinnamon-rolls/
Enjoy!
Help! I’ve made several loaves after the past 2 months, every 10 days. Each loaf sinks in the middle before it’s done baking. Some loaves are even close to hollow. The sinking part seems undercooked, it’s gummy. What is happening? I thought first the foil pans I used by mistake but no, the glass and ceramic pan did the same thing. Also, I have 4 bags of starter now which I can freeze. I assume these sit out for 10 days before use?
Hi Beth! I’m sorry that’s been happening to your breads. There could be a couple reasons for this fall. My first thought (especially if it’s undercooked), is that your oven could be too hot. Sometimes ovens aren’t calibrated correctly and so are actually hotter than they are saying. Check your oven temperature, and try reducing the temperature on your bake but maybe baking for 5-10 minutes longer. Another common reason why breads fall is if they are filled too high in a bread pan. If it has nowhere to climb, the dough will fall. Make sure that your batter doesn’t isn’t fill more than 2/3s of the pan. Do you think it could be any of those reasons?
And yes, you can go through a cycle once your defrost your starter. Here’s a great post that tells you how to take care of your defrosted starter: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-reviving-frozen-amish-friendship-bread-starter/
Can I freeze my starter please?
Yes, you definitely can, Tracey! Check out this post: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-storing-amish-friendship-bread-starter-for-future-use/
Is it okay that I have left my starter to Day 12 by accident? Can I still bake it and continue today or tomorrow? Or should I start over?
Hi Brooke! As long as it looks healthy and happy, it should still be good! Here’s a great post to make sure it’s still good: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-good-vs-not-so-good-amish-friendship-bread-starter/
Should I leave out my starter for 10 days w the kitchen towel or transfer to a bag? Does it matter?
It’s up to you, Natalie! Here’s a great post on what container to use for your needs: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faq-what-kind-of-container-should-i-use-to-store-my-starter/ Let us know if you have any more questions!
Can I substitute coconut flour for white flour in started and/or recipe?
Hi Sandy! Unfortunately, we’ve had scattered success when it comes to gf flour alternatives in the starter. This page may help, though, with substituting with coconut flour in the recipe: https://nourishedkitchen.com/baking-with-coconut-flour/#:~:text=Quick%20baking%20tips&text=Substitute%20coconut%20flour%20for%20all,egg%20replacements%20in%20your%20baking
Good luck!
Hi there, How do you do this when you have no friends? I was just gifted this and a loaf and I have one person I can share this with. But she and I are wondering what the ratio would be so you keep your starter going but don’t have to divide off and find people to give it to…..
I was literally JUST about to ask this exact same question! Looking forward to hearing the answer! I’d like to keep it going, but am worried it will grow to be unmanageable. I don’t mind tossing a bit out every once in a while to keep ratios correct- just need to know how much to keep. Thanks for asking, Elizabeth!
Hi Elizabeth and Deanne! Here’s a great post on keeping a smaller starter: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/keeping-a-smaller-amish-friendship-bread-starter/
Happy baking!
I was given a starter the other day and I’m wondering when I go to feed it was % milk I should use? We use almond milk in our cereal (just because not for dietary reasons) Can I use almond milk when feeding my starter or do I need to go to the store?
Hi Kim! Yes, most non-dairy alternatives work with a little experimentation. You can always use water, as well, which is closer to a traditional sourdough starter. Happy baking!
Question
I thought it was day 9 for my starter….but it’s actually day 10. I can not make this tonight. Can I Do It On Day 11?
Hi Monet! Yes, as long as your starter is active, you definitely can! This may help, too: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faq-how-soon-can-i-bake-use-my-amish-friendship-bread-sourdough-starter/
Darien, My starter is on Day 10. I removed 2 cups of the starter to share with my daughter. One to keep and one cup to bake with today.
Then I removed 1 cup for myself to bake with today. I probably have about 2 cups left in my bowl of starter. So my question is should i take it down to just 1 cup of the starter and this is my day 1 or can I just keep the 2 cups of the starter that I have left in my bowl and count it as day 1.
Thank you. By the well my starter dis beautifully and the smell if fantastic.
Hi Mary-Alice,
Depending on when you fed your starter (I’m assuming today if it’s Day 10), I’d recommend freezing one cup and maintaining the other cup. It’s now your Day 1 (Day 10 always becomes Day 1). If you kept both cups on the counter, you’d have to double your feeding on Day 6, and then again on Day 10, and that would be A LOT of starter, LOL!
What happens if you don’t separate the Starter after 10 days?
I used about a cup to make some waffles but I wasn’t prepared to share with people, we are after all Sheltering In Place and I hadn’t prearranged this sharing.
What I did was just kept the starter all together and feed it again on Day 6 and now here I am back to Day 10. Any ideas what to expect? Can I divide it now and stick in the freezer so I can organize a sharing time?
Or do you think I should just start over for best results?
Hi Karen! You definitely do have the option of not separating you starter if you feel like. However, it does sometimes become unmanageable because of how much the starter grows and how much you have to feed it. For instance, if your starter is around 3 cups on day ten, you will have to feed it 3 cups of flour, sugar, and milk (which will make it pretty big!). However, if you are on day 10 again, you can feed it once more with the 1:1 ratio before you separate it and free it. This might help, as well: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-storing-amish-friendship-bread-starter-for-future-use/
What kind of flour is best for the AFB starter?
All-purpose works great, Sal!
I am out of bread and have three growing boys – one can sit there and eat a half loaf in one setting as a snack – so I go through a lot of bread. Anyway with this virus going around and I am high risk so have not left my house. I was hoping to find some yeast online to buy – unsuccessfully. I am a single mom who can’t go out right now with this virus so I was like Lord what can I do for bread and then I remembered my sister and I used to make Amish friendship bread with our mother when we were younger and we absolutely loved it. So I was hoping to do the same thing with my boys as I know they would love it too and I don’t believe it needed yeast – but then again it was so long ago that maybe I am remembering incorrectly. I do not have our old recipe so I went online to look for it and came across this site and was wondering if you could give it to me? If it requires yeast is there other types of bread that I can make that does not require yeast so that I can make it for my boys? Thank you for your time. Christina
Hi Christina! I have a yeast giveaway going on here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/easy-sourdough-starter-recipe-with-yeast/ and I hope you’ll enter! Our Amish Friendship Bread recipe does use yeast, but you can always make a traditional sourdough recipe and then convert it to an Amish Friendship Bread starter once it’s strong and bubbly. Here’s how: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-make-an-amish-friendship-bread-starter-from-a-regular-sourdough-starter/. Hoping you get some yeast and/or can get an AFB starter soon — I’ll be here to help when you do!
Can 1/2 n 1/2 be used instead of milk?
2 questions.
1. We drink sweetened condensed milk (reusing the cow milk jug and adding water)… can I use this for FEEDING the starter?? If so, what would the ratio be then for the Flou, (sweetened) milk, and sugar??
2. We only have a convection oven.. sooo at what temperature and for how long to bake this?? I’ve tried 3 times to bake the Amish Sweet White Bread (using successful yeast starter -at time had regular milk) and all 4 times the middle would still be a lil under done type dough. The outside would be extra crispy or burnt…
We only have 1 Metal bread loaf pan.. idk if that’s our problem with the rising too?? Like the yeast starter rose and bubble wonderfully! The dough did too! But I had them in a big 8 cup measuring glass and a re used butter tub.
But the only way to bale it is in the small metal bread loaf pan.. it says to knead it 8-10 times then let it rise in the loaf pan. It’s not rising. But a tiny bit and that’s it…are there any other ways to bake the small loafs in? Are there a glass or ceramic pans I’m missing??
Need baking instructions: somehow I missed seeing/reading any baking instructions.
Here you go, Sally: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/recipe-amish-friendship-bread/
Happy baking!
In the days before plastic, people made, kept and shared these starters. For the sake of our beautiful earth and all its critters (including humans), please try to avoid single-use plastic when there’s a perfectly good alternative. Save and re-use glass jars to grow and share your starter. Be sure to keep the lid loose as Darien has already said. Instead of “mashing” in plastic bag, just stir with a spoon. (Mine stores fine in the refrigerator with lid on)
my yeast and water mixture never bubbled when I made this day 1 and I just bought my yeast at an Amish market 1 week ago? Should I continue with this batch?
What is the temperature in your kitchen, Lisa? And did you test the yeast to see if it was any good?
Here’s some information that might help: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-how-to-get-a-bubbly-active-amish-friendship-bread-sourdough-starter/
You say cover loosly on the counter.. If I put it in a Ziploc bag… It’s sealed. So I guess my question is… Should it be sealed or covered loosly the entire time? I’ve made the bread (delicious) but never the starter until today.
If it’s in a bowl or jar, cover loosely. The reason a plastic bag works is because you can see if the air needs to be let out — it will expand and get very puffy, so you’ll know it needs fresh air, so to speak!
If you have your starter in a sealed jar, it could (in theory) explode. So keep it covered loosely (more for bugs and other contaminants, and also to prevent horrible spillage if your starter gets too happy) and you’ll be fine!
I’m new to this. Tomorrow is my second day 10 of my starter. If I want to make 4 loafs of bread. Can I take 2 cups (separated) and do two different recipes tomorrow?
Thank you!
Hi Lindsey — Yes, you can! You can bake it all, bake a portion, freeze some, keep some going. It’s totally up to you !
What happens if I stirred the starter batter with a metal spoon at first? .-.
Hi Breanna! Check out the “Health and Safety” section in our FAQ library: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faqs/
It should help with knowing more about metal utensils!
do you use all purpose or self rising flour?
All-purpose flour, Janice! 🙂
I use all purpose. I also have used Soy milk instead of cow milk for allergy reasons. My favorite bread recipe for this adds in a box of instant pudding… yummy!
Hi! I was also wondering if anyone has tried with almond flour or any other GF flours?
Thanks🙂
I’m trying almond flour now!! I’ll let ya know how it goes!
I bought a lidded jar for my starter. Should I wash it on day 10? Or just put the next round right back in it?
Hi Becca — I like to wash my jars every 10 days. I’ll pour my starter into a large mixing bowl, add the Day 10 ingredients and stir well, divide/bake/share the starter as necessary, then wash my container before putting the remaining starter back in.
Can you use this sourdough for other bread recipes? Just basic bread and pancakes?
Yes! We have great sourdough bread and roll options here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/sourdough-breads/ and pancakes/waffles here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/pancakes/
I’ve been making sourdough with my own sourdough starter and I’m wondering how I would use some of that starter as a base for an amish friendship bread starter.
That’s what I’m going to try as well. I think maybe a 1/4 cup of starter and then feed with the usual AFB ingredients.
Hi Hali and Melody! We have a recipe right here that should help you with making your sourdough starter into an AFB starter: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-make-an-amish-friendship-bread-starter-from-a-regular-sourdough-starter/
Can you use instant active yeast in this recipe?
I have the same question
I did and it worked wonderfully!!
How did you use it and how much? Did you just leave out the water? Thanks!
Can I use plant milk?
Yes, you can definitely use plant based milks!
Is it possible to make this with gluten free flour?
Hi Christi! We do have a GF starter that uses potato flakes (https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/potato-flake-starter-afb/). Unfortunately, we have had pretty inconsistent results when it comes to other GF options. Let us know if you end up experimenting!
Can I use GF flour for the starter?
I was given a starter years ago. The smell was a very strong alcohol smell that almost knocked you out when you opened the bag. It was fed and used regularly without missing days. It continued to have that strong smell and woyld bubble and the bag would fill with lots of air.
I assume this is normal?
In January I decided to make one. That first 10 days it had that same strong familiar smell and bubbly. As I’ve used it these past 2 months it has lost that smell. It no longer smells strong. Smells more like flour and milk to me. And not very bubbly. My husband says he still smells alcohol but I don’t. Maybe a very slight hint. Is something wrong with it?
I have some that has a strong smell, too. I’m wondering if I can just bake it.
Hi Theresa! Depending what temperature/elevation you live at, your starter may be reacting to that! This post talks about how often to feed it: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faq-how-often-should-i-feed-my-starter/, and this one talks a bit more about why it’s smelling a certain way: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-what-should-your-starter-smell-like/
Good luck!
I would love to print out some of the cute instructions to hand out with the starters but it says it is password protected…am I missing something?
Hi Bree — The printables library is free for newsletter subscribers — just sign up anywhere on the site and then confirm your email (check your spam or junk folder if you don’t see it). Email me at fbkitchen@gmail.com if you still have questions! 🙂
If I made my starter & put in the suggested glass jar, what do I do in lieu of squishing the bag?
Hi Chasidy! Just give it a really good stir! 🙂
How long can the start-up batter be frozen?
I have some frozen starter that’s 3 years old that’s still in great shape — I know some people have some frozen starters that are older. I do think it begins to degrade over time, so I recommend 9 months to 18 months to be safe. YOu can check out my tutorial here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-storing-amish-friendship-bread-starter-for-future-use/ 🙂
When you take it out of the freezer are you starting that as day 1?
It’s covered in the linked post above, which links to this page: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-reviving-frozen-amish-friendship-bread-starter/
With the coronovirus going around I think now is a great time to get this going around.
I’m going to bake a few different things with mine and throw the extra in the freezer…. then if I want to bake during the 10 day stretch I have it.
Maybe five just one cup to a friend so they can have yummy treats too?
Amish Cinnamon Bread
DAY 1: Receive fermented batter in a gallon Ziploc bag. Do nothing except place the bag on your kitchen counter.
DAY 2: Squeeze Bag
DAY 3: Squeeze Bag
DAY 4: Squeeze Bag
DAY 5: Squeeze Bag
DAY 6: Add 1 cup self-rising flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Squeeze
Bag several TIMES.
DAY 7: Squeeze Bag
DAY 8: Squeeze Bag
DAY 9: Squeeze Bag
DAY 10: In large glass or plastic (non-metallic) bowl, empty batter from
Bag. Add 1 cup sugar and 1cup milk. Mix well. In four separate
GALLON size Ziploc bags, pour ½ cup batter in each bag. Label and
Date bag with DAY 1 and give to 3 friends and keep one for yourself
(or give them all away and see how long it takes to come back)
*PREHEAT oven to 350 degrees and add to remaining batter:
½ cup milk 2 cups self-rising flour
1 tsp. Vanilla 3 tsp. Cinnamon
1 cup Sugar 3 Eggs
1 Large box vanilla instant pudding ******
1 cup cooking oil ******
In separate bowl mix 1 tsp Cinnamon and 3 tsp. Sugar. Grease 2 loaf pans well and coat with the sugar and cinnamon (sprinkle pans). Pour ½ mixture in each pan and bake about 1 hour. (You can add optional items such as chocolate chips, nuts, raisins, dried fruit or different instant pudding, etc.)
IF air gets in bag, just let it out. It is normal for the batter to bubble or ferent especially after it has been fed on the sixth day
** NEVER USE METAL**
What if you read the directions wrong and didn’t mash the bag for the first five days?…asking for a friend
LOL, you’re not the first to ask! Here you go, Krissy …
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faq-i-forgot-to-feed-my-starter-should-i-throw-it-away/
My starter the 10th day was Saturday and I separated two bags but I kept 2 cups in a plastic container and I still have it on the counter can I use that or is it already ruined thank you
Hi Liz! If they were fed on Day 10, then count the number of days to figure out what day they are on and be sure to feed them on Day 6 so they stay healthy and fed. They’re supposed to be on the counter, so you’re fine!
Am I wrong or are we supposed to use AP flour?
Hi Robbie! Yes, we find that all-purpose flour works great!
I used AP flour to prepare the starter. Can you now switch to self rising flour to feed the starter?
Hi Colleen! Just keep using all-purpose flour when you feed the starter!
After you get the starter made how to make the bread
Where is recipe for how to make the bread? Or cake ?
Here’s the recipe for the Original Amish Friendship Bread: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/recipe-amish-friendship-bread/
Happy baking!
Hello,
We don’t drink milk in our home on a regular basis, but I keep evaporated milk on hand for baking; can I use evaporated milk to make the starter without the yeast?
Hi Sally! We haven’t tried it with evaporated milk before, but there are a lot of options that work! This page should give you a little more on what milk (look in the “getting started” section): https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faqs/#started6
this may sound dumb, but…how long does it bake and at oven temperature?
What do you add to your starter portion on day 10 to make your own loaf?
I need directions to make bread after starter is ready.
Thank you
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread/
Scroll down on this site. It’s below the starter stuff.
Right??? No where does it give you a baking temperature or for how long!!
350 degrees about an hour
325 for an hour. Been using this recipe for about 5 years now
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread/
This will give you all the instructions including how long and what temp.
Like any other if your Not sure if it’s Done Stick it with a Toothpick if it come out Clean it’s Done
I’m sorry if this is a repeat – there are pages and pages of comments and I ran out of steam, and I didn’t see this on the FAQs. I know this is silly, but if I’m storing my starter in a glass jar, I’m guessing the days to “mash” the plastic bag, I just give the starter a quick stir? Or briefly tightly seal the jar and shake it? I’m crossing my fingers and saying some kitchen prayers as I start my own, new starter after letting one lapse many years ago (before I knew you could freeze it). And I am trying to less plastic in my own kitchen (though of course, will use gallon bags to share if my starter succeeds).
Hi Lauren, yes — just stir!
I have some starter in my freezer from years ago….ummm2012 to be exact. Do you think it’s still good or should o just toss them all and start a new starter? My daughter-in-law is wanting to make it and I told her I give her a starter not realizing it had been that long ago!! Yikes!
I would test it out! I love old starters, but I would revive it myself before giving it to someone else. If you give it a good feeding of 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk, you’ll have your answer in a couple of days! Just make sure your kitchen is warm — here’s a tutorial that might help: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-reviving-frozen-amish-friendship-bread-starter/
I am wanting to make a starter but am wondering if it can be done sugar free and no artificial sweetners either. I prefer to avoid honey as well. I have made crusty bread that is just flour, yeast, water, and salt stir and it sits for 24 hours covered and is a soft, sticky bubbly dough when I uncover it.
When making a starter kit it says used all purpose flour. After day 10, when you start making your bread, the recipe calls for self rising flour.
What type flour do you use for days 6 and 10?
Can I use bread flour instead of all-purpose flour?
I’ve completed the 10 day starter and adding in ingredients to continue with my starter. my question is the recipe is not clear..is sounds like you divide what you have ….use 1 cup to bake with …then add 1/2 cup each flour, sugar and milk….stir then divide again in 1 cup portions….no yeast??? says i should have gotten 4-5 bags i got 2 want to make sure i’m not skipping anything…thank you
Thank you so much for sharing your recipe. I love making friendship bread. I was thinking of buying the 9-cup Bormioli Rocco Fido Square Jar with Blue Lid but I was curious to know if you actually seal it closed tight or if you leave it open/loose? In the picture, it looks like it’s sealed tightly. Please let me know. Thank you again!
Never seal it tight — I latch it so it keeps the lid cracked about an inch. If I store the jar in the fridge for a couple of days, I may seal it, but otherwise you need to let the air circulate. I’ll have to swap out the picture so no one gets confused, but thank you for letting me know!
Switching containers at any time isn’t a problem — the starter likes to be moved around! You just don’t want to place it any place drafty or cold — it prefers room temperature/slightly warm environments. 🙂
I was into making Amish Friendship bread years ago. I want to give it a go again. If I begin the starter on day 1 in a ceramic bowl can I transfer to another container for day 2 and not mess up the process?
I have a 1-year old homemade sourdough starter that I made with flour and water only. I named her Lizzie, she’s brilliant!
I am wondering if I could add a bit of my starter into this Amish starter recipe for a kick-start instead of commercial yeast. What do you think? Has anyone else tried this?
Thanks for the recipes. I’m really interested in your cookbook.
Hi Terri! Yes, I think Lizzie would make a great addition to your Amish Friendship Bread starter! Let me know how it goes, and welcome to the Friendship Bread Kitchen!
It worked great, I’m happy to report. I’ve made bread twice now. A bunch of bread! I made the cinnamon and pecan friendship bread and also the rustic Amish bread. Both kinds of bread turned out very nicely. It was just like my grandmother used to bake. I must say it’s more difficult to give the starter away these days. I guess most people just don’t bake anymore. I’m happiest when I’m baking!
If I had 6 starters and I keep one to bake bread. The other 5 I want to keep in a large jar. How much do I feed it and can I take out a cup to bake at anytime.
I would just feed it every 6 days like Day 6 (1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, 1 cup sugar), Steve. The bigger it gets, the more you’ll need to feed it so I would try to only keep 2-3 cups of starter on the counter at a time, max. Good luck!
Hey Is it possible to substitute soy milk for the cows milk? we are all lactose intolerant
Yes, that should work fine, Adam. We’ve substituted rice milk and almond milk as well.
My taste buds have been screaming for cinnamon twists for a couple of weeks – you know, the kind you get from a good bakery – so I started looking around the web for a good recipe to make my own. It’s always my preference if I can handle it. Guess what site I landed on! With no starters in the area that I know of, I am doing my own and plan to pass them out at church next week. I’m on Day 4 of my first adventure and am so looking forward to some really good cinnamon twists in another week! It’s kind of funny because I’m in east central Indiana and there are Amish communities all around me, and a couple of great Amish shops, but no friendship bread starters! Thank you for sharing this with us. My taste buds are drooling!
I have made this starter for a gazillion years. I had originally gotten it from a co-worker and then after she had quit no one knew the recipe for the starter so I’ve been making it all these years without the yeast and it works perfectly. No one knew it was in there. Just thought I would let you know.
My husband accidentally bought bleached flour. I’m wanting to take my starter out of the freezer and revive it. Will the flour hurt my starter?
No, it shouldn’t make any difference at all. I’ve done the same thing. It’s pretty hard to mess it up.
This recipe brought up some memories! I think if I dig deep enough in my deep freezer I may find one from a few years ago. I started this same one around 7 years ago at work for Mother’s Day; one of my co-workers still hates me to this day that I did ~ his wife constantly has him making this so she can send to the PI. ROTFL
I made my own starter per your directions in FEBRUARY. I made it through 3 10 day cycles The bread was fantastic!
I’ve made the original, lemon poppyseed,and double chocolate.
On Sunday I removed 1 c.of frozen starter to begin a new jar’s 10 day cycle.
Today is day 4, and no bubbles !
Should I add flour,sugar,and milk, and act like it’s day 6, or just ditch it ?
I would definitely feed it, Finn, and see if you can revive it. We have a tutorial here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-reviving-frozen-amish-friendship-bread-starter/. It takes a while to get it as robust as pre-freezing (it needs to be fed and kept at room temperature), but if it smells good (and has been fed since you’ve removed it from the freezer), it should be fine!
Will a half recipe work just the same? I’d like to make a loaf at a time and distribute one loaf bags to my friends if possible…
Hi Hannah,
In theory it should work if you halve the starter recipe (was that what you mean?), but I’d recommend making the starter per the recipe. Then you can decide if you want to halve the bread recipe. I think it’s still easier to follow the recipe in it’s entirety and give the extra loaf away or even freeze it — the bread keeps well. You can freeze the remaining bags if you don’t feel ready to maintain the starter on a regular basis. I think it would be hard to manage a “one loaf” starter baggie but you can certainly try it — just make sure your friends know they have to halve every recipe in order to make sure it works.
Does that answer your question? 🙂
Never mind, I found it…just had to click again…getting antsy! lol
Hi Sherry!
No problem, I’m glad it worked out! What did you end up making on Valentine’s Day?
So excited to find this. Fifteen years ago I had a rotation going w friends but then we moved…I’m excited to find this and get it started – just in time to get it started and get to baking day to share mini loaves of bread and starters w each of the children in my preschool class for Valentine’s Day!
Also glad to learn I can freeze a starter!
What if anything do I add to prepare my 1 cup batter to bake?
Hi, I was gifted a bag of starter from a coworker and followed the 10 day routine, made the bread and it was great. My question is I came across a article awhile back stating that while following the 10 day routine it should be kept in the refrigerator as it is not safe to keep it out on the counter for that length of time. Any comments on that?
It’s best to keep it at room temperature in order to allow the yeast to do what it needs to do. Most sourdough starters are kept at room temperature. You can move your starter to the fridge, but it will slow the fermentation process considerably and lengthen the feeding cycle. As long as your starter is bubbly and has a tangy, yeasty-sweet, fermenting smell, it should be safe. If it turns colors or smells suspicious, best to throw it out. Hope that’s helpful. If you have any other questions, be sure to visit our FAQs page (https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faqs/). Also check out on how to tell good starter from bad starter (https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-good-vs-not-so-good-amish-friendship-bread-starter/). Thanks for being a part of the Friendship Bread Kitchen!
I want to make this for Bryan Mclachlan and Kristy Porter Graboski
I tried the starter. It was easy and fun. I made the bread for myself and my daughter then a shared the started with 5 people at work.
I added raisins to my bread. It was yummy. Thank you
My granddaughter tried this bread and will not stop eating it. She loves it. I had not had a starter in several, so I was glad to get one from a friend. I am going to make a couple loaves and take to work. Also gave a starter to my daughter, so she can make more for my granddaughter.
I just want to make sure I do this right. On the first day you add the cups of flour, sugar, and milk. You then add them again in a few days? The ingredient list only says 1 cup of each not 2. Thanks!
Also, what % of milk do you use? Whole?
Hi Lindsay! It doesn’t matter — whole, 2% or skim all works. 🙂
And to answer your first question, when you make the starter you follow the directions and ingredients. Then you have to break out the flour, sugar and milk again on Day 6 to do another feed of 1 cup each. On Day 10 you add 1½ cups of each, divide, and share the starter (and bake with 1 cup yourself if you want). The ingredients listed are on for the first day of making the starter only, which I know seems a bit confusing, but that’s traditionally how it’s been presented and you’re probably not going to reserve a cup of milk for 6 days, LOL. Let me know if that answers your question!
Years ago I received a starter and have been wanting to make another recipe, but I didn’t know how to get a starter. So I will definitely be making this.
If you’re using the countertop jar, do you stir the mixture with a wooden spoon rather than mashing the plastic bag, according to the schedule?
Hi Beth,
Yep! Give it a good stir daily!
Thanks so much! I can’t wait to get started!
Instructions say “Cover loosely and let stand at room temperature until bubbly. Consider this Day 1 of the 10-day cycle. For the next 10 days, handle starter according to the instructions for Amish Friendship Bread.”
What is day one? The day you stir everything together, the day it is bubbly, or are they the same?
Hi Reynaldo! Day 10 becomes Day 1 if you are starting the cycle over again. Happy baking!
I have found that when you end the ten day cycle and separate it that you can refridgerate a few and continue to use them instead of having to wait a whole ten days longer. Just let the serving come to room temp first.
Each serving makes two loaves so it lats awhile.
Of course I still keep a ten day cycle going and share with anyone who wants some.
My question is can this be made in a bread machine?
Hi Val! Great input, thank you! And yes, we have a bread machine version here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/bread-machine-afb/. The results will vary depending on the kind of bread machine you have, so you may want to treat your first time as a test to make sure you get the settings right. If you end up making it, I hope you’ll post a picture on our Facebook wall!
Hello!! I was wondering… The jar with the blue lid.. Do you close the lid at leave it open??
Hi Janette! I leave it cracked open when it’s on the kitchen counter (you can actually latch it so it pops open about half an inch) but when it’s in the fridge I definitely seal it. Hope this helps!
Why would you put it in the refrigerator??? Just curious!
Hi Janette! Putting your starter in the refrigerator slows down the fermentation process (so you don’t have to feed it as often) while putting it in the freezer stops it altogether. The fridge is a good option if you plan to bake every couple of weeks — freezing works too but takes a bit longer to get the starter active again. Also, some people want to make sure their Amish Friendship Bread starter stays alive — while freezing works most of the time, sometimes a starter comes out and can’t revive itself to its glory days (usually this is more of an issue with putting in a weak starter to begin with — giving it a good feed a day before usually helps). Hope this helps!
You’re welcome, Dawn!
I love this bread! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I would like to do this but without the extra bags for friends. After awhile the friends have all they need and I can’t stand dumping the extra down the drain. How can I cut the recipe down to just have enough to make 2 loaves of bread and have 1 cup left over to start again? Thanks!
Just make the normal amount and instead of giving your friends all the extra just freeze it all. Mark one bag as your 1 cup to start all over again and the rest just thaw them out, feed them 1/2 a cup of each, and bake it.
I am going to be baking and selling the friendship bread in this area (everyone thinks it is too much work) but when sales are down I plan on freezing it by the cupful so that I can have some when sales go back up. Plus I need to get extra stored for the Christmas rush!
If I have a big enough bowl. Can I double the flour, milk, and sugar I am adding to feed my starter? I recently made this for a bake sale at work and it was such a hit I decided to make so much more to help supplement income when I quit to care for the kids in a few weeks. So I was hoping instead of having multiple bowls all over my counter I was wondering if I can just double the feeding?
Is this possible to do in the Caribbean? The temp is pretty hot, in the house stays about 85 degrees. Would that be too hot? Thanks
I started a starter with the yeast, milk, sugar, flour and put it in a zip lock bag 3 days ago.
It’s pretty runny and it smells like beer. Is this normal? I’ve never started it before.
Hi Keri — yes. You should have had some activity (bubbles, etc.) after the first day, if not your yeast may be old. On Day 6, when you do another feeding round, you should see activity within 24-48 hours. The yeasty beer smell is right (fermentation) but you want some action, too.
There are several kinds of starter cakes that my mom used. One is a 30 day bread. Could you please send different recipes that I can try. One had lots of fruits in it.
Love this stuff! My ex used to make it 1 X month and give away. Never got the starter from her, so I made my own a month ago! Turned out great! Just made 6 loaves today! Man is it some kind of good! P.S. I didn’t have any plastic or ceramic bowls, so had to use stainless steel. Was worried it wouldn’t turn out, but it did! Not sure why that is mentioned, but the time in the bowl was about 5 minutes, so maybe it didn’t matter? But it is GOOD!
Can u just make the bread without having to wait on the starter
My bag didn’t seal all the way and part of it leaked out. I would say about half. Should I still add the same amounts on day 10 or is it reined?
It’s not ruined — I’d just keep on feeding it on Day 6 and Day 10 — you may end up having a little less (1 cup) but should still have plenty to bake and share. 🙂
Can soy milk be used in place of regular milk?
Yes!
I’m going to a church event and want to bring these as gifts 16 days from now. Can I make the starter now and just continue to feed it? (feed on day 6, 10 and 16?) Or should I just wait to make the starter so day 10 falls on the day I need to bake. You said it tastes better the older it gets so I thought maybe it would work to start now instead of in a week?
Hi Becky! I’d make them now and put the date 16 days from now as Day 1 (so people what to do if they follow the instructions). One everything is bagged up and labelled, throw them in the freezer. Then you just need to take them the day or day before so they can thaw and you can attach the instructions or whatever else you’d like to do. It’ll be just fine if you’re off a day or two, but do it now so it’ll be one less thing to worry about later. You can check out our tutorial on reviving frozen starter if you have any questions: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-reviving-frozen-amish-friendship-bread-starter/. Have fun!
I make this bread every Christmas. I have used the same starter since 1995, always in a bowl. I use the entire recipe myself to make 4 loaves of bread, and freeze my one cup for a year. It’s still bubbling, and yes, we call it Herman.
What I find that works for me so that I am not having lots of “baby starters” to give away is this; I take my 1 cup of frozen Amish Friendship Bread starter from the freezer, dump it into a Pyrex 4 cup measuring cup (or mixing bowl) and let it sit on the counter for 3 to 4 hours so it’s almost at room temperature. I feed it with 1/2 cup milk, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, and 1/2 cup sugar. I lightly cover the container with a sheet of plastic wrap (just lay the plastic wrap on top do not seal it down; you need the air flow.) Then let it sit overnight. Next day it will have bubbled nicely. Stir it down. Pour out one cup of starter, for your recipe, and you now have one cup of starter left to place back into the freezer to re-use again some other time. It’s that simple. No more multiple bags of starter to get rid of and you always have just 1 cup of frozen starter in your freezer to work with. [Thaw your 1 cup starter – Feed your 1 cup starter – Pour out 1 cup starter for recipe – Freeze leftover 1 cup starter]
It’s an age-old recipe. I would only add that you can stir the mixture in the bowl with a wooden spoon. I had to go to 2 – 3 other websites to find out that you can stir the starter mixture instead of storing the starter in a ziplock bag.
OK OK OK I am a “by the recipe” kind of guy and I do take recipes literally the first time I make a recipe. I wanted to make sure I got it RIGHT.
Hi James! Absolutely — we prefer the mixing bowl and wooden spoon method, and use t all the time. The advantage here is that the starter really gets exposure to air and the wild yeasts floating around, while the air supply inside the bag is limited. It works well to pass the starter along in a bag or store it in the freezer that way, and then transfer the starter into a mixing bowl for the 10-day journey!
Question: Can you mash the bag too much? My kids love mashing it. Does the yeast need a rest time to activate?? I’d appreciate a quick response as we are doing this now. Thanks so much!!
You can never mash it too much! It really likes to be mixed as often as possible.
Will almond milk work?
It will, but we’ve noticed the nut milks and rice milk result in a quieter starter. Unless you are completely dairy free, you can try starting your starter with milk and then continuing to feed it on almond milk–we’ve had good results with that. Just make sure you’re seeing bubbles and that your starter is active 12-24 hours after a feeding. Keep us posted!
Made this years ago before computers ever came out. Made Banana Bread with it, added pineapple to some, would try it different ways as well as regular Friendship Bread.
Sounds delicious, Ruby! Yes, Amish Friendship Bread goes way back–it’s one reason we love it here!
I made Amish Friendship Bread years ago and was thrilled to see I could produce a starter, so is my family :D!
I’ve completed my 10 days and want to start the bread itself, but I’m not sure what type of measuring cup to use when removing starter for the individual zip-loc bag, dry or liquid? Also, when the starter comes out of the freezer do I start from day 1 or is it ready to use as the cup I’m using now? Thanks in advance :)!
Hi Theresa–Great question! For liquids, you can use either — it’s exactly the same (you can test this by pouring 1 cup of water into a dry measuring cup and then pouring that into a liquid measuring cup. Still 1 cup!). It’s only with dry items that you want to be more precise and the type of measuring cup you use, or scale, can make a big difference. Using a dry measuring cup for milk or water is also messier as there’s no room for a shaky hand–there’s no room for forgiveness in a dry measuring cup since it’s measured right up to the rim.
We’ve found with the starter that it is definitely easier to use a dry measuring cup to get exactly 1 cup. Hope this helps!
Hello I have a question regarding freezing my bag. I received a bag from a friend and did the whole 10 day cycle. I separated my bags and gave some away and kept one and froze it. But I’m confused on what I do when I take it out of the freezer? Do I add anything to it and treat it as Day 1? I would like to continue making some. Thank you!
Hi Felicia! Did you see our tutorial on reviving frozen Amish Friendship Bread starter? It’s here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-reviving-frozen-amish-friendship-bread-starter/. In a nutshell, let it thaw it room temperature 12-24 hours, then mash it up and bake with it or treat it like Day 6 and do a feeding and continue on until Day 10 (preferred method). Good luck!
Could I use almond milk?
Yes, though we’ve noticed the nut milks and rice milk starters don’t look as active as the dairy-based starters. You definitely want to keep an eye on your starter to make sure it’s bubbling and frothing, especially 12 hours after a feeding. We’ve also started a starter on regular milk and then continue to feed it with rice or almond milk if we were out of regular milk, and that worked fine.
You should count the day she bagged the starter, but if you’re off by a couple of days, it wouldn’t be a problem if you counted the day you received it (Day 3) as Day 1, Mandi.
If my friend bagged my starter on 9/13 but she doesn’t give it to me until 9/15 which day do I count as day 1?
Does this starter ever go in the fridge? Does it stay on the counter all the time? I have a sourdough starter that after I feed it, it goes in the refrigerator for 7 days before I take it back out again to feed it.
Hi Kathy,
This starter stays on the counter if you are planning to bake within 10 days. If you aren’t planning to bake in 10 days, then you can slow the process down by putting it in the fridge or freezer. The starter needs to be fed regularly unless it’s frozen. I recommend that if people aren’t planning to bake anytime soon (and don’t want to be up to their ears in starter) that they freeze it, 1 cup per Ziploc bag. There’s a tutorial here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-reviving-frozen-amish-friendship-bread-starter/. Hope this helps and thanks for visiting the Kitchen!
I was wondering if anyone has the friendship poem that goes with the bread it was a poem with the instructions in it. It is fun do this at the holidays with the poem. Anybody?
Can you keep this in a mason jar instead of in plastic baggies? We are trying to cut down on baggie use around here 🙂
Hi Tabitha! A mason jar is too small — the starter can almost triple in size on a warm day, so you can use a large glass crock (with lid or plastic wrap/dish towel on top) – 3 to 5 gallon, just to be safe.
I have an Amish Friendship Bread Starter that I’ve used for more than 15 years now. Someone at work how much I loved to cook, so she gifted me with one of her starters. I’ve never run out so some of that starter from 15 years ago still makes my loaves!
Hi Maggie! We love stories like this — we’ve also been gifted various starters over the years and it’s interesting to see how they each look different. If you ever get a chance to take a picture of your starter, I hope you’ll submit it to the photo gallery. Thanks for being in the Kitchen with us!
Darien,
I have had 3 ziplock bags of frozen starter since 2011. I just took 1 bag out the freezer yesterday and brought it to room temp. It looks fine and smells like yeast.
I’m concerned that it has not bubbled after mashing it several times yesterday. How long do I need to wait before making the bread? Do I need to ‘feed’ it? I read that term in earlier post, but don’t know what it means, or how it is done. Am I able to to add the ingredient to make the 2 loaves without making extra for sharing?
As for the other bags; how do I proceed from the frozen state, to prepare for sharing?
Tnaks in advance for your response,
Angel
Hi Angel! You have a couple of options: use it right away (after it’s thawed, just measure 1 cup) or treat it like Day 6 and do a Day 6 feeding. On Day 10 you can divide it into 1-cup portions to share or freeze, and then bake with 1 cup as well. Some starters don’t bubble up after being frozen for a while without a little kickstart, so even if you do a small feeding, it will help. Good luck!
I had a recipe for Sour Dough Starter & Bread many years ago and the Starter was never put in the refrigerator. I lost it after all the Military moves over the years and have never found it since. Does anyone have the recipe for this one? It had a nice yeasty scent to it, stayed on the kitchen counter and really made great bread.
Does freezing the starter kill the yeast?
May I ask what “mash” the bag means? Is it to give it a good squeeze all over?
Also do you have metric measures please?
isn’t there a way to not end up with all the starters at the end? I remember it’s by not adding as much of the flour, milk, sugar the last day. Not sure of the ratios though.
I haven’t had a started bag in a while, and have never actually made my own – it’s always been a gift from a friend. I think I’d like to start the tradition this time out!
Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I am just starting Herman and it has separated with lots of liquid on the bottom. Is it okay?
Nancie
Just mix it back in though it shouldn’t be separating that much if you are mixing or squeezing the bag daily. Look for bubbles to make sure the starter is active — you’ll see more on the days following a feeding than in the middle of the feeding period.
I had a recipe for Sour Dough Starter & Bread many years ago and the Starter was never put in the refrigerator. I lost it after all the moves over the years and have never found it since. Does anyone have the recipe for this one? It had a nice scent to it, stayed on the kitchen counter and really made great bread.
I’m want to take my last bag out of the freezer and start over at Day 1. Do I need to give it “a good feed” before I start the 10 day process? And if so, what is considered a good feed? The full 1 cup each, or is it reduced?
Kim, I freeze my starters when I don’t have anyone to give it to. I will take the starter out of the freezer a day or two before I want to cook it. I normally wait until I see the starter begin to bubble again before I cook it, but I have cooked it just a few hours after taking it out of the freezer when I was in a pinch. I couldn’t tell a difference in it.
I just took my starter out of the freezer. Do I have to start the 10 day process or can I bake with it right away? I want to bake for Christmas but forgot to take it out of the freezer and I don’t have 10 days 🙁
You will take out the 1 C for making your next batch (if you want to go through the 10 day process) and all the remaining starter is what you will use to make your bread to give away. If you don’t want to re-do the 10 day cycle, then just use everything!
I’m on day 10 and want to bake the bread for gifts. Can I use all the batter today and make the bread or do I have to take a cup out and start the 10 days process over again?
Lola, I use metal pans all the time. Turns out great!
Have you ever baked the bread in a metal pan. I kept 2 starters last time so I could make alot of bread to give away, but just have a few glass pans, would a metal bundt pan work?
Hi Lola! Yes, as long as the pans are coated and not raw exposed metal (i.e. your grandmother’s old muffin tins).
Does any one know if its okay to freeze the starter??and if so how long before it needs to be used?? And any special instructions?? Thanks Jacquelyn I.B-)
Thanks Darien, you answered my ?s.
I have always wanted a starter, but could never find a recipe that had tons of great reviews. This one is it……..and I am starting today. I am just a tad bit confused…..after day 10 do I have to start all over with day 1 and make a new batch of starter?
Hi Martha,
Yes, on Day 10 the recipe is designed to be finished and you’ve passed on what’s left. However, lots of people like to keep a starter on hand so they can bake at any time. If this is what you’d like to do, reserve one of the bags of starter for yourself. If you think you want to bake in 10 days, treat that starter as Day 1 and go through the process again. If you don’t know when you want to bake, pop it in the freezer until you’re ready. You can either bake with it or start the process again (just bring it to room temperature, usually a few hours). The benefit to starting the process again is that you’ll have starter left over to share or save.
I’m confused – the starter recipe references using “whats left in the bowl” and combine with ingredients for the bread (on day 10) but if you go to the bread recipe itself, it says to just use 1 cup of starter. So, which is it? If I use “whats left in the bowl” after removing the (4) 1 cup amounts into ziplocs, I have at least 4 cups left. So, is it one cup of the starter on day 10 or is it “whats left in the bowl”? Thank you! Is it still considered the starter after adding the ingredients for day 10? Please help explain this. This is my first attempt and I’m not sure I did it right.
In the old days, what was left in the bowl was 1 cup. But since so many people make their own starter, the yeast tends to be super active, usually yielding more than 4 cups on Day 10. So we recommend feeding the starter on Day 10, dividing the starter into equal portions of 1 cup, and then baking with 1 and giving the others away or freezing for another time. Hope this helps, Becca!
I have been making friendship bread now for about 6 months. A friend gave me a starter and I have been saving the 3 starters and making more and more bread – everybody loves it. I make the one with pudding and applesause, I change it and make rasin nut, bannana nut it is soooo good. I also give bread to the people who live in tent city, it is such a heavy bread that it keep them not hungry. I thank my friend Debbie and the Amish.
If I am making a bunch of starters with around 26 kids that I only see once a week, and we are low on money, is it possible to dissolve the yeast in the 1/4 cup water for the 10 minutes and then divide the yeast mixture in half? Add 1/2 cup of the sugar, flour and milk? If so would they only add 1/2 cup on days 6 and 10? And would there be like 2 cups to divide vs 4? I would appreciate your help. Thank You!
I need the recipe for the fruit starter that starts with pineapple, sugar and Brandy A.S.A.P. please, and/or a link to it. Tks. It takes two months to make the fruit cake from start to finish but it is well worth it. I misplaced mine. 🙁
Tks.
Hi Lori,
How did that sugar-free starter worked for you?
Do you mind sharing the recipe? Thanks!
Great site here! I would love to make this recipe but my husband is diabetic and I am a little concerned about the amount of sugar used. Is it possible to use less sugar for the starter?
Gave “birth” to a sugar free starter just to try it a couple days ago, today decided to start a regular one. Love it!!!
Hi Lori,
How did that sugar-free starter worked for you?
Do you mind sharing the recipe? Thanks!
Just check the Recipe Box, Liz!
I haven’t made the Amish Friendship Bread for more years than I care to say. So Ii thought I would look for a starter recipe. I noticed, when looking for Friendship Bread Starter, that some of the recipes call for yeast, and some don’t. I can’t remember if I used yeast or not. Which is better for a denser bread, which is what my family loved? I also don’t recall using Pudding Mix in the batter. Can you clear this up for me? Have there been a lot of changes since the 70s?
Hi Verna,
Because Amish Friendship Bread is essentially a culinary “chain” letter, it’s probably taken many forms before the one that circulates now. In Europe it’s known as Herman or Hermann bread, and is often accompanied by a similar letter that also include a prayer by Padre Pio. I don’t know who or when the pudding mix got added, but it does boost flavor and moisture, though you could easily omit it as well (or use our homemade pudding mix recipes, found in the Recipe Box). You shouldn’t need any additional yeast — the starter is a yeast starter — but some of the recipes in the Box may have found better success in adding a “boost.” I think the biggest change since the 70’s in the presence of wild yeasts in the air — I think that may have decreased which is why it’s sometimes difficult to “start” a starter without a commercial yeast boost. Hope this helps and thanks for joining me in the Kitchen!
I was wondering if on day 10 when you go to bake if you could possibly divide the batter and make two different kinds of bread? Or would it be to much pudding in each loaf?
Thanks
Hi Becky! We do this all the time in the Kitchen — we mix all the base ingredients together and then separate it into two different batters and add the additional ingredients that’ll make them different. You’ll end up with two different loaves. And because the instructions vaguely refer to “1-2 boxes of pudding,” you can either divide the pudding or put a whole box in each recipe (if you’re doing one chocolate and one vanilla, for example). Let me know what you end up doing, Becky — we’ve done it both ways and both work well.
I did divide out the mix and used two different pudding mixes.
One was Lemon and the other was Pistachio. I used a whole, small box each and they turned out really brown, but they were both good!!
Thanks so much!!
Pam, you can look up the full starter recipe at momswhothink.com. Reference Amish Friendship Bread, and they have a clearly delineated recipe for both the starter and the bread. I had trouble locating both on this site as well. Good luck!
I used to have the recipe long ago and loved to make the different breads. I am so glad I found your website a few years back but have lost my recipe again (it was in a folder on my email domain) and I cannot find here what we are to do each day for the 10 days. I know we do something and add something each day but what? Cannot find it here. Please help! Thanks
I have also seen starters that only use water, flour, sugar. I noticed yours uses milk, won’t the milk really sour fast – could it get dangerous to eat.
Hi Carol! Amish Friendship Bread has been around for several decades — it’s not my recipe. The milk doesn’t sour or spoil — there are people who’ve had their AFB starters for several years. I couldn’t explain the science of the starter, but it has something to do with the fact that the starter is fermenting. Here is a link you may find helpful: http://www.ext.colostate.edu/safefood/newsltr/v1n2s04.html. Hope this helps answer your question and allay any concerns!
Do you start feeding the starter the day after you mix it up? How often do you feed it and how much?
Hi Carol! You receive or make it on Day 1, squeeze every day, add ingredients on Day 6 and Day 10. The full instructions are here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread.
Can’t wait to try this one.
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU, for posting this starter recipe can’t wait to get started!!!
You’re welcome, Mekenna!
What do you do if you just want to make the starter and the bread, but don’t want extra bags to share.
Bake off the extra bags, or freeze them to save for a later date, Paula. On Day 10 you’ll have enough starter for 4-7 recipes, with each recipe yielding 2 loaves each. You could gift everyone in your neighborhood with Amish Friendship Bread! (and the bread freezes well, too). Good luck!
I used to to make an Amish Friendship Bread that the starter was instant potato flakes. I still have the recipe somewhere, your recipe inspires me to start making it again. Thank you!
I haven’t had friendship bread in years. The one I remember is from when I was a kid and my mom had it in a jar. But the one she would do she would had fruit to the mix during the 7 or 10 days. It was an okay bread but these look so much better. Going to start me a starter tomorrow. Thank you so much for sharing.
i have had a starter going since Thanksgiving. Love the friendship bread.
i make my starter with just, 1 cup milk, 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar. i love making different flavors, and making mini muffins, or even a bundt pan. so many diffent flavors, The favorite is lemon poppy seed and Cherrycheese cake.
I have used a frozen starter a year later, and it was fine. I also use a wire whisk…doesn’t seem to change the bread at all. I wish I could make a starter and bake it immediately!!! I hate to wait the ten days! Oh, by the way, you can mess up the starter along the way, and it doesn’t change the outcome! I forgot the day I was supposed to add…added two days later than when I should have with no problem. It’s a very ‘forgiving’ dough!!
I was wondering how long can you freeze the starter for?
Indefinitely! Check our FAQs for more on freezing your starter, but it’ll keep until you need it, even if it’s a couple years later!
I remember Friendship Bread from when I was a kid. My mom and her girlfriends used to trade the starters back and forth. I was excited to try making the starter today. I guess I mixed up the directions a bit…while multi-tasking… and added the flour and sugar to the yeast mixture and then poured in the milk. Will this still work. I’d rather start over on day 1 than figure out on day 10 that I can’t bake the bread or share the batter with friends. BTW, the mixture looks just like the description of pancake batter.
I am totally confused. When making the “starter”, it says to consider that day as day 1. That I understand. But then it says ” for the next 10 days” do this and that. Is this a 11 day bread or should that have read …”for the next 9 days” do this and that ? I hope I haven’t ruined my starter since I am going by the 11 day thing. I started my starter on Sat. Did nothing Sun., stir mon , tues and Wed. Added the milk, sugar and flour today. Since then I have looked up other “starter” and it says the day you mix up your starter is day 1 and then do this and that for the next 9 days. Have I ruined mine ???
Christine: I am certainly no expert at this, but when the directions say consider the day that you make the starter day one, take it literally. In years past, I have gone over two weeks past the 10 days, (I am ashamed to admit!), before I made my bread, and it didn’t have any affect on it whatsoever. So one day isn’t going to matter at all. As long as you let the air out of the bag, when it inflates do to the yeast, if you use ziploc bags, and continue to stir it, it will be just fine. This stuff is pretty hard to mess up, so you haven’t ruined anything!!! Relax, and happy baking!!! (And this comes from a man that is not a baker……I just love this bread!).
Here is another way to make the bread. Eliminate the vanilla pudding, use only 1 3/4 cups of flour, add 1/4 cup of dry farina, peel, core and cut a granny smith or honey crisp apple into small pieces. Dust the bottom of the pan with the entire amout of sugar and cinnamon (don’t put on the top). Pour 1/4 of the batter into the pan, then layer with the cut up apple, then pour the remaining batter on the top and bake. It is really good and doesn’t have the added sugar from the pudding. The apple tops it off just right too.
Just making sure I have this right…… If I make a starter, I follow the normal 10 day instructions then on the 10th day I bake with one cup of my mixture and give the other 3 away and they begin with their 10 day instructions or do I not bake that 10th day …..thanks!
Is sour dough starter and friendship bread starter the same and can they be used interchangably?
I plan on making this with soymilk, for a dairy free bread. So excited to have found the recipe! (:
I’m making the starter for the first time. It’s day five and it continues to be really runny – not goopy like the above photos. It is seperated until I sir it each day. I substituted water for the milk due to an allergy according to the vegan recipe. Does it sound like it’s working? Thanks for your help – I’m hoping for some yummy bread! Melissa
Help! I have starter that I froze but I’ve misplaced the directions on how to use it! Can you help please?
HI there, we don’t use yeast as we make sourdough regularly, can I just use some of my real sourdough to start the friendship bread – instead of bakers yeast (which is a monoculture and so not as healthy for us!). Thanks, great site and can’t wait to make the bread!!
I ‘m happy that I came across your site ! My sister-in-law had done this for her co-workers. I’ve been looking for a really good recipe to use. Thanks !!!
I recently received a copy of Friendship Bread from NetGalley and absolutely loved the book! (check out my website for the review).
I was very excited to see that there were recipes included. I just put together my first starter ever! It’s now sitting in the bowl and I’ll be moving it to the Ziploc bags later tonight. Is there a specific amount of time I should wait? I know it says until it’s bubbly, but is there a general time (2-3 hours for example)?
Thanks so much for writing the book and sharing all of these recipes!
would like to learn more
Hi Mary, I have been on the site for about 3 months trying different recipes and I just love it. I had made the bread 20 years ago but when the starter died so did my bread making days. I am having a blast. One thing I have done after you telling one of the readers that the starter was very resilient is I do not let it go the 10 days. I only do one feeding, Now my starter is 3 months old so I think it is pretty strong, but I had run out of people to give starters to, so I hated having all of this extra. So with only the one feeding and using it sooner I can make a sour dough and a friendship bread, have a starter and then if I want to give one away I have one, not 4. I am getting ready to convert one to sugar-free, so I will keep you posted on how that turns out. Thanks again for a great site, Anne
I so happy to finally find this starter.It is great! Just made an orange date nut bread, and it was delicious!!!
Since you can’t use metal bowls or spoons in the preparation of the bread, can you bake it in metal loaf pans?
My daughter brought home from work a starter kit and when she gave me one I couldn’t wait for the 10 days was up but I did and when I baked the bread of o’ my goodness it was one of the best, now I know I can make so much more I can’t wait for my 10 days to be up. I’m going to try other things and when I do I will post how they are, and my daughter is going to be trying other things also so she will be telling me how yhey were ,,,can’t wait!!!
After the 10 days with the starter can I divide into 1 cup each and use it for four different bread recipies? Or can I only take the one cup out? Thank you for all of you great advice and yummy recipies.
I need some help! I made the starter and I am almost ready to divide it and pass it on. Once I have done that and I give a bag to my neighbor, what is she supposed to do on the first day? I am unclear if she is supposed to add 1c sugar, 1 c milk and 1 c flour on Day 1 after receiving the starter from me. Help!
I’ve made the Friendship Bread that turns out like a pound cake or bundt cake, but how do I make the bread that is like bread dough and not cake batter?
I think this is a fabulous idea and as soon as I get a jar big enough for this I am going to do this with my friend, Cheryl. She lives on the next street over and we walk together in the mornings with my husband and my dog!
My mixture didn’t get bubbly… Should I start over or is this okay? I really love this bread and don’t want to waste 10 days for it to not come out right…
Thank you! i love this bread!!! Making my own starter is fun !!! I love to bake
Darlene rose in Ramona CA
May I get a bag of your bread starter? Thank you!
I just finished the book. It was wonderful. The cover caught my eye when I had gone to the library. I haven’t had friendship bread in years and was greatful that you had the recipe for the starter in the book. I am very anxious to start baking. Also the website is a wonderful place to find so many recipes that no one in my family should ever get tired of Friendship Bread. Thanks so much.
Hi. I have made this before and love it. I’m getting ready to make some more but I’m wondering if I can put it in a glass mason jar with a metal lid to gift it? I just hate the idea of giving someone a plastic bag of mush, lol. I would rather it look semi nice. Thanks.
I used to have it recipe, now is come back again and glad get it copy as save in my computer recipe my file. I love to exchange Amish Bread with friends to pass along when save extra in to jar. It is good bread.
Thanks so much!!
After the ten days, you keep one cup and bake with it, then you give the other 9 away; do the people bake with the cup you gave them, or do they start with the day you gave it to them and add to it again on day 5, and then they bake again and give 9 away? Do you have to ever add more yeast?
They start with the day you gave it to them as day one and feed it on day 6 and then feed it on day ten, separate into one cup batches and bake what you want, save or give away one cup each to friends or family and then the circle starts again, squeeze/stir and then feed etc. etc.
I love the bread but I need to stop making it. I don’t want to make anymore starters, so can I leave out day 10 and just add the rest of the ingredients to the mixture that I have?
So everytime I add ingredients to the batter, I have to mash, mash mash, then on day 5 add more ing., then on day ten start using the batter, and save 1 cup to add ing to..right? why cant I use after it rises in a few days?
I have never made this cake,but I am going to give it a try. Wish me luck!
I just baked my first batch on 1/22/12 from a bag of the starter that was given to me. I followed the instructions to the letter, however when I separated the batches into 1 cup servings to give to friends I ended up with 5 bags not including the 1 cup I kept to bake. No one wanted any now I have 5 bags of starter. It’s on day 4, can I freeze it now, and if so when I take it out of the freezer do I start up at day 5, or day 10?
What do you mean exactly when you say feed it?
Hi … I’ve just finished listening to the book and loved it! And now after hearing all about it and seeing all the recipes, I just have to start a “starter” to share with my friends! Haven’t had the pleasure of this since the mid-80’s and back then all I had was the original bread recipe. Thank you for assembling all the recipes … can’t wait to start!
i love this cake. i have made lots of them for christmas gifts. i did’nt have the recipe for the starter. the first one was given to me.so now i did’nt have the begin. thanks
It has been a few years since a friend of mine gave me a starter bag of Freindship Bread! So glad I found this~can’t wait to do it myself & share with other friends~~Thank you! Hope it turns out as good:)
I am going to try this for the first time.Thank you for posting the step by step.
I was given this recipe about 1 year ago from one of my co-workers and let it go without feeding so i lost it…so glad to find it again..love the bread and other things i can make with it.thanks alot.
have not made this in years,want to get started again
MY SISTER MAKES YOUR BREAD AND ITS AWSOME,TKNX.
Does the .25 ounce equal 1 of the 1/4 oz. pkg of yeast?
love the bread especially with just coconut and pecans..
I have just made the starter but used a metal whisk to mix it then read about not using metal utensils, but have used a glass bowl, do you think I will have a problem !!
Hello,
First, I am loving the novel! But, I am not done with it yet. I had a feeling there would be a website with the recipies and I was thrilled to find it. I am curious about how forgiving the recipie is regarding the timeline. Can you bake on the 9th or the 11th day? How important is it to be so specific? I am guessing the sour taste will be less on the 9th and more on the 11th. I am just trying to plan this out so that I am not rushed on baking day, but my schedule is always so full. Thanks for any advice you can offer on the baking and for writing such an incredible story.
Is there a way to make this bread without the sour dough tast?
I live at Good Samaritan Village in Kissimmee, Fl. We have a fantastic library with so many different things for older people including a low vision room for sight impaired . We have two reading machines, many large print books, and many audio books. We are staffed completely by volunteers. We have many librarians, some authors and others living here. I am privilaged to be one of the volunteers . Many of our books are donated and we have fund raisers to buy some. It will be wonderful if we could have this wonderful book. I have just read it but I want to keep mine.
I love the FREINDSHIP BREAD!!!! I use to use it a lot when my children were young, they LOVED IT!! I just tried to start a batch but for some reason it isn’t developing like it should.I never used yeast before and used a sugar sub. w/o yeast. there is no froth in it. I started it on Oct.7th!! I really can’t wait for it to get started, any ideas. Can I add regular sugar to it on the 6th day or start a new batch???!
Can the starters that oyu give to people be left in room temperatures for the 10 days?
Love this it will make great gifts for my good friends this year for Christmas. Thanks so much !
I’ve done this before but only after being given the starter. I haven’t done it in awhile so I needed the starter. Thank you for your help.
I wonder if you can freeze starter?
I am so excited to get started.
I want to make this, however don’t have friend’s who bake so would just keep it for myself.
My question is regarding freezing the extra. At what stage do you freeze it please & how long will it keep in the freezer.
TYVMIA,
Shawn
Thanks so much–
I just finished reading the Friendship Bread by darien gee,
a wonderful book full of love, and relationships.
Can’t wait to start baking
I love Friendship bread, but haven’t made it for a couple of years. Glad to find the Starter Recipe, but I had to print out 34 pages of comments just to get it.
If the starter is in a glass jar, is “mashing” the same thing as stirring the starter? I can’t wait to get going on this. Would be fun to get the women of the church started on this.
I’ve just broken a knee and cookies wouldn’t be a good idea, with the ups and downs. I am so anxious to try this. I can think of several people who will be interested in trying it. I have never seen this starter before. Both the starter and the bread itself look wonderful. Thanks for making it available.
I done this years ago. it was so much fun. excited bout doin it again
yummy
I grew up with home made breads mom aaylws made our bread (and still bakes it). I’ve yo-yo’d between baking all our bread and buying it mostly for convenience. Lately I’ve gone back to making our bread because I’m concerned with all the additives in store bought bread. I’ve been using my bread machine most of the time because it’s so convenient; but I know that long rises make a more flavorful loaf. I would love to have the recipe for your sour dough bread.I just discovered your web site and I plan to be a frequent visitor.
This is GREAT! Never tried “Sweet” starter before, always did sourdough!
I’m now a BIG fan of friendshipbreadkitchen.
“Very excited about this”. – I started my starter batch yesterday, the “hard” part is waiting for the next 9 days to bake and enjoy! – Thank you for providing this website. 🙂
I have wanted to start this and glad a friend recommended this site.
Thank you so much for this starter recipe! My grandmother used to make frienship bread and I lost her starter! Now, I can have a little bit of Granny Betty back again!
My ENTIRE family loves Amish Friendship Bread. I make it several times a year, especially around the holidays. I have 2 grown nieces who ask for it as their gift.
I am going to try this my husband said he would like a good banana cream pie that the amish makes so i am going to look for a reciepe
I rarely use air conditioning so my house temperature varies quite a bit and get get as warm as 82 degrees before I breakdown. On day 10 I added 1 1/2 cups each of flour, sugar and milk. I had 7 1/2 cups to use and share! WOW!
Do you need to use whole milk? I have quickly gone thru al the questions and no one has mentioned if 1% milk is okay – that is what I happen to have on hand. Also is rapid rise yeast okay to use?
I used Rapid Rise and it seems to be perking away just fine!
I Loved the book and cannot wait to get started. I never knew there were so meny recipes I do not know what to try first.
I have just found the book Friendship Bread which I am “devouring”, now I want to start the Starter — How many teaspoons of yeast in a pkt please — many thanks
Hi Diana
Most yeast packages contain 2 1/4 teaspoons. Don’t forget to enter the NOOK contest, too. Have a great day and happy baking.
I thought I was the only one confused with instructions, so I read most other questions and still came up empty. My solution was to just jump right in and try. I am on day two and it had just puffed up (no bubbles) but smells ok like beer. I just gave it a stir. I need assurance this is normal.
I keep it in the garage where its warm since in Florida the air condition runs forever.
Thanks
Hi,
I am a little confused about my starter. Do I mix it in the bowl and than pour it into a ziploc bag right away or when I divide it?
I read the book (Friendship Bread) and loved it. Its a feel good story and easy reading.
help i just hit day 10 so excited baking bread but here is the problem, this starter make more than 4 cups of starter after adding the ingredients to day 10! is this just me? help????
OMG,Thank you, i have been looking for this for forever.when i had the starter,(from my sister-in-law) i made it , ate it, froze it, gave it out as christmas gifts.til i couldnt make anymore. i thought i was tired of eating & baking it. i made different flavors, and it was awesome… now i want to make it again, and here it is. ty soo much for the starter recipe.i will be baking again for a long time.
so glad to find a recipe to make my own starter. hardly anyone makes this anymore around here. i’ve missed it so much! can’t wait to try more of recipes on here.
I love the Amish friendship bread, I have wanted the starter recipe for years. Thanks for posting this.
glad i found this site wanting to try this recipe
I just started reading Friendship Bread today…I am almost done, I have not been able to put it down. I LOVE this book and I love Friendship Bread!! What a wonderful story Darien!! I am going to make sure that we read this in my book club when we start up again in the fall…and we’ll have the fruits of our labor to share! 🙂
Its been 9 years since having a batch of this Friendship Bread. I am so excited to start a fresh batch and begin sharing with friends!
I am so happy to have found this site as i love the bread from the starter mixture and no i can make some and send a package to my sis thanks so much
I am from Indiana and moved to Texas where NO ONE that I’ve meet makes Amish Friendship bread. I’ve never had the recipe for the starter until NOW. Thank you so much. Believe me my family and friends will love you for sharing this with me.
Can’t wait to try it & share!
I haven’t seen or done this for 20 years. Brings back wonderful memories. Wish I coule afford to buy your book, but thanks for all you share from the bottom of my heart.
I don’t see a prompt for printing this recipe. Am I missing it?
Hi Marie! You can print directly from your browser window (just click “File” then “Print”). We’re working on getting a better printer widget in the meantime! Also, feel free to look up the book in the library! We also have free booklet and recipe giveaways occasionally, so check in with our contests periodically!
I have been looking for this recipe for a long time.
i would like for the recipe for the starter and other directions mailed to me if possible, also the btrad recipe. i really would appreciate it thanks , trish
My son is Autistic and is on a gluten free diet. Does anyone know of a starter and directions to do this in a gluten free method? I appreciate any comments and helpful hints. Thank you so much. 🙂
Can this be made in a double or triple starter batch? I would love to be able to give to the ladies at my church!!
I have loved the friendship bread made in any way possible. I even was desparate one evening, we live in the mtns outside of Boise, & it is a trip to go to town, I was out of the Vanilla Instant Pudding. I used pistachio. It was great tasting, looked a little odd though. Mary Marshall
Just finished reading Darien Gee’s book and I am going to make my starter today. It’s going to be a long 10 days wait for my starter to ripen.
Thank you for this website that I reached via Facebook. I haven’t had the Bread in years since I “retired” my starter, and I am starting a new batch today! I am drooling!
oooo- have just spotted this book on the local bookshop shelves down here in Sydney Australia……..gotta be making one to share. How exciting. Eeeeek
love the friendship bread this is my second time making it wish me luck!!!
I just happened by this site and was so glad that I did. I had a friend that gave me a starter for the bread and I failed to keep it going and she had moved away. So now I can start my own and give it out and if I fail to keep it going I now know how to start my own, thanks so much.
Love Friendship bread and you have amazing recipes. What I need to know is…can the starter be made with rice flour and non-dairy (soy or rice or almond) milk for those who can’t have them? It would be wonderful if you could post a starter recipe for those who are vegan or must be gluten free.
Thanks
sounds good but i need the whole recipe, so i can make the bread
Question: I just made the start today. Does this have to stay at room temp. for the 10 days or can it go in the fridge? Can you freeze the batter after the 10 days to make bread in the future?
Question: I just made the starter. Does this bag have to stay at room temp for the 10 days? Can u freeze the batter after the 10 days to make more bread later?
I love the Amish friendship bread. My GOD mother started me on this lovely bread, now my sisters/ friends and I all like to do this as a summer fun event. We all like to freeze starter kits, so we never run out of mix. I never knew the original starter recipe until I checked out on this site today! Thanks for all the wonderful Family Memories you have helped to create!
I will be looking for your book Friendship Bread. Love everything Amish. Have done the Friendship bread in the past and it is awesome.
I started my starter today! 5-7-11
Laurie Carlson
http://www.lauriehere.blogspot.com
I LOVE THIS BREAD
my family and friends enjoy this bread. I have also used it for a activity project at work. It does not last lolng around my house and my Husband.
I would like to get start soon and be able to do that with my daughter and see if it success for us…it sounds wonderful and I also cook alot of different things too…:)
I am so thrilled to find Amish Friendship Bread! I’ve not had any in aoubt 18 years.
I’ll be making the ‘starter’ myself and can’t wait to start sharing.
Thank-you for the site.
I have made this with Splenda and good luck with it.
I have made some with sugar and some with Splenda and right now the Splenda ones are more watery and separated…I’m worried about them. Also, do you add 1 c Splenda each time like the regular ones where you add sugar? Thanks!
thanks for sharing this
I have been doing the AFB for years and since I was told not to use metal bowls or utensils, I never asked why. We use metal pans with paper liners for the mini loaves with no problem. So why do we not use metal bowls or utensils? Just curious. Don’t plan on changing my ways now since I have always been so successful with my starter and recipes. Love the site by the way.
Belinda
So. California
thrilled to find this site! for years i made this at Christmas – different varieties for gifts. But i have not made them in a long, long time and am now ready to get a starter going! wonderful!!
Darien,
How do you keep it good and alive if you don’t use it in a long while?
A’ho,
Sha
Hi ShaTwanee! If you’re not going to use it for a while, store it in the freezer. You can keep it there indefinitely! When you’re ready to use it, take it out and let it defrost on the counter for a few hours. Then bake with it once it’s at room temperature. If you always want to keep some starter on hand, feed the starter first before baking with it, and put the extra aside. Have fun!
warmly,
Darien
I’m concerned… This is the first time I’ve had to make my starter from scratch. I have an OLD recipe from my Grandma’s recipe box and it didn’t say to add yeast. However, it tells you to give the starter 26 days before you actually make the bread. On day 27 you add the last cup flour, sugar, and milk and divide it into four 1 cup containers. These can be given away or will make four cakes or breads.
Hello Tonia! I’m sure your grandma’s recipe is a great one. If you want to try your starter that way, please share the results with us. Otherwise, if you use the standard Amish Friendship Bread starter recipe, you’ll find that the commercial yeast you add will “kick-start” your starter so that you can reliably bake by day 10. I’m sure you’ll have fun any route you take. Does that address your concern?
I had this starter mix in years sure glad to start my own it is sooooo good
I had this starter many years ago & my family loved it! I made pancakes on the weekends-I had guests almost every weekend! My baby son, who was 3 at the time, could eat 4 – 6 inch pancakes. He wanted pancakes all the time. I lost the recipe(& my starter) when our home burned back in 1986. I have often thought about it but couldn’t remember the name. I am so glad I clicked on the link!
very interesting site.
I am so excited to find the starter recipe. I have my original recipe to pass with the bread but I never had the starter recipe!
Would love to have this starter.. Had this many years ago and misplaced it. thanks
I forgot the 10 minute standing time on original starter. Do I need to toss, this is day 3.
Help! I remember years ago getting a starter but you added fruit every day or so…am I crazy? Would love to have the recipe again.
Thanks.
j
I agree with the others. I used to get starter at least 4 times a year. Now I can’t find anyone that has it. I am glad that you have the recipe for the starter and I will start the ball rolling. This bread is out of this world. Glad I found your site on FB. Thanks.
Can the Friendship Bread starter be frozen?
After you get it out of the freezer…and add the one cup each of flour, sugar and milk…do you need to wait more before baking?? Do you then split that into 4 and keep going??
Yes it can
Read article in Book Page. Many years ago I baked it. Loved it. Will start from scratch and give starter to my friends. Thank you from Fairfield,NJ
TJ
Ooh, that looks like something I could rellay make! Thanks for the post! And thanks also for linking up at the Super Sunday Stumble! I’ve stumbled this page and made sure I’m following you on SU. Hope to see you at the hop again this week!Christine recently posted..
I use to make this all the time. but when I made mine I used a glass bowl and stired it with a wooden spoon. Can I see use a glass bowl and wooden spoon. I’d rather do it that way. Thanx. and if some hasn’t tired it, I can attest how wonderful it is. I didn’t know u could freeze it. I know u can freeze the bread/cake.
This is what I was looking for…..thanks!
My daughter was just asking me to see if I could get a bag of this from a friend that had starters now she’ll be able to make her self .. This is the best bread i’ve had in years
Thank you for sharing this recipe a while back I tried this at a friends home and she was to give me some of the mix but it never happened. So now I can start my own mix to pass around tks so much!
Linda
i have made friendship bread for years and the recipe i have does not have the yeast in it and has always been delicious, just wonder what the difference is??
HI! I’m so glad to stop by here and found your recipe! I remembered my mom used to make those all the time and love the smell! OK, my Question is… how can it stand the room temp? My kitchen always cool /chilly than other rooms.. so I wasn’t sure if it can stand cool/chilly room .. Thanks and your site is wonderful!! 🙂
I just love the Amish Friendship Bread….my friends and I really enjoy it…..Thank you for printing and haveing the starter recipe for it….now if I ever stop make it for a while and can’t find anyone that has it I can now make my own…..Thank you
I have two bags of starter. One I will be baking with today. I already made another girl the starter from scratch and I have my new book from Darien…I drove one hour to Barnes and Nobels to buy it. Now just to find a few quiet moments to read. Dont’ just share your bread but your prayers also for those like Japan. Wish we could send them bread. GOD bless…Sheryl
So glad I could find this again.
Thanks have been looking for this friendship bread starter
I have been looking for this thanks a bunch.I was born in Ephtra ,Pa.
Love this !!! Amish Friendship Bread
Oh, thank u so much. I made friendship bread a few times. Getting the starter here, I can make some bread and share with the ladies here at my apartment community. How do u prevent the mixture from blowing up. I had to stop when that happened. Thanks again.
I’m not expert but from what I understand you burp the bag if it is filling up with air
I haven’t had this in a very long time. I love it and the sharing of the bread is a way to keep the love going.
I also had not ever thought of all of the variations to it. I cant wait to try them all.
I havae not heard of this bread before but very anxious to make it for the first time….
I understand the starter prep, but having trouble with step 4. It says to follow amish friendship bread 10 day instructions. So, what is done for each day of the 10 days? Help
Yesssss! I lost this recipe & instructions several years ago!! Here it is and all the other goodies! It is absolutely delish & you can get creative with it!! Wheee!! Glad I found you!! :O)
I have made this for several years but I have a problem with using ziplock bags cause as the product is fermenting I had started to notice ghnats around my bags. And before long my house had too many. Apparently they could smell the dough fermenting and were attracted to it. I have had to use jars or other containers to make my mix. I will not stop making the bread but just was wondering if any one else had a similar situation.
If you will fill a rose vase 1/3rd of the way with apple cider vinegar and set it beside the bags of starter, the gnats will go into the vase and drown. They are drawn to the smell of the vinegar. Good luck!
Like most writers, I did this years ago and then lost my starter. Have tried several times to ‘start the starter’ but had no luck. Thankfully I found you. My kids will be so happy and I do not have to drive 164 miles to get bread now. lol
you gave the recipe but what is the 10 days after you make it I made this years ago and it was delicious my kids would devour the whole loaf in one sitting I now that on certain days you add things and on certain days u stir or let it rest but not sure what day is what could u please share I would love to make this again thank u
Hi Gayle! Please check out our AFB 101 page for the full instructions and basic recipe: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread. You can also check out our recipe box which has over 100 Amish Friendship Bread variations. Thanks and enjoy!
Can’t wait to start this… always wanted to make my own starter… :~)
Have fun with it, Beccie! And thanks for joining us in the Kitchen!
I have a question, can I store my starter in a glass jar? is there a reason it must be moved to a plastic bag?
Hi Amy! Yes, you can absolutely store it in a glass jar — the instructions (and no one knows for sure who started the whole phenomenon) says Ziploc bags and we’ve found it’s easier to mash and gift, but diehard Amish Friendship Bread and sourdough chefs prefer glass containers. Thanks for your question!
I’d like to keep mine in a glass jar, too. Instead of mashing it, do I just shake it?
Stir!
have been waiting for some-one to start these and give me a starter!!!!!!!
can’t wait to bake
i ALSO NEED DIRECTIONS LIKE WHAT TO ADD AND WHEN. THANKS
Kathy, we have the recipe in our Recipe Box or go to “What is Amish Friendship Bread” for the full instructions and recipes!
Love Friendship Bread and haven’t had it in years so was delighted to find this page. Can you tell me if there are variations to just the standard bread? Would love to mix other things in but I’m not a brave soul when it comes to cooking! (And my son is an Executive Chef…he learned to cook as self-defense!!!)
Nola, our Recipe Box is filled with over 100 Amish Friendship Bread recipes! Have fun!
I have searched for this recipe for years thank you
You’re welcome, Regina!
Can’t wait to “start” it~Been along time since I have had the “starter”.
Welcome to the Kitchen, Judie! Glad to have you with us!
I am so glad to get the starter recipe again. I have received the starter before and love the bread. Have made different ones and am happy to get this so I can get started again. Thanks.
You’re welcome, Nancy!
Is there a “yeast-free” version of Friendship Bread?
Hi Brenda
Yes the starter recipe does include yeast. You can leave out the commercially packaged yeast but your starter will pick up natural yeast from the air. That yeast is what causes the ingredients to ferment to give it the sourdough qualities.
Does this help? Have a great day.
COULD YOU PLEASE SEND ME THE REST OF THE INSTRUCTIONS, WHERE YOU ADD TO ON CERTAIN DAYS NEAD ON CERTAIN DAYS, ETC….I HAD IT SOMETIME AGO AND HAVE MISPLACED IT, THANK YOU
Kayla, here is the link for the instructions: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread
Can this starter be made gluten free??
Hi Dawn! Yes, just replace the all-purpose flour with a gluten-free flour of choice (or use Bob’s Red Mill GF general purpose flour). We have a gluten-free/vegan recipe in the Recipe Box but would love more (hint, hint!).
i would really like to give this a try, i’ve had this a long time ago
Have fun with it, Janet, and let us know what you end up doing!
I have been looking for this starter recipe for about 10 years now and I am so happy to finally find it. Thanks
You’re welcome, Janey!
Going to start some today, love the variety of recipes you’ve assembled for us.
Would love to hear about what you end up baking! Keep us posted!
Darien, is the same thing that my mother used to call Herman ?
Hi, I’ve never heard any one else all this Herman besides my Grandma who has now passed away. We have ‘Herman’ twice a year and it brings back great memories. She said that anything you have to spend ten days with must have a name. 🙂 May I ask where your mother is from? Dakotas??
OMY! I had completely forgotten about this being called HERMAN until I read your post! I remember this from my childhood. It sat in a glass bowl with a damp dish towel draped over it, and each day had to be stirred with a wooden spoon. I remember how much it was stressed to ONLY use the wooden spoon.
It started being circulated thru some coworkers a couple weeks ago, and I saw one had starters to give away and asked for one. It brings back wonderful memories. I’ve already done one 10 day cycle and passed out all but one starter. I gave my son one of the baked loaves and he threatened to come steal the other loaf from me, he loved it so much. But I know he would forget to care for the starter, if I passed it on. So, I’ll keep the cycle going and he can have some every 10 days, until one of us grows tired of it!
Today I am on the 2nd 10 day baking day, and plan to keep all the starters. Next batch will have extra bread to bake and hand out small loaves with each starter. I foresee this being my new contribution at brunches/luncheons we have at work. 🙂
And, I shall mush it, and mix it, and bake it and call it HERMAN!!!! 🙂
what is the 10 day cycle ? what does it entail doing for 10 days ? you leave this at room temperature for 10 days, the starter mixture ?
Carol, go to our Amish Friendship Bread 101 page! And yes, you leave it at room temperature for 10 days, like all sourdough starters, but you need to add ingredients on Day 6 and Day 10. https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread
Im starting this for the first time in many yrs…begining the starter, I too want to give my niece in chicago a starter too, so it goes into plastic bags? I hope this works, the recipes all sound so yummy, I love chocolate, and those chocolate recipes sound so good, wish me luck as I make some for my dear sweet neighbor lady, shes been a really good neighbor since we’ve moved here almost a yr ago, I know she will love these..hugs,
It goes in a Ziploc bag, Kathy! But if you’re going to ship it by mail, be warned that the baggie may expand a lot so make sure all the air is out when you seal the bag and put it in another bag to be safe! Also, do not ship it a day or two after you’ve fed it, when the yeast is most active. Catch it during a quiet period, like day 4 or 5, and then have her feed it as soon as she receives it. Have fun with it, Kathy!
I remember my Mom doing this when I was a kid. I’ve always wanted to do it as an adult. My only question do I make the starter for friends too and supply the starter kit with the recipe? Any help would be greatly appreciated. This is better than chain letters.
Anne, visit our Amish Friendship Bread primer for more details on how to maintain and gift the bread and starter: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread. But in short, yes, you pass along a bag of starter with (ideally) a few slices of the bread or a mini loaf and the instructions. It’s a culinary chain letter without the negative consequences!
In the recipe, you will note that it tells you to divide it into 4 bags, part of those bags are for your friends (hence the title ‘friendship bread’). When giving them the instructions, you can leave out the starter process up until the bagging or give them the entire recipe so that if something should go wrong, they can make the starter and continue. If doing this, just be sure to let them know what day to start with. It is a fun and delicious treat, kids love it, too!!
I love this stuff haven’t had any in a couple of years so glad I can make my own starter I hope it works for me.
I haven’t had it for over 8 yrs now could never find anyone who had it glad i have it now. 🙂
Keep us posted, Jayme and Cherie! I’m glad you found us!
Darien:
Thank you so much for posting this! My wife is gonna kill me, but I just printed off the starter recipe, and am on my way out the door to get some ziploc gallon bags, all purpose flour, and some Fleichmann’s yeast!!! We had an assembly line going about three yrs ago, and everyone has been asking since, why I haven’t made any more bread. Sue (wife), absolutely put her foot down the next Christmas season, as we were leaving the state and going up North for Christmas, so there wasn’t much of a defense to be made. But we’re going to be home this year for Christmas, and I am determined to start this all over again. I printed off the recipe for the bread as well. I wonder, where can I find the recipe for the Amish Pumpkin Spice friendship bread? When I was trying to find this, I had pumpkin on my mind, wondering how I could concoct it. Thanks again, and I look forward to receiving your letters! Augusta, Ga. is going to have some Amish Friendship Bread, this Christmas!!!
Fleischmann’s yeast? I’ve baked bread for most of my nearly 36-year marriage, and Red Star yeast (if you can get it) is much better!
Why is it better?
I live in Augusta, GA. Where’s my bread? lol
OMG…I love this guy!
Once you get your active starter going again, you can change some of it to a 60% Hydrated starter. (Basically, by adding more flours(s) instead of some of the water. it will keep for much longer without feedings.
I just ordered my book and I am a newbie here. I am so excited I can’t wait to begin my new baking adventure. I think I will start with Sour dough. Wheeeeee!!!
Betty