Newsletter subscribers, thank you for your answers. Your vote has been recorded. ❤️
The winner of this giveaway is Brenda Knowles, whose entry was drawn at random. Congratulations, Brenda! And thank you to everyone else who voted. I am still responding to your questions so thank you for your patience. I’m so grateful for each and every one of you.
Tell me more and be automatically entered to win
Please leave a comment below telling me what kinds of recipes or tips you’d like to see on the website. Only Amish Friendship Bread recipes or are you ready for something different? Maybe you have something else in mind. Please tell me, I’d love to know!
If there’s something else you would like help with — an ingredient swap, a kitchen tip, a recipe recommendation, or a personal email hello from me with a little encouragement — please let me know as well. ☀️
One of my all-time favorite things
I love, love, LOVE theses cold-pressed bar soaps from Amish Farm Soap. They are the ONLY bar soap my family and I use, and we have tried a lot of soap! The soaps are all-natural, vegan, and non-irritating with a rich, smooth lather, and they last forever. They look rustic and crumbly when you take them out of the bag, but after one use they smooth into a luscious bar of natural goodness!
To thank you for taking the time to tell me how I can make the Friendship Bread Kitchen better, I’ll choose one person at random from the qualified comments below (must be a newsletter subscriber as well) to receive a 5-pack of their amazing soap. Ends Monday, April 20, 2020, at 6:00 pm PST.
Terms and Conditions
Must be 21 or over, US resident. If a non-US resident wins, we’ll figure something out. 💁🏻♀️
I have a couple recipes for amish friendship bread. They are the same except one calls for 1 cup of milk and one is 1/2 cup milk when making the final product. Which is coorrect?
Our original Amish Friendship Bread recipe calls for a 1/2 cup. You can find the recipe here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/recipe-amish-friendship-bread/ Happy Baking!
I was wondering if you might have any information on adapting a scratch recipe using the friendship starter? I have a few scratch cake recipes and would like to try adjusting them to use the starter but I really don’t know where to start. I look forward to hearing something from you. I love the site thank you so much
Hi Marcie! It really depends — the starter is not as simple as replacing or adding it to any recipe. It’s best to take the original recipe and adapt that way to include the ingredients you’d like. Sourdough starters, including Amish Friendship Bread starter, add liquid and a little heaviness to every recipe. It also depends on when you use your starter (active or less active). We develop our recipes with a lot of trial and error (LOL). But have fun experimenting! You’ll start to understand your personal starter more and more!
I would like to see an article adapting a favorite recipe to accommodate the addition of Amish friendship starter I have a few favorite scratch recipes and would like to try them using the starter. Thanks for your input. Love the site!
hello.
Can we make the starter using fat free milk?
thanks
Mary
Yes! Or almond milk, rice milk, or just plain water. The starter does like the extra sugars in the milk, but fat free is fine.
I fed my friendship bread too early.
I made a fresh starter on Sunday and for some reason I thought I today was day 6.
Did I ruin it?!
Nope — in fact, it’s probably happy you did! Just keep it in a warm spot in your kitchen and give it time to eat … consider this your Day 6 and go from there. If your kitchen is cool, you can wait a couple extra days to bake as your starter is probably taking its time going through all the extra food you gave it.
I’m new to baking & found your website on Pinterest. I have two Grand Gems (Boys 2 & 7). I want to be the Mammy that teaches them Life Skills while making memories with them. I’m looking forward to trying your recipes out & baking with them.
I wanted to know if there are any recipes out there that require more than 1 cup of starter, I don’t want to throw it away, and everyone I knew around here has moved. We’re currently in the process of moving and I don’t want to deal with several bags of starter.
With my sourdough starter I have made 5 loaves of bread and 12 rolls. We are loving the sourdough bread. I would like to see more recipes for this starter. My birthday is Thursday and I would love to make some cinnamon bread/rolls. Do you have a simple recipe for cinnamon bread? Thank you for this wonderful site.
I would really like various sourdough recipes. We really enjoy all the sweet recipes but as addicting as they are, I would like to some more sourdough type recipes for a change.
I also would like to know how to make a more traditional shaped bread for sandwiches that does not use yeast or self-rising flour.
The 2 local grocery stores have not been able to stock yeast or self-rising flour for 4 weeks. I would appreciate more information and recipes about using options for breads and deserts that do not need yeast.
I maintain both an Amish Friendship Bread starter and a sourdough starter. I would love to see sourdough recipes as well as AFB recipes. Someone above inquired about a soft bread suitable for sandwiches. I’ve been making the AFB basic white bread loaf and it’s perfect for sandwiches and toast.
I love making Amish bread but sometimes I don’t have all of the ingredients on hand. Do you have any options for if you are out of 1 ingredient. This ingredient might be oil, eggs, baking powder etc. I assume that we are not out of flour or out of starter. Thanks! Ginger
It’s been about 10 years since I’ve baked friendship bread and now seemed like a good time to start it up again(I have the time…). There are several people in my ward at church that are unable to find yeast to make their own bread, so I thought this might be a fun way to share what I have (not much, but I feel like that is why this is the best!).
I loved making banana bread, but thought it would be nice to make some more savory types of bread as well and was excited when I found you site to help me!
I love to bake. Just last week I made 3 different kind of friendship bread cookies and a couple of loafs of zucchini bread. I want to try sourdough bread next.
I’m just getting started and really want the printables, but haven’t been able to get them, no matter what I’ve tried. I really want to share with friends, so printable directions to give them are important. Other than that, I most like seeing the recipes. Thank you! God bless!
I am 75, and although I bake a lot I have never baked a loaf of bread except in my bread machine. I found your site on Pinterest and thought it was high time I started learning about bread making! Wish me luck. Have a blessed day.
Since I’m now at home with my kids, we are learning new things together. I made my own Amish Bread starter and the regual loafs with my 1st batch. The kids LOVED it! I was also able to pass out 5 bags of starter to friends and keep one for myself. I will try a different recipe with this batch. Both my boys love helping me bake! So this is a lesson in itself, that combines math and science. So happy I found your website!
So appreciate all your recommendations and the delicious recipes you share. I can cook with gluten for my family, but I am gluten free (to help alleviate joint swelling, sinus congestion and digestive irritability). Can any of these delicious recipes be made with other flour choices, gluten free possibly? I would love to learn more about sourdough as well. thank you for all the great work you do.
I am wanting to try the cookie recipe, have a 2 year old g-granddaughter that comes a couple of times a week, are the cookies soft?
I am always looking for new recipes and things to try!! Love using the starter in any kind of recipes!! Thanks for having this site for us to use. Getting ready to make some Amish Friendship chocolate chip cookies!! Yum, 😋
Im making bread in my bread machine and fairly successful . . . Making bread a t least every other day 😁 but i would like to be a better baker over all and bake heathy things.
I love finding the new ways to use my starter, but sometimes want to bake something on a day that is in between baking days for afb.
I like to try new recipies, breads, cookies, brownies….the more recipies, the better! Thank you for sharing so many and I look forward to making more new baked goodies with my Amish friendship bread starter!
I love to bake bread, but have not been able to find a recipe that produces a soft bread suitable for sandwiches. Do you have any suggestions?
Thank you!
Nonie
I love making friendship bread for my friends at work. This is one thing I miss most about work, the happy smiles I get when it is bread day. I miss surprising them with new flavors!
We moved to the country about 2 years ago to start a farm. I’m interested in all things homemade. I’m so glad I found you! Love making the Amish starter. I’ve even gotten family and friends making it! Next I would like to make a different starter. I want to learn to can . I would love to make soap and lotions.
Thanks so much for all the help!!
Some of my friends use to do this in wa. I am now in. Ca and I don’t have a starter..with everyone trapped in quarantine I would like to be able to start this friendship bread out here….my husband always loved it,
I am excited to say I found some yeast today! A new starter for me this coming week. I know – I shouldn’t have used all the other starter up! I am always interested in ways to make kitchen life easier and new recipes. My husband has a birthday coming up and I will be looking through the recipes for something special. I love homemade soap! I always buy some when I go to craft shows or farm markets! I haven’t used store bought soap in a very long time and hope I never have to again! Thank you so much for this website!
I am always looking for different ways to use my starter. I also just began the sourdough bread process about a week ago. Hoping I’m doing it right. Also conversions as in bread to muffins or bread to bundt etc. I’m always a bit unsure. I love this site and bake at least once a week with my starter as well as other goodies.
Love your site. I am starting my AFB starter again after not having one for awhile. I look forward to trying bread again. Thank you and keep sending those recipes!
Tina
I feel like it would be worthwhile to include sourdough recipes as well as Amish friendship bread recipes. Especially in the times that we are in now when all of the stores around me are sold out of yeast. Having a sourdough starter that only needs flour and water is extremely useful. Thanks so much for the giveaway!
Tomorrow is “bake day”! I am so looking forward to it as I haven’t made anything for a long time and I can almost smell the aroma in my kitchen.
Good afternoon, Darien!
I love all the recipes here on this site, especially the savory ones. But I would love to see other methods of sourdough, tips, recipes, etc. I just love to cook, so anything you want to share is lovely!
Hi Darien
Thank you so much for the opportunities you are giving us to improve our understanding of bread and related baking products.
Can you explain to me the difference between a starter and a poolish ?
I have read a lot about the starter methods you are proposing but i would be more interested in the poolish if it is different and more easy to use but I think the bread made with a poolish is not sourdough.
Best regards
Love your videos. Technique and details are a great help.
I would like to make the AFB Chocolate Junior Mint Cookies but Not as cookie but as a mini loaf or muffin how would I go about this.
Thank you for your help with this question.
Michelle
My family loves the original recipe and the rustic sourdough bread recipe. I don’t always have a lot of time to be in the kitchen so quick and easy recipes are the best. I’d love some tips on ways to prepare recipes quickly so my family can enjoy these wonderful recipes more often. Looking forward to trying the cinnamon rolls (which are my husbands favorite)!
Hi Jessica! Thank you for letting me know! I’m with you on quick and easy, and have been thinking about ways to batch recipes together. I will keep you posted. Have fun making the cinnamon rolls, and stay healthy and safe!
Hi I made the chocolate chip cookies, I split the recipe in half, one half was exactly as yours, and the other I added about 1/8 of a cup of Coco with the chocolate chips. My one granddaughter says it taste like a Brownie Cookie so I guess that is what I will call be calling it. Thank you so much for all the wonderful recipes ❤️
Hi Crystal! Those sound amazing!! If you have a picture of the cookies, I’d love to see them. If you’re on Facebook, please share them here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/amishfriendshipbread/. Virutal hugs to you and your granddaughter!
I had some yeast stored in the refrigerator and now can’t get any more in the store. I am going to make some rolls today (I’m on day 10), which will use up all my yeast. So, I’ll be making recipes that don’t need yeast for a while until the stores have it in stock again. I love all the re Joe’s you have that only need the starter and don’t need yeast once you have your starter. I got 4 cups of starter and plan to freeze 2 and keep one going to make more. I don’t think it’s good to share right now. My question is, I make the coffee cake this morning – I added 1 cup of canned apple pie filling – the recipe didn’t say what size pan to put it in and whether or not to grease the pan. I used an 8 x 8 square pan, sprayed it with oil and dusted it with the sugar/cinnamon mixture. It came out tasting good, but it doesn’t seem very sweet.
Hi Patricia! An 8×8 pan is great and I’ll add that the prepared pan should be lined with parchment or greased. Which coffee cake receipe did you try? Was the apple pie filling sweetened? Let me know and I can take a closer look at the recipe and your swaps. You can also post a picture of it here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/amishfriendshipbread/ and the group can help you figure it out!
I used to bake AFB all the time when I worked outside the home and took so much of my bread to the office to share. Since I retired, I hesitate to get back into baking what I love because it’s just me and my husband. I’m thinking about getting my starter going again, do some baking, freezing the loaves and then freezing the stater for a while again. I really, really miss baking my AFB and the way it makes my house smell.
Your emails are always welcomed and I enjoy reading all the new ideas, helpful hints, recipes, and comments from other subscribers. So, I look forward to your ongoing emails containing any and all information you come up with. Thank you so much for your hard work in getting these communications out.
Aw, Barbara, your lovely comment put a smile on my face! Even if you can’t take the bread to work, you can bake for your postal carriers and the people who still help you — I baked for the clerks in our grocery store (I love them!). That way you can get the smells without the calories, LOL. Just ask the portential recipients if they are accepting food gifts right now. Even though I shared some resources that indicated that it’s safe to share the bread, not everyone is comfortable with it yet. I’m both giving and receiving food with great joy, and I know other people in your community might appreciate it, too. ❤️
i love AFB. i always have starter going in a crock on my counter. i am looking for less sugar or sugar free recipes if possible. or do i just start another crock with some sourdough starter with little to no sugar? will that work? thanks a bunch.
Hi Julie! Yes, the next time you’re ready to feed your starter, pull some aside from your regular AFB starter and make it with milk and flour, remembering to use equal 1 to 1 portions (1 cup starter = 1 cup milk + 1 cup flour). There are naturally occurring sugars in both, but the yeast will eat through a lot of it!
I’m interested in GF recipes if possible. However I made your cinnamon rolls today, they were so good! I had made a slight variation because I didn’t read the directions fully, they still came out great.
I am definitely going to work on a GF starter and related recipes, Jaime, so stay tuned! And please feel free to share your AFB photos (and troubles/successes) here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/amishfriendshipbread/. It helps me to see pictures if people need any troubleshooting. Stay healthy and safe!
I am used to using King Arthur flour to make bread, but everybody is out! What are your favorite flour brands in order, 1-2-3?
Hi Tami! I will use whatever is convenient and available, which includes King Arthur (especially for whole wheat and white whole wheat, as well as their gluten-free mixes and bread flours), but for all-purpose flour, I use whatever is on sale at the store. Most of the recipes on the site you all-purpose, and if you can’t find bread flour, AP works fine! Hopefully, the stores will restock in the next few weeks!
I made the basic AFB and the banana AFB. The ones in the pictures are nice loaves with rounded tops. Mine come out rather thin, only about an inch or inch and a half tall. I know my baking powder is fresh. This was made with starter from the freezer. My starter isn’t all bubbly after leaving in on the counter over night. I also had a question about whether the starter could be frozen in glass jars. Don’t like the waste of the plastic bags.
Hi Karen! I totally understand your concern with plastic bags. I recommend storing it that way because it’s in the right portions and also easy to gift to someone else. Glass isn’t really freezable unless it’s tempered or designed to be frozen (you CAN do it, but you risk shattering/breakage). Here’s some information about that: https://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/freezing/freezer-fundamentals. I’m working on a dried version right now and will post that recipe once I know it works. That would let you air dry the starter (it takes a long time, unfortunately), and then store in a glass container in your pantry.
If your starter wasn’t active after you removed it, then it wasn’t able to help offer lift or loft to your recipe. Did you use baking soda as well? Do you remember if the starter was active when you put it in the freezer? Did you feed it before using it in your recipes? Sorry for all the questions, LOL, but I want to help you figure out the solution. You don’t have to feed your starter after removing it, but that’s a good thing to do if you aren’t seeing any bubbles after it thaws. It means your starter might have been hungry. Here’s a tutorial that might help: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-reviving-frozen-amish-friendship-bread-starter/.
Hi Darien,
I put my starter in the freezer until the quarantine is lifted! I have a lot of bread in the freezer right now and no one to give it to right now! My husband and I are enjoying it though since we’re by ourselves right now!! But as soon as things go back to normal I’ll be getting it out again!! Stay safe!!💗🙏💗
Hi Corry! Glad to hear you’re doing well, and that you are well-stocked with AFB, LOL. We’ll be here when you’re ready to start baking again — let me know if you have any special requests for new recipes!
The site is fabulous. I really think sticking with AFB here rather than adding lots of extra stuff is the best way to go forward. I love the tips and emails sent out. While I often bake many other things, this is my go to spot for all things AFB. I wouldn’t want to have to sift through many different things just to find what I need for AFB. I currently don’t have questions. I think you’ve been very thorough.
Thank you, Jennifer! That’s super helpful feedback, and I love seeing your AFB photos — thanks for always posting and sharing them!
I am on day 10 today after finding your awesome site. I love that you have so many different recipes to use. I’m looking forward to trying many. My question-my started bubbled the first few days, but didn’t much after that, is that still okay? Should it bubble the whole 10 days?
Hi Kim! That’s completely normal — it’s not supposed to bubble the whole time! It’s most active right after it’s been fed (which is why you see the bubbles — gasses are being released as the yeast easts through the sugars) and then goes quiet until it’s ready to be fed. Your starter is doing exactly what it’s meant to be doing!
More on that here: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-how-to-get-a-bubbly-active-amish-friendship-bread-sourdough-starter/
Stay healthy and safe!
I would like to know more about traditional sourdough, facts about sourdoughs and such. And always info and recipes about afb.
Thank you for your input, Lindsey!
In addition to amish friendship bread, I’d love to see other amish things – traditional recipes, crafts, gardening tips, etc, & traditional sourdough starter recipes
Thank you for letting me know, Rebecca!
I currently use a basic sourdough starter, which I have been able to successfully adapt to make basic Amish Friendship Bread, but have been reluctant to try some of the recipes because of the lack of added sugar in my starter. Do you have any specific suggestions for compensating for a no sugar starter?
If you don’t have a sweet tooth, most of the recipes should work fine with the addition of 1/4 cup of sugar (if the recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar already, you’re probably fine). Is there a specific recipe you want to try? How did you adapt the recipe to work with your sourdough starter?
I love to bake and with the quarantine we have a lot of time for baking. I would really like to see more of the recipes that are not bread but use the AFB base, like pretzels, cookies, cakes ect.
Hi Stacey! We have all of that (and more):
– https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/brownies-and-blondies/
– https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/cakes/
– https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/cookies/
– https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/fun-variations/
– https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/afb-soft-pretzels/
There are 200+ recipes you can make with your 1 cup of Amish Friendship Bread starter. Let me know if you need help finding something!
I am interested in sourdough recipes as well as traditional Amish Bread recipes. I have done this recipe many years ago and now introducing my grandchildren to the process. Teaching them baking and kindness to others by sharing this bread.
Hi Patty! Thank you for letting me know. And it was very important to me that the spirit behind Amish Friendship Bread is sharing what we have with others. If it was just a recipe, I probably wouldn’t have been interested in doing more with the website. I also love the idea of a community pitching in to make something better — in this case, the way a starter is passed around from kitchen to kitchen. Virtual hugs to you and the grandkids!
Does all Amish bread need to be sweet? Do you have a recipe that has less sugar? Just a good ole loaf of bread that is made from the starter? I know the starter has sugar in it, but could you omit additional sugar from a bread recipe? Thanks so much for giving us these recipes. I am looking forward to making my starter today! Blessings~
Hi Lyricia! You can definitely cut back the amount of added sugar in any recipe — it’s up to your taste buds. The traditional sourdough recipes that use Amish Friendship Bread starter WILL have a sweet tang, so you should expect that. But for the cakes, muffins, cookies, etc., you can adjust the sugar to your preference. You can also reduce the amount of sugar in your starter if you know you don’t want it to be too sweet.
I had some Amish Starter back when my children were young, they are in their 30’s now with several children of their own. I made some starter then froze most of it because of the COVID 19 I am not at school now to share with my fellow teachers but I have made the original Friendship Bread and the Chocolate Bread….. my husband loved both. This weekend I want to make Rustic Bread Loaves and Cinnamon Rolls but the Cinnamon rolls call for shortening and I don’t have any……do you think I can use butter instead? I hope so my husband is eager to try them.
Hi Gretchen! Yes, you can substitute butter for the shortening!
I just started my second round this week and it isn’t expanding in the bag like the first round did. Did I do somthing wrong or is this normal?
If you made your starter from scratch, that first round is always the most exciting because the yeast is on a mission even if your kitchen is cool. Once you get your starter established, the starter will always be most active after it’s been fed, and then it goes quiet until the next feeding The most important thing is to keep feeding it at the proper ratios, mashing or mixing it up well, and keeping it in a warm, draft-free area of your kitchen. This might help: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-how-to-get-a-bubbly-active-amish-friendship-bread-sourdough-starter/. ❤️
Do you have to wait the entire 10 days to use the starter? Can I use what I first create after the 2nd day? It’s snowing here and I’d love to fill my kitchen with AFB smells! Thank you 🙂
Hi Amy! If you made your starter from scratch, in theory, you should wait the full 10 days for the starter to fully establish itself. Once you’ve gone through a 10-Day cycle, or if you received your starter from a scratch, you can remove a cup anytime to bake (just note that some recipes require an active, bubbly starter that’s just been fed). If you are absolutely desperate (and these are desperate times, after all!), you could bake after you feed it on Day 6. 😉
I love almost all your recipes! I will look at and enjoy any tips. What I really need is a new book! Thank you so much for all you do.
Thank you for always being such a wonderful supporter of my novels! I feel the same way, LOL — I’m hoping to start writing again once all this craziness dies down and the kids are settled with their new normal. Take care, Linda!
I keep starter in my freezer at all times so I can bake the recipes any time. I love that we can do that. When I am down to two bags, I bake one and feed the other. Need to follow you on Facebook!
Hi Alyssa! Yes, please come join us over there! There’s the main Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/fbkitchen/ and then the private group where we share photos and troubleshoot recipe issues and just chat as necessary, LOL. Request to join that group here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/amishfriendshipbread/. We’d love to have you!
I am enjoying the process and being able to share with neighbors (at a safe distance of course) Haven’t attempted any other recipes than the cinnamon bread but am looking to expand my baking practices. Have been following you on Facebook for several years.
Hi Lori! So glad you’re still hanging out in the Friendship Bread Kitchen and if you’re up for trying something different, let me know and I’ll be happy to make a recommendation! Stay healthy and safe!
I enjoy all things having to do with self sufficiency, so anything you can discuss along those lines is great. I do love to bake and cook, but also am a capable needleworker, enjoy sewing, and use a cricut machine. Thanks!
Hi Danielle! You have to check out my friend Kris Bordessa’s site and her new book, Attainable Sustainable, which is all about self-reliant living. It just came out by National Geographic and it’s wonderful!
https://www.attainable-sustainable.net
Did you read my novel, The Avalon Ladies Scrapbooking Society yet? Your mention of your Cricut machine made me think of it, LOL. Think Amish Friendship Bread meets scrapbooking meets a small river town in Illinois. Your local library might have an ebook copy of it.
Stay healthy and safe!
I love to bake, more importantly, my family loves it when I bake! My real interest is historic recipes. I’m very interested in knowing how people did things 100, 500, 1000 years ago. Lots of little historic tips would be fun, as well as recipes and suggestions.
Thanks for putting together such a great site!
What great feedback, Dianna! Thank you for sharing your thoughts with me — have you seen these sites?
http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20191103-the-worlds-oldest-known-recipes-decoded
https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/putting-ancient-recipes-plate-classical-recipes-cooking
Stay healthy and safe!
I do know this is a site for Amish starter. But I was wondering if you have favorite yeast recipes. Breads rolls loafs
I do, Brenda! And I will work on sharing some of those recipes, too! You’ll see that some of the recipes on this site uses yeast in addition to the starter to ensure a nice rise.
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/biscuits-buns-and-rolls/
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/sourdough-breads/
And here are two favorites from around the web:
https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11376-no-knead-bread
https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/soft-dinner-rolls/
I am especially interested in sourdough bread variations and tips along with Friendship bread recipes.
Hi Cindy! Thank you for letting me know! Hope you and yours stay healthy and safe!
Anything to do with baking!
Thank you for telling me, Beth! Stay healthy and safe!
This recipe brings me back in time to many many years ago when I did this with friends.
Now during this pandemic and not being able to find yeast in the stores.. what a great
alternative!!! And the fact that you can freeze it for later use! Won’t need to worry about
finding yeast now.. and my family and friends can enjoy it as well. So many recipes to try..
besides.. what else do we all have to do right now but eat?
Hi Marg! I’m hoping the COVID-15 passes soon (that’s the 15 pounds we’ve gained from being stuck at home and stress eating!) and we can get back to being with friends and family. And you’d right — once you get a starter going and have it on hand, either on your counter or frozen, you’ll be ready to bake anytime and can make recipes that don’t require additional yeast as the starter can do some of the heavy lifting!
I started making AFB again after several years away. This cycle, I should have baked on Monday. It is now Thursday. I just finished a 4 day migraine after the death of a good friend on Sunday night due to COVID-19. My question is: HELP! Can this starter be saved? It’s still healthy looking and bubbly, but I am hesitant to feed it as flour, milk, and sugar are getting to be in short supply here, and I can’t afford to waste it if the starter isn’t viable.
I am such a bad starter Mommy! Lol.
Hi Christina! From the sound of it, it’s totally fine! That’s what I love about AFB starter cmopared to more traditional starters — it’s very hardy and forgiving. I would feed it, divide it, freeze it, and/or bake with it!
I am so sorry to hear about your friend, Christina. That’s a terrible loss and of course you would be out from the news. Take care and stay healthy, and reach out again if you have any questions, please!
I am cooking for all types of health issues. We have gluten free, potato allergy, and dairy limited. I’m starting with the potato flake starter, but will add a gluten free variety to my “collection”. I’m also looking for recipes that can use almond or coconut milk instead of cow milk for the gluten fee variety.
Hi Jenice! We don’t have allergen free recipes on the website (yet!) but it is on the list to incorporate more GF variations. I will keep you posted!
Love the sourdough recipes. I make more cookies and breads, like banana or blueberry.
Can the starter be frozen? How long?
Hi Flora! This should answer your questions: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/tutorial-storing-amish-friendship-bread-starter-for-future-use/ but in a nutshell, I recommend 6-9 months, though I have frozen starters that have lasted MUCH longer. Hope this helps!
Love my friendship bread that I make every 10 days – so do my friends. But I was looking for sourdough bread recipes now. I have sourdough starter, but need recipes. Thanks
You can use the AFB starter for more traditional sourdough recipes. Here are a few popular Amish Friendship Bread categories on the website, and I will be adding more traditional sourdough recipes in the coming days:
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/biscuits-buns-and-rolls/
https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/category/recipes/sourdough-breads/
Hope this helps, Cathey! And let me know what kind of sourdough recipes you’re looking for so I can keep an eye out.
I also haven’t made Amish friendship bread IN YEARS but was looking for a good base for sourdough and other breads. I’m so happy to have found your site and all the many different recipes that can be made with it! I’m on my second cycle and it’s “bake day” as I refer to it here. Made the chocolate marble and rustic white bread last time. I’m trying the banana bread and another loaf of the white again today. Thanks for your site and community support!
Hi Kandis! Thanks for your nice note and have a great “bake day!” If you want to share your pictures, join us over here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/amishfriendshipbread/
Do you have any information about how the starter works? I am a middle school science teacher and after learning about different kinds of cells we assign a project to do the Amish bread as an extension for real world applications. I refer the students to your site as a reference and talk about how yeast was not always available for purchase.
Hi Susanne! I have some GREAT resources for students about the science of sourdough:
https://ideas.ted.com/inside-the-fascinating-and-delicious-science-of-sourdough-bread/
https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2016/10/28/499363379/discovering-the-science-secrets-of-sourdough-you-can-help
https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/the-biology-of-sourdough
https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20190730-the-strange-science-inside-your-sourdough
http://studentsdiscover.org/lesson/sourdough-for-science/ (this has some rubrics)
Hope this helps and please send pictures, LOL! Tell the students “Hey there!” for me! 🙂
I have lots of whole grains / ancient grains and would like to explore making bread with these, preferably bread that is not so heavy. Are there proven recipes for this kind of bread without being dependent on commercial all purpose flour? Thanks!
Hi John! I don’t have recipes here that use ancient grains, but I have some great resources for you:
https://www.theperfectloaf.com/category/ancient-grain/
https://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2017/02/10/baking-ancient-grains
https://www.breadworld.com/recipe/Ancient-Grains-Bread
I hope you end up baking something amazing!
Hello! Have not made Amish bread in many years but looking forward to it. Now just need to get to the store for yeast. Any suggestions on a certain brand? And also, how best to store yeast? Have a beautiful day 🙂
Hi Erin! With shelves emptying quickly, use whatever you can find, LOL! I usually used Fleishmann’s active dry, and I’m happy with that. Buy it in a jar if they have, then store it by freezing it (you can keep it in the jar). It should keep indefinitely, but put the date on the jar that you put it in the freezer so you know, and then test some of the yeast if it’s been a LONG time. Stir 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast and 1 teaspoon of sugar into 1/4 cup of warm water. If the mixture bubbles after 10 minutes and you can smell a yeasty aroma, you’re good to go! (Plus you can use that yeast in a recipe or to start a starter). xo Darien
I was introduced to Amish bread years ago but had not made it in about 15 years. I just completed a cycle and made bread for family and neighbors.It took a pandemic yo slow me down to enjoy this bread again. It was a great way to let two elderly neighbors know they are not alone and this to shall pass. Thank you.
Hi Brenda! I love that you’re baking it again, and that you shared it with others. What a thoughtful, generous gesture. So glad you’ve joined us!
I love to bake, but my bread doesnt come out light and fluffy. It tastes really good but to me it has a heaviness to it. I need to know how you get that lighter than air bread.
Hi Jo! Sourdough breads, including those made with Amish Friendship Bread starter, can be dense in the begining. Part of this has to do with the readiness of the starter (should be active and bubbly, even frothy). Another part has to do with the right kitchen temperatures (warm and draft free, with a lot of patience to wait for the ideal rise) and ingredients (fresh and properly incorporated). Sourdough bread baking (versus the sweeter cakes and cookie recipes on the site) can take time to perfect, but if you want that fluffy, lighter than air result, you’ll probably need to add some additional commercial yeast. Try rolls next time, like this one: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread-30-minute-dinner-rolls/