Here are some of my favorite Amish Friendship Bread hacks and short cuts. They’re meant to help you out in a pinch, so Amish Friendship Bread is as easy and stress-free as possible.
#1
Problem
It’s feeding time but you’re out of milk or sugar.
Hack
Use 1 cup water instead of milk; skip the sugar.
You can sub soy milk, almond milk, or rice milk, too. The flour, however, is a must.
#2
Problem
You’re going out of town in the middle of a 10-day cycle, but want to bake once you’re back. You don’t have anyone to babysit your starter while you’re gone.
Hack
Pop your starter into the fridge for up to 3 days.
When you get back, remove it immediately and bring it back to room temperature. If it’s supposed to be fed while you’re gone, feed it before you leave.
#3
Problem
You’re a busy gal (or guy). The starter feeding schedule doesn’t work for you.
Hack
Feed a day earlier or a day later. My AFB Planner can help!
#4
Problem
You’re a busy gal (or guy). The baking schedule doesn’t work for you.
Hack
Bake a day earlier or a day later.
#5
Problem
Your box of instant pudding has expired.
Hack
Skip the pudding. Or make your own.
#6
Problem
You have too much starter and no one to give it to.
Hack
Feed and freeze it.
#7
Problem
Your starter was doing great earlier in the week but now is kinda blah.
Hack
Discard all the starter except for 1 cup and give it a Day 6 feeding.
Place it in the oven with the temperature set to WARM (if your oven doesn’t do this, warm up your oven and then turn it off and put the starter in when it’s not hot to the touch).
#8
Problem
You don’t have time to make the starter but you really want some Amish Friendship Bread.
Hack
Try this No Starter recipe.
#9
Problem
You baked up a storm but can’t eat all your Amish Friendship Bread before it spoils. You love it so much you don’t want to share it with others. (Scenario 1)
Hack
Freeze the bread.
Wrap it in freezer paper, aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or a Ziplock bag (the better you wrap it, the longer it will keep). It thaws in minutes and slices easily. Eat right away or pop in the toaster.
#10
Problem
You baked up a storm but can’t eat all your Amish Friendship Bread before it spoils. You love it so much you don’t want to share it with others. (Scenario 2)
Hack
Share it with others anyway. ♥
Can you store your friendship bread and a Jar instead of a bag?
How do i store it in the refrigerator. Do I put a I twist a top on tightly or foil on top loosly
Hi Angel! Here’s a great tutorial on storing your starter in the fridge: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/faq-store-my-starter-in-the-fridge/ Let us know if it helps!
I’m low on sugar but have lots of confectioners sugar. Can I feed the starter with confectioner sugar?
Hi Julia! We haven’t tried feeding the starter with confectioner’s sugar before. It probably wouldn’t do too much harm, but the only thing that may be a concern is the cornstarch in confectioner’s sugar may slow down your starter. Another option would be just omitting the sugar completely on this feed, or feeding it the amount you have!
Sooo….I don’t have any starter and need to make some. I have a starter recipe that uses water and yeast, then milk flour and sugar. I wonder what would happen if I dissolved the starter in warm milk instead of water?
Hi Jason! Here’s our Amish Friendship Bread starter: https://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com/amish-friendship-bread-starter/
Yes, you can dissolve your active dry yeast in warm milk instead of warm water if you prefer.
The 10 day cycle is really inconvenient for my work schedule. I have found that a 7 day cycle works really well. I am able to bake on Friday evenings which means I do my feeding on Wednesday evenings. The starter is active and the bread is coming out perfectly. This regularity is helpful for me as we deal with the chaotic nature of this quarantine.
Hi Larry! Thanks for this tip! It’s awesome when you can adjust the baking schedule to your needs!
Best use for frozen Amish bread- make french toast for breakfast, even frozen the bread slices up nicely
Great idea, Denise!
I have made breads before including friendship with good results. But since we moved to S.C. ( from Illinois ) the bread gets over moist after taking it our of the oven. Do you know why? This is also with cupcakes. I hate to stop baking.
Hi Kathy! We’re sorry that’s been happening, it’s always such a bummer when the recipe doesn’t turn out. The first thing that comes to mind is temperature and humidity. If either of those have changed, this may be affecting your baked goods. Another possibility is your oven. Some ovens can be calibrated incorrectly, so it may not be at the actual temperature it says it’s at. Let us know if we can help troubleshoot this issue more, as well!
I don’t have milk, can I use half n half?
Can you substitute other types of flour if you don’t have regular all purpose flour such as coconut, rice, or almond flour? Have you ever used an all purpose baking mix?
I forgot to sprinkle the remaining cinnamon-sugar mixture on the top and it kinda blah. Any suggestion to liven it up.
Yesterday I made the Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Amish bread using 1/3 cup of oil as stated in the recipe. They were wonderful. Today I baked the Zucchini Amish bread using 1 cup of oil. They were not so good. Next time I make the bread I’m going to try it with the 1/3 cup of oil. I am wondering why the difference in the two recipes.
Hi Judy,
It could be that there was too much moisture in the recipe — you really have to make sure the zucchini isn’t too wet and patted dry. Did you make any changes to the recipe (exclude pudding, etc)? We’ve made it tons of times with great results!
I’m going to have to bookmark this. I usually have trouble because we like to keep our home at a cooler temp. I’ll be doing the oven hack from now on.
Really great tips for the working bread maker, stress in having starter and needing another day before you can bake was very helpful tip and bring back the enjoyment of why we started baking in the first place. Bread made with Love taste so much better than baked with stress.
I totally agree with that, Melinda!