Amish Friendship Bread Starter
Category: Bread | Cuisine: Amish
Amish Friendship Bread Starter
This week, we received a kind note from a reader asking if we might share a bread recipe, especially one that begins with a starter. Bread is a daily staple in every Amish home, and it is served at nearly every meal. Because of that, most Amish women learn to make it long before they ever think about writing anything down. Much of the knowledge is passed from mother to daughter by watching, helping, and learning the feel of the dough. Very few written bread recipes exist, so it is special when someone takes the time to put the steps on paper. Mrs. Martha Troyer kindly provided instructions for making an Amish Friendship Bread starter. This is the kind of starter that has been passed from kitchen to kitchen for many years, often given as a small gift tucked into a bag with a note of encouragement. It grows slowly over several days and becomes the base for a soft, sweet loaf that many families enjoy. If you begin your starter now, it should be ready just in time for next week’s recipe, when we will share how to turn it into a finished loaf of bread. We hope you enjoy this look into a simple and cherished part of Amish cooking.
Recipe by Scott
Prep
15 min
Servings
4 cups starter (enough to share 3 and keep 1)
Ingredients
Instructions
- 1
Add yeast packet to warm water and let stand until frothy (about 10 minutes). In a separate glass mixing bowl (non-metal), mix 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Gradually stir in 1 cup milk then yeast mixture with a wooden spoon (non-metal). Seal in one-gallon ziplock bag removing excess air and leave on countertop at room temperature and out of direct sunlight. This is day 1 of a 10 day process. Remove excess air and mush ziplock bag each day for days 2-5 to activate yeast. On day 6 add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk and mush until combined. Remove excess air and mush bag each day for days 7-9. On day 10 starter is ready for using or gifting. (Use one-gallon ziplock bags with 1 cup starter for each gift.) Remaining starter can be continued by adding 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk to start the process again with this being day 1.
Handwoven by Amish Families
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Serve fresh bread or rolls in our classic handwoven bread basket.
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