My neighbor and friend stopped by yesterday to bring me some Amish Friendship Bread starter mix to make bread. Basically, the idea is that you receive a cup of bread starter mix from a friend and over a 10 day period, you will make 2 more cups of this bread starter, then keep a cup for yourself to mix with other ingredients and bake and give 2 cups of starter mix away to 2 friends so that they can continue the process. I thought that this was a really neat idea, so I wanted to share the process and recipe here.

Amish Friendship Bread must be made by first creating the starter mix which will take 10 days to develop. At the end of the 10 days, the starter mix will be divided into 3 cups. One cup will be mixed with additional ingredients to bake into bread or muffins. The other 2 cups can be given away to friends as starter mix along with the instructions they will need to follow to nurture the starter mix over the 10 day period.

Ingredients for Amish Friendship Bread starter mix:
**Do NOT use metal spoons, metal bowls, or equipment. Also, do NOT refrigerate. Use only glazed ceramic, plastic, or containers as bowls.

• 1 pk. active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups warm water
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions for Amish Frienship Bread starter mix:

• Dissolve yeast in 1/2 c. warm water in a deep glass or plastic
  container for approximately 10 minutes.
• Stir in remaining warm water, flour, and sugar. Mix
  until smooth. Cover with loose fitting cover. DO NOT REFRIGERATE.
• The starter requires 10 days for fermentation as follows.

Days 1,2,3,4, 5 – Stir starter mix using a wooden spoon.

Day 6 – Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Stir with a wooden spoon.

Days 7,8 & 9 – Stir starter mix each day with a wooden spoon.

Day 10 – Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk and stir. Take out 2 cups and place 1 cup each into 3 separate plastic containers or ziploc bags. Give 1 cup and a copy of the recipe to 2 friends.

The batter is ready to use.

Now to actually make the Amish Friendship Bread, you will want to follow these directions:

To the balance of your batter, which should be about 1 cup, add these ingredients:

• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla

In a separate bowl, combine these dry ingredients and mix well:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 1 (5.1oz) box instant vanilla pudding
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 cup nuts (optional)

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

After enjoying your bread, make some more Amish Friendship Bread starter mix and share it with more friends.

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