Use this Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe as a base for many sweet breads, dinner rolls, muffins and other baked goods. Hints for storing and using up the sourdough starter.
Download the Amish Friendship Bread Starter instructions here.
Click here to see how to bake the friendship bread.
Have I got a treat for you today! Classic Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe. Have you ever tried this sweet sourdough?
It’s one of those recipes that people seem to either love or hate. On one hand, you make a sweet sourdough that you have to keep dividing and using up, or passing out to your friends….or throw away. If you keep the starter going, it just…well…keeps going.
On the other hand, you make a sweet sourdough that is versatile and makes an amazing cinnamon quick bread. Quick bread that is so addicting that you can eat 6 loaves in a matter of 3 days.
Yeah….just please don’t ask. 🙂
Whether you make it this bread weekly, haven’t seen it in years, or are completely new to Amish Friendship Bread, my goal is to convince you to at least give easy sourdough recipe a try. I’m going to make it easy for you with hints! The recipe for the bread itself is coming soon, but first you need the starter.
How to Make Amish Friendship Bread Starter:
- Have Ziploc plastic bags (for easily storing the starter), glass bowls and wooden spoons on hand. For sourdough, you don’t want to use metal bowls or utensils. Sourdough is acidic and can dissolve some metals. It’s best to use anything but metal bowls and utensils.
- Write the directions right on the Ziploc bags using a permanent marker so you never have to go hunting for the directions.
- Make the starter recipe, then pour it into a Ziploc bag (with the directions written on it). You can also store this in a loosely covered glass bowl if you’d like. I just find it easier to use a Ziploc bag.
- While you are working your way through the 10-day process, store the starter at room temperature. If the Ziploc bag gets air in it, simply let it out.
- How much sourdough you end up with at the end of the 10 day process depends on how active your sourdough is. You’ll end up with about 5-6 cups.
- On Day 10 after you add last bit of flour, sugar and milk, separate out 1-cup portions into Ziploc bags (don’t forget those directions on the front!).
- At this point, you can give away some of those starter bags to friends along with the recipe and instructions so they can indulge in their own friendship bread.
- Keep a starter for yourself to continue the sourdough process (Day 10 is equal to Day 1), and make the Amish Friendship Bread with one of the other cups of starter.
- If you can’t find anyone who wants the sourdough starter, simply throw those 1-cup bags into the freezer until another time when you’d like to start the sourdough process our bake the bread. When you pull the sourdough out of the freezer, treat it as Day 1. Or just go ahead and use that cup to bake loaves of friendship bread!
You don’t have to feel like this is a never-ending recipe. Although it may seem that way, you can easily freeze the 1-cup sourdough portions at the end of the 10 days to make multiple recipes (that we’ll be sharing on our site soon!).
But this Amish cinnamon friendship bread? You’ll be wanting to make it. It’s the best in served warm with a slather of butter.
Although this sweet sourdough starter is very easy, you may have questions! Please comment below with your questions and I’ll update this article to answer your questions as you have them.
Other Recipes to Use our Starter in:
Download the Amish Friendship Bread Starter instructions here.
Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup warm water about 110 degrees
- 1 package active dry yeast* (2 1/4 teaspoons)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk (2% or higher fat)
Instructions
- Pour the warm water into a small glass bowl.
- Sprinkle the yeast over the water. Let this stand for 5-8 minutes to allow it to dissolve.
- In a larger glass bowl (or plastic bowl. Don’t use metal bowls or utensils for sourdough), mix together the flour and sugar with a wooden spoon.
- Stir in the milk and then the yeast mixture.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow it to stand until bubbly.
- Once the mixture is bubbly, pour it into a gallon-size zippered plastic bag and seal. Do not refrigerate. Allow the sourdough mixture to sit out at room temperature. This counts as Day 1.
- Day 2: Mash the bag.
- Day 3: Mash the bag.
- Day 4: Mash the bag.
- Day 5: Mash the bag.
- Day 6: Add 1 cup of flour, sugar and milk. Mash the bag until it is mixed well.
- Day 7: Mash the bag.
- Day 8: Mash the bag.
- Day 9: Mash the bag.
- Day 10: Pour the sourdough into a glass (or other nonmetal) bowl. Add 1/2 cup each of all-purpose flour, granulated sugar and milk. Mix well with a wooden spoon.
- Divide out 1 cup portions of the starter, placing each one-cup portion in separate zippered plastic bags. You’ll get about 4-5 bags.
- Seal the bags, and give the starter away to friends along with the instructions, keeping one for yourself if desired. The starter then goes back to Day 1.
- Keep one starter for yourself.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Thank you for sharing this recipe for the Amish bread starter recipe! I use to make this 20 + years ago when someone shared a starter with me and I would make pumpkin bread and banana nut bread which was always a hit with my family. Unfortunately at some point I stopped making them and gave the starters I had away and I didn’t have the starter recipe. I have tried making homemade banana nut bread, ect but they were nothing like the friendship bread. I’m excited to now have the starter recipe and I can’t wait until Thanksgiving and… Read more »
I always use unsweetenend almond milk. It works.
I was wondering if you could use self rising flour in this recipe??
Hi. I was wondering if you could add only 1/2 cup of milk, flour, and sugar on the sixth day instead of 1 cup each so that you would have so much to give away on day 10. Thanks!
I’m new to this recipe for the starter, and I have a question. The first day was great……….and the dough was quite active. The gallon bag blew up as big as a balloon, very tightly, so then, the next day………I couldn’t “mash it down”. The next day, I still had a Ziploc Balloon, so, I barely opened the bag just to let out a little air. Next day, it was a balloon again, so I let out a little more air. Did this for about 5 days, and then, suddenly, the balloon was flat as could be, and no more… Read more »
I could not add my flour sugar and milk on the 6th it’s been 11 days can I now add them and bake in 5 days
I already have sourdough starter that is fed with flour and water. Can I just separate a cup out of that and then start feeding it the milk and sugar or should I do that on day one?
Seems like YEARS ago, I saw a sourdough starter using potato water. Can you use the water left over from boiling potatoes? Thank you for posting this! LOVE, Love, love sourdough!
Sounds interesting recipe! I live in India, Gujarat state which is pretty hot for most time of the year. Can I shorten the duration between each stage ?
How much batter do I use to bake 1 loaf
I live at over 8000 ft sea level so would have to use less yeast in the starter, but don’t known how much.
if i dont want to divide the batter into 4 bags how do i finish the receipe ?antoinette
As long as it does touch the metal lid, can you store it in a canning jar? Thinking weapons lids in plastic wrap….
Years ago there was a starter recipe for something we called “Herman” that we could used to make a great cinnamon coffee cake, cookies, and bread. . Is this the same recipe?
Can I use almond milk (unsweetened) as the milk in the starter and in the recipe instead of regular milk?
After you divide it into bags to give away (or use) it says this is day one. Do you need to add all the original recipe list to start over as day one? Or is the one cup of starter day 1 by itself?
Thanks : )
Hi,
Thank you so much for sharing how to make the starter! Can I use whole grain flour?
While making the starter I had a issue that took my attention away from what I was doing and I used 1 cup of water instead of 1/4 c. I didn’t realize it until it was all put together, is it salvageable, or do I need to start over?
I was given the starter and recipe (same as above) as a muffin starter.
So I am wondering if you have to use sweet recipes or could you make savoury muffins from it?
eg adding cheese, bacon and onion
Hi.
I’ve started the “starter” recipe about 6 times already…..and for whatever reason my bags don’t ever really fill up with air and/or bubbles. I’ve been very careful to not use metal. Is the starter still good? Should I continue….what did I do wrong???? Thank you.
Hello,
Years ago I received a starter kit but after baking for several weeks, I finally stopped. I would like to attempt a starter. I’m on the 9th day and forgot to mush the bag one day, will it still work or should I throw it out and start again.
thank you,
I made my new starter bags on day 10 and left 2 c of starter out to make my bread. But that was 2 days ago and I haven’t made the bread yet. Can I make it now or do I have to wait til day 10 again??
I worked the starter for 9 days as per the recipe. On day 10 I was not able to go ahead with the process so I froze the batter. Will it still be usable after I let it thaw and add the remaining ingredients and separate it out ?
Can you use this starter to make regular sourdough bread? I thought you had mentioned that a sourdough recipe was coming but I didn’t see one in the post. I’ve gotten a starter form a friend and want to make the cinnamon bread, but want to know if there are other options.
Thanks!
After I bake the bread (delicious!) & put 1 cup of starter in separate ziplock bags, but it doesn’t get bubbly like the first starter bag which blew up like a balloon. Did I kill the yeast, or is it OK to proceed to day ten with the flat bags of starter?