Amish Friendship Bread and Starter

Amish Friendship Bread and Starter

Amish Friendship Bread has been described as an “edible chain letter”.  The origins of it are uncertain.  One thing is certain, though: it’s delicious.

Amish Friendship Bread begins with a sourdough starter that is passed from friend to friend.  It includes the starter and complete directions for how to care for it and a recipe to make the bread.

Once you receive a start you must care for it for 10 days before you can make bread.  When day 10 comes, you make some bread for yourself and divide the starter between 2 or 3 friends.  You must take care of your starter.  Otherwise it may turn bad.  Store it in a glass or plastic container and use ONLY a wooden spoon to stir it.  You may also store it in a plastic gallon-sized zip-top bag and squish it instead of stir it.

Friendship bread gets its distinct flavor from the acids produced in the starter.  It’s a cinnamon quick bread with a crust of sugar and cinnamon on top.  The flavor is kind of hard to describe.  It’s sweet and cinnamon-y, but slightly tangy.

If you’re not fortunate enough to receive a from a friend, don’t despair.  You can make your own start.  We have a recipe and directions below.

For your convenience we have a printable version of the recipe to pass along to your friends.  You can download it here.

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