Have any of you ever worked with starter for Amish Friendship Bread? A few years ago I enjoyed feeding my starter and making delicious breads. I even experimented with variations. The only problem that I had was finding new friends to whom I could give the starter when it was time to feed and divide. It was getting a little embarrassing to discover that friends would turn away when they saw me coming with my little zip-closed baggies with starter! Oh, my!!
Then last summer a dear friend gave me a new recipe that allowed me to bake delicious breads without having to find friends for the extra starter. What a relief to be able to continue baking and still keep my friends!
This summer I discovered a wonderful website chock full of AFB variations. I had no clue that so much could be baked with this starter! I will share with you the link to that site so that you can decide for yourself which recipes you would like to try. I am going to share here the variation of starter and bread that you can use to control your starter, and not have it control you!
Here is the website: http://www.friendshipbreadkitchen.com You can go to this site to find the recipe for starter and many variations of the original bread recipe.
Here is the recipe to use for controlling your starter:
On days 1-5, just squeeze the bag.
Day 6: add to the bag 1/2 c. each of flour, sugar, and milk. Squeeze the bag to mix.
Days 7-9, just squeeze the bag.
Day 10: Add 3/4 c. each of flour, sugar and milk. Mix well. Remove 1 cup of starter into a new baggie.
Pour the remaining starter into a large mixing bowl. To this, add. . .
4 eggs
1-1/2 c. oil
3/4 c. milk
1-1/2 c. sugar
1 tbsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. vanilla
2-1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
3 c. flour
1 lg. box instant vanilla pudding
Mix all ingredients well using a wooden spoon. This will make 3 smaller loaves or 2 large loaves, or you can make about 24 muffins. Grease the bottom of the pans and sprinkle with a mixture of sugar and cinnamon. Pour the batter into the pans; sprinkle the tops with the sugar/cinnamon mixture. Bake at 325 for about an hour for bread and 20 min. for muffins or until a toothpick comes out clean.
AFB starter is very forgiving! It really doesn’t need to be fed ever 5 days or so. If you miss a feeding, that’s ok! And if you get tired of baking, the starter can be frozen until you decide to bake again.
A week or so ago, I experimented with my starter and created a recipe for sticky buns! Yummy! You can find the recipe on the website listed above.
Jan, have you tried any of the sugar-free or low-sugar variations? I like this slower method of controlling the starter – will have to give it a try. Also, do you ever bake in the little mini-muffin pans?
Hi, April! No, I’ve not tried the mini-muffin pans, but I have used the regular cup-cake size pans. I’ve not tried any of the sugar-free recipes yet.