Last year one of our neighbors gave me a batch of Amish friendship starter. It's not a yeast starter. The concept is much like the sourdough starter, in that it is passed around from one homemaker to another homemaker. Â
The Amish friendship bread is very rich. It's dense and moist, sweet, and has a cinnamon flavor. Yummy. Of course the cinnamon can be omitted.
Why am I talking about friendship bread now? Because I watched Martha Stewart today. Oh you know me. I watch Martha every day. I tuned in a couple minutes late, but apparently a little gal gave Martha a batch of Amish friendship bread starter. I wonder if Martha is really going to continue the starter and pass it around to her friends.
If you are lucky enough to receive a bag of Amish friendship bread starter, but you need the instructions to take care of the starter, to make the bread, or need to print out extra instructions to pass out to your friends, I posted the directions for taking care of the starter on my website last year. Directions for Amish Friendship Bread
When I'm baking the bread, my home smells so yummy. Now that's an amazing home fragrance... it's a good thing.
6 comments:
I've had frienship bread before. It is frally good and does make the house smell yummy! Thanks for leaving a comment on my blog it helped me to remember to look at yours.
It is so easy to get out of control with that stuff! We couldn't get rid of the extra starters quickly enough and HAD to make and eat it ourselves. Musta gained a pound a day until we stopped the cycle.
So..... you've actually been continuing to make the friendship bread every 10 days, since last year??? Okaaaaaaay (taking a deep breath) - you are definitely better than us, then, I admit it. As Mom said, we didn't get our extra starters passed around quickly enough one time, and of course we couldn't just waste all that.... so we made ourselves bread. Lots, and lots of bread.
Awww... well, I had that problem of too much starter too. No. I didn't make bread every 10 days since last summer LOL Oh the thought... we'd be gaining weight around here instead of losing weight lol
I did make a whole lot of bread... when I get tired of making it, I give it all away and hope I get more of the friendship batter from someone at a later date. So far it's worked out for me.
Although, last time, someone told me I could freeze it and start it when I want to. So, I have some in the freezer... I'll let you all know if that really works or not.
Oh let me tell ya, I was giving it to anyone and everyone I could think of. It can feel a bit overwhelming can't it?
I came up with a simple enough solution to the "too much starter" dilemna (since all of my friends were tired of seeing the batter around too).
Rather than take out four cups for four new starters, I'd take out one cup for my new starter, and measure out the other three into another container while I baked up the first batch of bread (Three cups is all that's left in your bowl anyway). I jokingly called it the "F-Your-Friends Bread" around the house.
But then, you're just left with your little starter, and you end up with four nice loaves at each baking (No one minds receiving the bread over and over, I've found).
Thank you for sharing a great idea! I know, everyone loves the bread.
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