You do not have to use the 10 day starter to make Amish Friendship Bread but it sure does make a delicious memory if you do. It truly is an easy recipe. 

We used to make Amish Friendship Bread often. Every home in my family had the starter on their kitchen counter for a few months. We eventually had to take a break but it has been years now and we are baking bread again! I found a good starter recipe on Pinterest and got this tradition going again for our Fall this year. Everyone has been excited and looking forward to this homemade treat. 

Welcome to the June edition of the monthly Pinterest Challenge where a group of talented bloggers get to actually create some of the things we Pin on our Pinterest accounts! It’s one of my favorite things to do as a blogger. My Amish Friendship Bread is adapted from this Pin. 

Let’s meet this month’s Pinterest Challenge hosts!

My Pinterventures •  Cookies Coffee and Crafts
Sew Crafty Crochet •  Eye Love Knots 
Across the Boulevard • Suzerspace •  Purple Hues and Me  
My Family Thyme •  Mom Home Guide • Love My Little Cottage
Our Unschooling Journey •  Intelligent Domestications
Our Crafty Mom •  Life Beyond the Kitchen
Sum of their Stories •  Farm Girl Reformed
Stone Cottage Adventures •  This Autoimmune Life
Our Good Life •  Domestic Deadline •  Blogghetti

To join next month’s #pinterestchallenge, click here to sign-up ⇒ September Pinterest Challenge

Why Ferment for 10 Days?

We need to begin with the starter recipe but first let me point out that you can indeed make this Cinnamon Bread without the starter and 10 day process. However you won’t have sour dough if you do it that way. Fermenting is one of the ways this homemade bread gets it’s memorable flavor. 

FREEZER FRIENDLY

This easy recipe for Friendship Bread is freezer friendly! That’s good news since before long you will run out of friends to give it to and well, frankly have satisfied your current need for sweet bread. 

The Starter is freezer friendly. I recommend freezing on Day 1. Be sure to write on the outside of the bag ‘Day One’ and the date so you can remember how long it’s been frozen. You will thaw at room temperature and begin the process again. I have heard this recipe is good in the freezer for  years but I have not personally tested that theory. I’d probably keep it no more than one year. 

The Bread is freezer friendly. Wrap the baked and cooled loaf well. I recommend using plastic wrap followed by foil. Write on the outside of the foil the date you are freezing it and exactly what it is. Don’t you love those mystery frozen foil blobs in the freezer! Thaw at room temperature. It won’t be quite as yummy as the day you baked it but it will still be delicious.

SQUISH SQUISH

There are 9 days of squishing the bag as it sits on your kitchen counter. During that time there is a good possibility the bag may become rather large and swollen as a result of the yeast action. This is more likely to happen if you have just created the starter from scratch.

Carefully pull a very small opening in the bag and gently squeeze out the air. Reseal and squish.

INGREDIENTS FOR THIS CINNAMON SWEET BREAD

The printable recipe is below including ingredients and instructions for starter and baking but here is a glance at what you will need.

• All purpose flour
• Sugar
• Milk (I use 2%)
• Cinnamon
• Baking Powder
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Large eggs
• Vanilla extract
• Vanilla instant pudding (6 serving size)

FOLLOW Intelligent Domestications on Instagram/Pinterest

SERVING YOUR CINNAMON SWEET BREAD

We made French Toast recently with one loaf of our Cinnamon Sweet Bread and it was like something from a fancy restaurant. Three of our grandchildren had spent the night with us, always a joy. We enjoy gathering around the table for lively conversation. 

I had some heavy cream leftover from a recipe a few days prior so I used it in my french toast batter. Breakfast got rave reviews. If there had been more, everyone would have lingered at the table a little longer. 

Coffee or Milk goes well with a slice of this scrumptious sweet bread. Use it in bread pudding or a strata!

Yield: 1 Cup

Amish Cinnamon Friendship Bread Recipe

Print

Amish Friendship Bread recipe for making the 10 day sour dough version. Starter and Baking instructions included.

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 1 hour

Total Time 1 hour 10 minutes

Ingredients

• 1 pkg. active dry yeast (2 1/4 tsp.)
• 1 Cup warm water (110° F)
• 1 Cup All Purpose flour
• 1 Cup granulated sugar
• 1 Cup milk (I use 2%)

Instructions

1. In a small bowl or measuring cup dissolve the yeast in the warm water.
2. Allow to stand for about 10 minutes.
3. In a large glass or plastic bowl combine the dry ingredients; sugar and flour
4. Blend the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon
5. Now slowly add the milk and dissolved yeast stirring well after each addition
6. Continue to stir until all the lumps are gone
7. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to stand until the mixture is bubbly
8. Pour your starter into a gallon size plastic food storage bag on which you have written 'Day 1' along with the date
9. The squishing process begins.
10. Day 2 Squish the bag
11. Day 3 Squish the bag
12. Day 4 Squish the bag
13. Day 5 Squish the bag
14. Day 6 Add 1 Cup each all purpose flour, granulated sugar and milk. Squish all the lumps out (I mix the flour, sugar and milk in a glass bowl using a plastic whisk THEN pour into the starter)
15. Day 8 Squish the bag
16. Day 9 Squish the bag

BAKING INSTRUCTIONS

Pour the starter into a large glass or plastic mixing bowl

To the starter, add 1 cup all purpose flour, 1 cup milk and 1 cup sugar. Mix with a wooden spoon.

Prepare 4 gallon size plastic food storage bags by marking the date and Day 1 on the front along with the words Friendship Bread.

Pour 1 cup of batter into each of the 4 plastic food storage bags and set aside.

Into the remaining batter in the bowl add:

1 Cup oil

3 large eggs

1 tsp. Vanilla

1/2 Cup milk

1 Cup sugar

3/ 4 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp Cinnamon

1 large box of Vanilla pudding (6 serving size)

OPTIONAL

1 Cup chopped pecans or walnuts

1 Cup raisins

Preheat oven to 325°

Grease well 2 large loaf pans or a bundt cake pan

Mix all of the ingredients well using a wooden spoon until no lumps remain. You may use a plastic coated whisk.

Pour batter into the prepared pan(s)

Bake at 325° for about 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Oven temperatures vary.

Cool slightly before turning out of the pan.

Can be topped with a sweet glaze if you like.

Serve and enjoy!

TOPPING OPTION

1 tsp. cinnamon

3 Tbsp. sugar

Mix sugar and cinnamon together and pour into pan FIRST before adding the batter. This will make a sweet crust when the bread is done and turned out of the pan.

Notes

Never use a metal bowl or utensils when making this recipe.

I mix my ingredients originally and on Day 6 and on baking day using a plastic whisk.

If your bags become swollen during the squishing days, you should gently let the air out and reseal. This is most likely to happen when you have made your own starter.

 Now, let’s see what the other hosts have created ⇓⇓

Thanks to Erlene of My Pinterventures for organizing this event. It’s a favorite for many bloggers as we set out to try the things we find on Pinterest.