Friendship Bread

Over a week ago, our daycare provider, Lisa, gave us “Amish” friendship bread.  Its instructions were simple.  Moosh the bag for five days, add flour, sugar, and milk on the sixth day, and moosh the bag for four more days.  On the tenth day, follow the recipe instructions to make two loaves of bread and four one-cup starter bags to give out and/or keep.

 

Today is day ten.  Tristan was my assistant in the kitchen as we added ingredients, divided the starter batter, and added more ingredients to make the bread.  I have four bags, one of which I’ll keep for myself, and three others I will distribute to friends.

 

While my bread is baking, and filling our home with its yummy aroma, I decided to do a bit of research.

 

According to Wikipedia, Amish Friendship Bread is “a type of bread or cake made from a sourdough starter that is often shared in a manner similar to a chain letter.”  Although named “Amish” Friendship Bread, the recipe itself did not originate with the Amish.  “True Amish Friendship Bread is just sourdough bread that is passed around to the sick and needy” – Wikipedia.  In fact, this method of feeding yeast every five days is an old method dating back to Ancient Egypt.  Before cultured yeasts became available and commercialized, bakers would use natural yeasts to make sourdough bread.  It is not uncommon for a baker’s starter dough to have years of history.  In fact, each bakery can have it’s own distinct taste based on culture, air temperature, humidity, and elevation. 

 

As for the friendship bread, it is a neat thing to share with friends and family.  There is a air of mystery as I often wonder when our batch of starter really got its start.  Regardless, I’ll be passing this along to three people who I believe will truly appreciate the mix. 

In my search I found a website that shares the starter recipe, the ten day instructions on what to do with your starter, a basic (the most common) recipe, and variations of that recipe to suit your tastes.

 

At MomsWhotThink.com (http://www.momswhothink.com/bread-recipes/amish-friendship-bread.html) the starter, the ten day instructions, and the basic recipe are included on this one page.  They include some variations; however, I found more at armchair.com (http://www.armchair.com/recipe/bake002.html – scroll to the bottom for their variations page).  I have the instructions and basic recipe below since the recipe I was given varies slightly from those on the websites.

 

Since I am keeping one of the four starters, I plan to make more bread and distribute more starters to friends who have shown an interest.  However, I plan on trying the variations. 

 

Update: The bread came out of the oven and meant to take pictures.  But it smelled oh so yummy that I couldn’t resist.  The children and I love it!  It is a bit sweet, but it goes great with a glass of milk.

 

 

Instructions

Day 1 – Do nothing. This is the day you receive the starter batter

Day 2 – 5 – Moosh and burp the bag.  Since the yeast is fermenting inside the bag, you’ll notice it bubbling.  Just squish the bag to mix up the batter and let the air out.

Day 6 – Add 1 cup each: flour, sugar, milk.  Moosh, then burp the bag.

Day 7 – 9 – Moosh and burp the bag

Day 10 – Moosh and burp the bag, then make the bread

 

Use non-metal utensils and bowls.  Loaf pan can be metal.

 

Pour contents of bag into bowl. 

Add 1 1/2 cups flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and 1 1/2 cups milk.

Pour 1 cup of the mixture each into four gallon sized Ziploc bags (or plastic containers with lids if you have no Ziploc bags).

Give three to friends and keep one for yourself if you want to make more bread in 10 ten days.  (Mark the date on the bag just in case you don’t give your friend the bag on the first day).

 

In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1 tsp cinnamon

 

Add to the remaining batter in the bowl the following ingredients:

1 cup oil
3 eggs
Mix batter.

Add the following:

1/2 cup milk

1 cup sugar

2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups flour

1 large box vanilla instant pudding mix

Mix batter.

Divide batter evenly into two bread pans (pans greased and lightly dusted with cinnamon/sugar mixture).  Top with dusting of cinnamon/sugar mixture.  Bake for 1 hour at 325 degrees. 

 

 

Variations I plan on trying:

 

Healthier mix – substitute 1 cup oil with 1 cup applesauce, use sugar free pudding mix, and 2% milk instead of whole

Cinnamon rolls – so not healthy, but sounds oh so yummy

Pancakes and waffles

Creating a chocolate version with chocolate pudding (instead of vanilla) and 1 cup of chocolate chips.

And so many more!

What a mess!

I've been on a cooking/baking kick as of late. For the most part, it has been great. I've baked those muffins several times, once using the fresh blueberries variation (Scott gobbled up five of them right away). With a my sweet tooth nagging me, I decided to try a "from scratch" chocolate cake recipe. I used the one right off of Hershey's cocoa powder container. I followed the directions exactly. I used the pans it required (two 9" round). I measured every ingredient exactly (even the 1 cup boiling water). It said the batter would be thin (in fact, it was really runny). I preheated the oven as directed. What happened though, was a disaster. The batter started bubbling up and over the pan sides after about ten minutes. At first, I thought it wasn't much, so I quickly put a baking sheet on the rack below the cake pans. Then the burning smell started. The batter was overflowing all around both pans, over the baking sheet, and onto the heating unit in my oven! Ack! I was sooooo upset! The mess, the ruined cake, and I already made the frosting. What a waste! I have no idea what I did wrong.

Well, I still needed my fix (got to have something sweet!). After cleaning up, I wanted to use up the frosting somehow. I've tried out this recipe I found at Her Cup Overfloweth where it is a quick cake in a cup (in the microwave!). You have to try it out. It is so simple. Tonight was a perfect night to bust out the quick cake recipe.

Although, I have modified it somewhat (it may be because I live in a higher altitude, so the alterations may have been necessary).

• I add just a smidgen extra of sugar (I like it sweet) and milk (it comes out just a bit more moist)
  
• I mix all the ingredients in a mixing bowl (after trying in the cup a few times, it is hard to get all the ingredients to mix all the way - I'd be left with some dry ingredients at the bottom of the cup)
• I use a bowl instead. I think the wider distribution of batter allows it to be cooked more evenly and come out more fluffy.
• I drop chocolate chips evenly over the surface just before putting in the microwave (if I mix it in, the chips fall to the bottom of the cup and it is a gooey mess
  

So, here's the end result of my version of the micro minute chocolate cake:


Cake fix satisfied!

Versatile Breakfast Muffins

My friend Rachael recently started a blog posting all her yummy recipes. She's a wonderful cook and she does a lot of homemade stuff. I haven't tried any of her recipes yet, but they all look yummy. Visit her blog by clicking here or looking for "Mostly Everything from Scratch" in the sidebar. She already has a few seasonal recipes using pumpkin, including Pumpkin Waffles.

Anyway, I am not a connoisseur by any means. I have to use recipes to cook and I cheat, a lot. Like my favorite, Bacon cheeseburger Roll-up recipe, the pizza dough is store bought not homemade. So, when I do make something from scratch I am pretty proud of myself.

So, this morning, Melayna was up early and I never went back to sleep (she did). After getting a load of laundry started and finishing up last night's dishes, I decided to look through my cookbooks for something I can whip up for breakfast. My only problem is that most of the recipes I couldn't do because I didn't have one or two items on hand. That is, until I found this neat muffin recipe. I had Tristan assist me, too. I premeasured everything, so he just put all the premeasured stuff in the bowl and helped mix everything.


(Versatile) Breakfast Muffins
recipe found in Breakfast & Bruch: Classic Recipes

This recipe has two parts: the basic muffin & add-in variations
Pictured is the Cinnamon Surprise Muffins


Basic Muffin

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/3 cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg, beaten

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Using a food processor with steel blade, measure flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt into work bowl. Process using on/off pulsing action to mix. Add butter; process using on/off pulsing action 8 to 10 times or until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
2. Combine milk & eggs. Pour over flour mixture. Process on/off 5 or 6 times, or just until flour mixture is moistened. Do not overporcess. Batter should be lumpy.
3. Spoon batter into greased muffin cups until 2/3 full. Bake until golden, 20 to 25 minute

Variations:

Bluberry Muffins - prepare basic muffins as directed, increasing sugar by 1/2 cup. Fold in 1 cup fresh or thawed frozen blueberries or 3/4 cup well-drained canned blueberries. Bake as directed.

Date or Raisin Muffins - prepare basic muffins as directed, add in 1 cup chopped, pitted dates or dark raisins to flour mixture before adding milk and egg. Continue and bake as directed.

Cinnamon Surprise Muffins - prepare basic muffins as directed, adding 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon to dry ingredients mixture. Then fill each muffin cup halfway with batter, add about a teaspoon of jelly or jam (any flavor), then cover up to 2/3 of the muffin cup with remaining batter. Bake as directed.

Noteworthy observations:
I have a standard muffin pan that makes 12. The recipe states that it makes twelve. I had enough batter to only make 7. Perhaps I put too much into each muffin cup, but seven is actually perfect for our size family anyway.
I baked it at 375 (but our oven always cooks warm for some reason). I only baked it for the minimum time, 20 minutes, and they were cooked through and not overdone.