Amish Friendship Bread Recipe Variations (2024)

FAQs

Why can't you use metal with Amish Friendship Bread? ›

The original instructions for Amish Friendship Bread states that you should not use metal bowls or utensils. The original reason was because there's a chemical reaction that occurs between the fermenting starter and metal.

A Herman starter or Amish Friendship Bread Starter is typically made with milk, flour, sugar and commercial yeast. A sourdough starter is generally made only of flour and water. A Herman starter will be sweeter and more mellow flavored than a sourdough starter.

Does Amish friendship bread need to be refrigerated? No. After the bread has cooled completely, you can store it like any other baked good in an airtight container at room temperature for several days, or wrap it tightly and freeze it for later.

If too much moisture escapes, the bread could dry out. Check expiration dates and use fresh ingredients. For Amish Friendship Bread in particular, you'll want to make sure your yeast (if starting a starter from scratch), baking soda, and baking powder are fresh.

As fermentation gasses build up in the container , let it out or the bag will go BOOM! It is normal for the batter to rise, bubble, ferment and smell like good beer or alcohol. Smelling like nasty feet is bad and means that your starter died and you need to toss it an start again.

Baking temperature

All ovens have their own foibles, and you need to get to know yours. Some ovens run hotter than its settings, some cooler. If the oven is too hot the loaf will be brown and crispy on the outside but doughy in the middle and may collapse as it cools.

Active Amish friendship starter will keep for up to three months in the freezer. "You can also pop your starter in the fridge, but you can't forget about it like you can with freezing your starter," Gee says.

Yes, AFB starter is hardy, but it needs to be fed. If your starter turns pink or has pink splotches, throw it out. After feeding it, nothing happens. Again, every starter (and kitchen) is different so you don't want to be impatient.

Sourdough relies on a mix of wild yeast and lactic acid bacteria, rather than baker's yeast, to leaven the dough. It's richer in nutrients, less likely to spike your blood sugar, contains lower amounts of gluten, and is generally easier to digest than bread made with baker's yeast.

Amish Friendship Bread is a variant of sourdough. The starter contains beneficial lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus that convert lactose in the milk and other carbohydrates in the flour to lactic acid and make the starter acidic enough that it inhibits the growth of dangerous bacteria.

Can I leave freshly baked bread out overnight? ›

While it's safe to keep many baked goods at room temperature, it depends on the item and should be taken on a case-by-case basis. For instance, breads and rolls can last up to four days at room temperature, but any bread with meat or hard-boiled eggs should be refrigerated within two hours, according to the USDA.

When you've made your bread, you can give your friends a sample and the starter that made it! Then your friends can make their own and pass it along to their friends. This is why the bread is called "friendship bread".

According to Elizabeth Coblentz, a member of the Old Order Amish and the author of the syndicated column "The Amish Cook", true Amish friendship bread is "just sourdough bread that is passed around to the sick and needy".

Feed your sourdough starter with a high protein bread flour, rather than all purpose flour. Add some rye flour to your sourdough starter - this is a great way to strengthen your sourdough starter and introduce some whole grains into your wild yeast colony. Rye starters will often produce those big, mousse like bubbles.

Most of our Amish Friendship Bread recipes behave like quick breads. The loaves freeze well when wrapped in freezer wrap, foil, or freezer bags. For coffee cakes, I recommend baking and freezing them in disposable pans that can be wrapped and can go right into the freezer.

Glass and ceramic can work too, but make sure it's thick enough to take a beating. You'll want to stay away from metals other than stainless steel because the acid in the sourdough can react with the metal and leach toxins into your dough, however it's uncommon to find non-stainless steel metal mixing bowls.

A stainless steel bowl is fine. I'd avoid aluminum (and copper, if anyone makes a mixer with such a thing) due to them being reactive, especially if you're making sourdough. Yeast is very sensitive to metal ions.

Pros: Metal bowls are durable, resistant to scratches, and often dishwasher-safe. They can conduct heat, providing a warm environment for dough proofing. Cons: Certain metals may react with acidic ingredients in the dough. Choose stainless steel, which is safe for proofing.