Over the past 6 months or so I have had several people ask me if I could give them the recipe for Amish Friendship Starter, we have made this already with several variations.
The only problem with it, is that when the time comes for friends to give the starter to, when you divide it up, is that all your friends disappear if they are not cooks to begin with. I will have to say, that it is sad that so few people seem to cook these days, or at least enough, that something like this is to special for them to handle. To those that prepare meals everyday it is just a run of the mill recipe like baking bread, cakes or pies.
The starter is easy, I liked to make it when the days are short and dark during the winter for something different to do when you don’t feel like running around outside.
I found that it was easier to make the bread/cake from the starter and divide the bread/cake into several pieces and give the starter with it., along with instructions on how to make the bread.
We also had a version which I cannot locate now that you added a different kind of fruit to the starter every couple of days with sugar, so you ended up with a fruit cake. I will try my best to find and post this also in the coming weeks.
I will add here that this does make a nice starter to make and share over the Thanksgiving / Christmas holiday season when there are lots of people baking and cooking, that sometimes don’t always cook through the year.
AMISH FRIENDSHIP STARTER
3 cups Flour
3 cups Sugar
3 cups Milk
DAY 1 –
In a glass or plastic bowl combine 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, stir with a plastic or wooden spoon (DO NOT USE METAL OR ELECTRIC MIXER)
Cover bowl usually with a paper towel, wax paper, plastic wrap or cloth.
Keep at room temperature, DO NOT REFRIGERATE!
DAY 2, 3,& 4
Stir mixture once each day, using wooden or plastic spoon.
DAY 5
ADD 1 cup sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, stir
DAY 6, 7, 8, & 9
Stir once each day using wooden or plastic spoon
DAY 10
ADD 1 CUP sugar, 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk, stir, Remove 3 cups of starter, give 1 cup each to three friends, keep the rest for yourself.
Note: Upon looking around for some variations on the internet for the Amish Friendship Bread/Cake, I tell you I found so many great sites with variations including the one using fruit that I wanted to share some links to these sites with you.
Tasty Palettes – Amish Friendship Bread
Jane Doesn’t Blog – Coffee-Chocolate Cake (from Amish Friendship Starter)
How to Eat a Cupcake – Two Variations
Kitchen Bouquet – Amish Friendship Cake, Cornbread & Pancakes