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This easyAmish Friendship Bread is laced with notes of cinnamon, sugar, and vanilla for a sweet breakfast, snack, or dessert that pairs perfectly with a warm cup of coffee. There’s a printable starter recipe too, so you can pass it along to your friends!
Table of Contents
- The Story Behind Amish Friendship Bread
- Taste and Texture
- Printable Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe
- Preparation and Storage Tips
- Recipe Variations
- Expert Tips
- Amish Friendship Bread and Starter Recipe Recipe
If you’re looking for other sweet breakfast breads, try this Amish Friendship Bread without a starter, a loaf of cinnamon swirl bread, and our favorite banana nut bread, too!
Thanks to my friend Jackie for sharing her recipe and a bag of her Amish Friendship Bread starter with me. Now I can’t wait to pass along the details to all of you as well!
The Story Behind Amish Friendship Bread
So here’s the deal with Amish Friendship Bread: each batch begins with a starter (made with flour, yeast, sugar, and milk). You’re supposed to share the starter with 3 friends every time you prepare a batch of the bread. Those friends then make their own bread, and share their starter with 3 more friends. You get the idea — it’s basically like the bread version of an old-school chain letter! The recipe (and starter) is passed along from one friend to the next.
But don’t worry! You don’t have to wait for a friend to give you a batch of her starter in order to be able to prepare this Amish Friendship Bread! You can whip up your own batch of starter, bake your loaves of bread, and then start your own chain (or not). It’s totally up to you!
Taste and Texture
This cinnamon-flavored bread has the consistency of a pound cake or coffee cake, and is dusted with a cinnamon-sugar topping. The gelatin component in the vanilla instant pudding mix, along with plenty of oil, yield an incredibly moist and tender texture. Plus, thanks to the pudding mix, you get the added bonus of rich vanilla flavor.
The cinnamon friendship bread is perfect for breakfast, brunch, snack, dessert, or even a side dish with a special dinner.
Amish friendship bread is not the same as sourdough. The Amish friendship bread is a sweet sourdough starter since it includes milk and sugar. As a result, it has a much sweeter taste (and less tang) than a traditional sourdough starter.
Printable Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe
Download the Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe and printable directions here. I have also included the full set of ingredients and instructions in the printable recipe card at the bottom of this post, so use whichever version works best for you!
In short, this is a 10-day process starting from the day that you make (or receive) the starter. It’s very easy, though — you just have to be patient! Time is on your side, as you feed the starter and allow it to bloom. The end result is well worth the wait, too.
On Day 10, you’ll have 4 bags of starter (so that you can keep one for yourself and share 3 with friends), and you’ll also have enough starter to bake 2 loaves of delicious bread. It’s a fun activity for the kids to get involved with, and it’s a great way to share some love and baked goods with friends during the holiday season!
Preparation and Storage Tips
- Keep the starter in the sealed Ziploc bag at room temperature throughout the 10-day process. Do not put the starter in the fridge.
- Extra bags of starter can be stored in the freezer for up to 3 months. You do not need to feed the starter while it’s in the freezer.
- When ready to use the frozen starter, allow the bag to thaw completely at room temperature. You can bake with it immediately, or you can start the 10-day cycle over on Day 1 to create even more bags of starter.
- How to Store Amish Friendship Bread: Always wrap the baked loaves of breadin plastic wrap or foil to prevent them from drying out. The bread does not need to be refrigerated. It will stay fresh at room temperature on the counter for2-3 days, and it will last in therefrigerator for up to 1 week.
- To Freeze the Baked Loaves:For longer storage, cool the bread completely, wrap tightly, and keep in thefreezerfor up to 3 months.
Recipe Variations
- Amish Friendship Bread without Starter: If you don’t want to bother with the 10-day starter process, you can make this Amish Friendship Bread without starter. It’s incredibly good, too!
- If you don’t want to store your starter in plastic Ziplock bags, you can use a large mixing bowl covered with plastic wrap. Jars are not a great option, because sealed lids can cause the jars to shatter.
- Muffins: Use the batter to prepare muffins instead of loaves of bread. To do so, divide the batter evenly between two 12-cup muffin tins that are lined with paper cups or greased. Sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top. Bake in a 375°F oven for about 18-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean.
- Mix-ins: stir chocolate chips, butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, raisins, dried cranberries, or chopped nuts (such as walnuts or pecans) into the batter before baking.
- For even more variations, check out these 7 ways to use your Amish friendship bread starter. Pancakes, breads, and cupcakes galore!
Expert Tips
- Do not use any metal spoons or bowls when mixing. This instruction was originally included in the Amish Friendship Bread recipe because there was a chemical reaction that occurred between the fermenting starter and the metal equipment. That said, if your metal bowls and spoons are stainless steel or coated, this likely will not be an issue. We prefer wooden spoons just to be safe!
- It’s normal for the starter to rise, bubble and ferment. If air gets into the bag, let it out.
- If you have a very active starter, you may end up with more than four one-cup portions on Day 10. That’s fine! Just pack them up and either share them or freeze them.
- Do not refrigerate the starter. If you have extra bags of starter that you would like to keep fresh, pop them in the freezer. I’ve included the freezing and thawing directions in the Preparation and Storage section above.
- How to Know if Your Starter is Good: If your starter appears discolored with a pink or green tinge, has mold, or has a sharp acetone smell, discard the starter. It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to food poisoning!
- Do not prepare the vanilla pudding. Just add the dry pudding mix directly to the batter.
- Remember that you can also download a printable PDF of the Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe.
More Easy Bread Recipes to Try
Zucchini Banana Bread
3 hours hrs 5 minutes mins
Blueberry Bread
2 hours hrs 10 minutes mins
Amish Friendship Bread without Starter
1 hour hr 15 minutes mins
Amish Friendship Bread and Starter Recipe
5 from 10 votes
Prep: 15 minutes minutes
Cook: 1 hour hour
Total: 10 days days 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes
Servings 2 loaves
Calories 223 kcal
Make a batch of starter to share with friends, and then bake yourself a loaf of this cinnamon sugar Amish friendship bread, too!
Ingredients
TO MAKE THE STARTER ON DAY 1:
- ¼ cup warm water (about 110-115°F)
- 1 package active dry yeast (2 ¼ teaspoons)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk (use at least 2% milk or higher fat)
TO ADD TO THE STARTER ON DAY 6:
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk (use at least 2% milk or higher fat)
TO DIVIDE THE STARTER ON DAY 10:
- 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups granulated sugar
- 1 ½ cups milk (use at least 2% milk or higher fat)
TO BAKE THE BREAD:
- 1 cup of Amish Friendship Bread Starter (what’s left in your large bowl after dividing on Day 10)
- 3 large eggs
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 large (5 ounce) box vanilla instant pudding mix (just the dry mix)
- 1 cup canola oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk (use at least 2% milk or higher fat)
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon salt
- For the Topping: ¼ cup of granulated sugar + 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
MAKE THE STARTER:
In a small bowl, combine the warm water with the dry active yeast. Set aside until bubbly, 5-10 minutes.
In a large non-metal bowl mix together the all-purpose flour and the granulated sugar. Stir in the milk and the yeast mixture.
Cover loosely and leave on the countertop at room temperature until bubbly.
Place starter in a large (gallon size) Ziploc bag. Seal bag and squish, squash, and mush until well combined. Let stand at room temperature overnight. The day that you prepare the starter is DAY 1.
Day 2: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 3: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 4: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 5: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 6: Add to the bag – 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of sugar, and 1 cup of milk. Squish and mush the bag.
Day 7: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 8: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 9: Squish and mush the bag.
Day 10: BAKING AND DIVIDING DAY. Pour the entire contents of the starter bag into a non-metal bowl and add 1 ½ cups of flour, 1 ½ cups of sugar, and 1 ½ cups of milk. Measure out 4 separate batches of the starter batter (1 cup each) and place into large gallon-size Ziploc bags. Keep one bag of starter for yourself to continue the process (Day 10 is equal to Day 1) and give the other 3 to friends along with a copy of these instructions. After dividing the starter into separate bags, you should have about 1 cup of the starter batter still left in your large bowl. The starter that remains in the large bowl will be used for baking your Amish Friendship Bread.
BAKE THE FRIENDSHIP BREAD:
Preheat oven to 325°F/160°C. Spray two loaf pans with nonstick cooking spray; set aside.
To the bowl with the remaining 1 cup of starter, add the eggs, flour, instant pudding mix, canola oil, sugar, milk, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Stir just until combined.
Divide the batter evenly between the two greased pans.
In a small bowl, combine ¼ cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of cinnamon. Sprinkle the top of each loaf with the cinnamon-sugar mixture.
Bake for 1 hour, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack and then remove bread from pans.
REPEAT THE 10-DAY PROCESS OR FREEZE THE STARTER:
If you keep a starter bag for yourself, then DAY 10 is equal to DAY 1 again, and you can repeat the baking process every 10 days. If you do not want to continue the cycle right away, place the 1-cup bags of starter in the freezer for up to 3 months. When you take the starter out of the freezer, you can treat this as DAY 1, or you can use that starter right away to bake the loaves of Friendship Bread.
Notes
- Do not use any metal spoons or bowls when mixing. This instruction was originally included in the Amish Friendship Bread recipe because there was a chemical reaction that occurred between the fermenting starter and the metal equipment. That said, if your metal bowls and spoons are stainless steel or coated, this likely will not be an issue. We prefer wooden spoons just to be safe!
- It’s normal for the starter to rise, bubble and ferment. If air gets into the bag, let it out.
- If you have a very active starter, you may end up with more than four one-cup portions on Day 10. That’s fine! Just pack them up and either share them or freeze them.
- Do not refrigerate the starter. If you have extra bags of starter that you would like to keep fresh, pop them in the freezer. I’ve included the freezing and thawing directions in the Preparation and Storage section above.
- How to Know if Your Starter is Good: If your starter appears discolored with a pink or green tinge, has mold, or has a sharp acetone smell, discard the starter. It’s better to be safe than sorry when it comes to food poisoning!
- Do not prepare the vanilla pudding. Just add the dry pudding mix directly to the batter.
- Remember that you can also download a printable PDF of the Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe.
Nutrition
Serving: 1slice of bread (12 slices per loaf)Calories: 223kcalCarbohydrates: 32.5gProtein: 2.5gFat: 9.8gSaturated Fat: 0.9gCholesterol: 111mgSodium: 117.9mgFiber: 0.5gSugar: 20.8g
Keyword: Amish bread, amish friendship bread, amish friendship bread starter recipe
Course: Breakfast
Cuisine: American, Amish
Author: Blair Lonergan
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This recipe was originally published in November, 2017. It was updated in January, 2024.
