Let's Be Amish Bread Friends!

How do you end a hot summer run?

I don't think there is a better way to finish a run than relaxing on a hammock in the shade.

Oh, and baking/eating!

Peter and I were recently introduced to Amish Friendship Bread. We love it so much that we have made 3 cycles of it.

Here's how it works. A friend of yours gives you a bag of what they call a "starter".

You harvest the starter for 10 days, squishing the bag and adding ingredients as the instructions indicate. On the 10th day, you continue adding ingredients and it will give you enough batter to make 4 starter bags (one for you and 3 friends). With what batter is left, you are able to bake 2 loaves of mouth watering sweet bread.

If you have not ever received a starter and want to start your own friendship bread, you can find the recipe here. It yields enough for 4 starters: one for you and 3 friends. Unless, of course, you want to keep more for yourself. Don't worry, I won't tell. We did that tonight.

Our mess!

You can also get a little creative with the recipe. It calls for pudding mix and any flavor will do. Vanilla seems to be the popular choice. We chose that and banana (we had 2 starters to make).

You can also add nuts and chocolate chips to your batter. Peter and I prefer adding them about 10 minutes into baking so they sit closer in the middle as opposed to the very bottom or top.

These are the banana loaves we made.

Yes, that one in the back looks frightfully burnt, BUT both were on the exact same temperature for the exact amount of time. Not sure what happened there.

Anyway, this bread is perfect for breakfast or a snack. I will typically eat my bread for a snack between breakfast and lunch. I don't really consider this healthy, but you can definitely modify the recipe to include skim milk, low fat/sugar pudding, replace sugar with spenda, etc. However, know that you are able to subject yourself to SOME naughtiness every once in a while. ;-)

Enjoy and Happy Hump Day!


What is the ideal way to end a run? Do you read, watch TV, eat?
- I usually eat :o)

Have you ever made Amish Friendship Bread?

What pudding flavor would you use to make your bread?