Amish Friendship Bread

Here is the latest recipe I am trying due to my new-found enthusiasm of cooking:

Amish Friendship Bread

Do Not Refrigerate And Do Not Use Metal Spoons Or Bowls

MIX:
1 c sugar
1 c flour
1 c milk
Stir and follow the instructions for each day:

Day 1 - Do nothing; it has been stirred
Day 2 - Stir (use wooden spoon or plastic)
Day 3 - Stir
Day 4 - Stir
Day 5 - Add 1 c. milk, 1 c. sugar, 1 c. flour
Day 6 - Stir
Day 7 - Stir
Day 8 - Stir
Day 9 - Stir
Day 10 - Add: 1 c. milk 1 c. sugar 1 c. flour

Stir, then pour 1 cup in 4 containers, these are now starters.

Give 3 away & keep 1. You can make Cinnamon Bread or Friendship Bread with what is left in your container.

CINNAMON BREAD
Remainder of Amish Batter
1 c. oil
4 eggs
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
3 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1 t. baking soda
1 small box instant vanilla pudding
1/2 c. raisins
1/2 c. crushed nuts

Preheat oven to 325.

Mix Pour in 2 greased loaf pans. Bake 1 hour.

Sprinkle cinnamon sugar on top when it comes out of oven.

FRIENDSHIP BREAD
Remainder of Amish Batter
2/3 c. oil
3 eggs
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1 1/4 t. baking powder
1 t. vanilla
canned fruit or 2 c. diced apples or raisins

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix. Pour in 2 greased loaf pans. Bake for 50-60 minutes.


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The deal with this recipe is that you slowly harp on it for like a week and a half, letting the yeast ferment and putting a lot of genuine manual labor into it. Honestly, when all is said and done, you can taste the difference, versus some store-bought stuff loaded with preservatives! If you give it a little bit of love each day, its final product is soft and delicious.

The only thing is, at the end of the 10 days of "attention," your bread dough has grown so much that you split it up into four parts, as it says up above. You give three batches away to other people/friends with this printed sheet of rules and recipes, so they can do the same process. Keep the last starter for yourself to start the chain all over again.

Well, today I was one of the friends, who received one of the three 'starter batches' from a first cook. I got my batch from Jacob, the kid I am pretty much tied at the hip with for this semester. We study and work together for all the classes we are in. I guess you could say he and I are the Jim-and-Pam "The Office" characters of the UWM College of Engineering. We get along great and share a humor that no one else can step inside of. Time just flies when you put us together, you don't even have to try!

His live-in girlfriend (yeah...) got the batch, made some, and had Jacob pass a loaf off to me, Niki, and Vishal. Yay. :)

This makes a LOT of bread. Look at how many cups of flour the recipe calls for!! And eggs! And sugar, holy mackerel! It makes two loaves!! I've been so excited about this all day today, telling everyone about it. Anyone I've talked to in the engineering halls (I know every body, ha ha), has heard of this (I have never, whoops!), and they warn me to really eat a lot of it, otherwise I'll be throwing away some leftovers that will go stale before I can comfortably eat it all up!

Mmmmm, Megan and I will be FEASTING in a matter of 10 days. (P.S.: Happy Valentine's Day, Love!)