A Ziploc Bag Full of Goodness!!…

Inside this bag contains a secret bread starter that only the Amish claim to know how to make. This secret recipe is handed down from person to person 1 cup at a time. And if you give all of yours away you will have to travel to the Amish country to get them to make you some more.

Or you could just Google “Amish Friendship Bread” and start your own. Don’t you love how they put that on the recipe? Like we have time to hunt down an Amish woman and have her make us some starter.

Anyway, my co-worker Gina was sweet enough to give me a bag of it and I can’t wait until it’s time to bake. I’m on Day 5. Only 5 more days until I can bake 2 wonderful loaves and then share the starter with the ones I love…or just keep it for myself.

Amish Friendship Bread

Day 1: Do nothing.
Day 2: Mush the bag.
Day 3: Mush the bag.
Day 4: Mush the bag.
Day 5: Mush the bag.
Day 6: Add to the bag: 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of sugar, 1/2 cup of milk. Mush the bag.
Day 7: Mush the bag.
Day 8: Mush the bag.
Day 9: Mush the bag.
Day 10:
Add 3/4 cup of milk, flour and sugar. Mix well. Remove 1 cup of the batter into a new bag.

To the remaining batter add:
4 eggs
1 1/2 cups oil (or use 1/2 oil and 1/2 applesauce)
3/4 cup milk
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tsp. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. vanilla
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
3 cups flour
1 large box of instant vanilla pudding.

This will make three smaller loaves or two large loaves or muffins. Grease the bottom of the pans and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon. Pour batter into pans and sprinkle the top with sugar and cinnamon. Bake at 325 about and hour for bread loaves or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool until the bread loosens from the pan easily.

Variations:

For chocolate bread omit the cinnamon and replace the vanilla pudding with sugar-free chocolate fudge pudding, add 3 oz. of chocolate chips and 1/2 cup chopped pecans.

For blueberry-lemon omit the cinnamon, use sugar-free lemon pudding plus a teaspoon of lemon extract and 1 cup of frozen blueberries that have been thawed and drained.