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This is more than a recipe – it’s a way of thinking. In our hi-tech world almost everything comes prepackaged and designed for instant gratification. So where does a recipe that takes ten days to make fit in? Maybe it’s a touch stone to our past – to those days not so very long ago when everything we did took time and where a bread that took 10 days to make was not as extraordinary as it seems today.

The recipe comes to us from Mrs. Norma Condon of Los Angeles. Amish Friendship Bread is a great bread for the holidays. When you’ve made your bread, you can give your friends a sample and the starter that made it! Then your friends can make their own and pass it along to their friends. This is why the bread is called “friendship bread”. It makes a great homemade birthday and Christmas present. Church groups and hospitals have spread a lot of love and cheer by making Amish Friendship Bread for their members. Many people make it regularly just because it tastes so good!

Amish Friendship Bread is a genuine starter bread. If you know someone with a starter, you are in luck.  If not, check online – it’s actually pretty easy to find.

The Recipe

Important Note: Don’t use metal spoons or equipment. Do not refrigerate. Use only glazed ceramic or plastic bowls or containers.

1 cup live yeast starter (see above)

_____________________ Day 1: Do nothing with the starter.

_____________________ Days 2-5: Stir with a wooden spoon.

_____________________ Day 6: Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Stir with a wooden spoon.

_____________________ Days 7-9: Stir with a wooden spoon.

_____________________ Day 10: Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir. Take out 3 cups and place 1 cup each into three separate plastic containers. Give one cup and a copy of this recipe to three friends. To the balance (a little over one cup) of the batter, add the following ingredients and mix well.

• 1 cup oil
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla

In a separate bowl combine the following dry ingredients and mix well:

• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup sugar
• 1-1/2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 – (5.1 oz) box instant vanilla pudding
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup nuts

Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix and pour into two well greased and sugared bread pans. Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.

There are tons of variations on this!  Once you’ve mastered the original, try making this some different ways!