7 Habits of Highly Effective Amish Friendship Bread Bakers (2024)

I find using vanilla pudding makes the bread way too sweet for me. Instead I add lemon pudding mix now. Also to make bread with no oil I used the same amount of applesauce! Both make a yummy rhubarb strawberry bread!

hi there 1st time making starter how long is it to take before you see bubbles?

I make A LOT of peppered jams and always use my hot water bath time to clean the kitchen up so that when the last batch comes out of the water I am done! It has taken a while for me to get into this habit as I used to take that time to check my phone for emails or social media- but I can enjoy and relax better if the kitchen is clean.

I am a newbie, I will start my 1st starter tomorrow! My daughter, Cindy Hayden, brought down 5 different flavors of this bread last week and i am hooked! I could use the pans, but will be creative and use a bundt pan to start. I’m excited to start this new adventure and appreciate the tips on here!!

My baking tip is to use a fold-over type sandwich bag to put over your hand and scoop out crisco to fully grease bread pans or other baking dishes.

When I bake the Friendship bread, I substitute applesauce for some of the oil. Still as moist but lower in fat.

I always have pre-mixed cookie dough in my freezer in small containers. There is nothing better than fresh baked cookies and having dough on hand is makes it fast in easy after a bad day or when someone pops in to visit. My person favorite are banana chocolate chip cookies!

When making banana bread, I always have bananas in freezer. Take out what you need, put in strainer over bowl, thaw either on counter, about an hour, or overnight in fridge. Save any liquid the drains out from bananas and start with that, then add rest of oil to what recipe calls for. Added flavor and less fat! Also, I do like Mom did, grease pans with Crisco! Only brand I have ever used!

Since all the corona virus stuff, I’ve been looking for websites that help me make the most of what I have on hand. As a breast cancer patient, I’m not getting out because my immunity is weak. One thing I’ve found helpful is to add a bay leaf to my flour. This helps keep weevils away. Since I love making bread, I’m finding your helpful tips and recipes to be a godsend. Thank you so much!

Since all the schools are shut down right now due to the corona virus pandemic, I’m using cooking and baking to help teach my kids math. They helped me with a giant batch of Friendship bread today! We sextupled the recipe so there was a lot of math! We pulled out all of our ingredients first to make sure we didn’t miss any along the way, and put them away as we used them to ease the clean-up process.

So awesome for you to share! As for baking rituals, returning to my roots of baking with Grandma always gets me in the mood! I pull my hair back into a pony (just the way Grammy did for me so many years ago), put on one of her hand-me-down aprons, scrub my hands, and pull out my prized old fashioned egg beaters and flour sifter. Then of course find a recipe with great pictures to dive into! Having the spirit of yester years with me encourages me to try new things, through the eyes of a child.

My biggest tip is to keep my pantry & fridge stocked with the common ingredients needed regularly. Nothing worse than feeling like I can’t bake because I’m out of sugar or milk!

My most helpful kitchen habit is cleaning as you go. I try to wash up between steps so I don’t have a huge pile of dirty dishes at the end.
Thanks for a wonderful site – I was craving AFB and found you online!

AFB was one of the 1st thing I made when we moved to the Robins AFB. My Husband office loved it. Now I make it A lot. I love that I can make different kinds of bread at once then freeze the next starter package. My husbands unit gives me a 2 week notice and the list of AFB they want and I start on it.

I loved the original AFB recipe about 20 years ago (back in my 20’s. I loved gifting the starter & also the yummy breads to people. I’m thinking that since we’re stuck in our homes right now, I’ll go back to my roots, mix up a starter & spread the love with my neighbors. I’m loving all the recipes you have! I love to bake when I’m unrushed. It’s therapeutic for me.

I use my starter feeding time as my gratitude time. While I feed my starter I think about all of blessings and how grateful I am to have people i want to share this with. It gives me peace and makes the people I share with happy.

I try to clean as I go because I hate washing dishes. If I pile them up I put off washing but if I do it as I go it doesn’t seem like as much to clean.

Mise en place. Its super important for me to weigh out all my ingredients before getting started. Also, reading your recipes all the way thru to prevent mistakes.

My favorite baking/cooking tip is if I’m unfamiliar with a type of recipe, I will make it as written, and ONLY AFTER I try it, make adjustments for next time. Sometimes it’s hard for me not to adjust (or even omit) seasonings based on what I like, but sometimes, I find interestingly delicious flavor/texture combination by trying something that seems like an odd combination (at least to me).

My tip: Freezing bananas when I get them on sale means we always have them for smoothies and banana bread!

Love the recipes. Might try the Irish cupcakes and scones.
Thanks!
Chris

I fed my Amish starter on day 6. It’s now about day 15 (or 16?) and I haven’t had a chance to bake the bread
It’s normal colored and bubbly. Is the starter still okay or should I throw it away?

I love all the variations. I freeze each time I divide and sometimes freeze 1/2 cup portions for ease of making some recipes smaller.

Read and Reread all recipes first before baking or cooking This has saved me from many disasters!

For the Amish Friendship Breads that are most poplar with family and friends, I mix the dry ingredients ahead of time and store in air tight containers. I also sell the bread for fund raisers. If I know will be baking in a few days, I will mix the dry ingredients in individual containers for those breads that have been ordered. Saves on time and clean up.

Plain and simple – I love the ease and the deliciousness of the different recipes. Yes, I use many of the tips and habits already shared by others. I would very much appreciate the silicone mini loaf pans – Thank you for this opportunity.

I’m always in a pinch for time, so the night before I bake, I place all of my baking cups, spoons, bowls, and ingredients (other than refrigerated ones) on my counter. I measure out all of the dry ingredients into a bowl and cover it. I wash all cups, spoons, and spatulas I’ve used and just put the ones I’ll need to complete the recipe next to the covered bowl. Then, when I awaken, I’m ready to go. I complete the recipe and bake while I have breakfast.

I am just beginning my bread baking adventure so those pans would be well needed and put to great use. I found this searching bread machine recipes. I haven’t had Amish bread since I was a child. I remember how good it was and would love to try making my own. I just bought fresh ingredients to get started making my first loaf of bread. And I’m excited to make some starter and make my own AFB memories.

I really enjoy baking with the starter and keep some in my freezer to have it readily available.

Making my AFB in small
Loaf pans allows me to eat some and to gift some. Better for me and for my friends!

Before baking, I read the recipe over about three or four times to make sure I’m understanding exactly what needs to be done and in what order. But my most reliable baking habit is to prep all non-refrigerated ingredients the night before I bake. I keep the recipe on the counter and use a ruler to go line-by-line so I don’t leave out anything. By prepping the night before, most of the work as been done and my morning baking time has been simplified and there’s less of a mess to clean up.

So happy to be able to get the starter recipe. Had a starter years ago without the recipe. You have so many variations to bake with now. I’m just happy to be abel to try them. Thanks!

i new to this site but already love it I have been looking for the old receipe for sour dough starter and finally found it. I remember back in the 70’s giving away the starter to friends. my ladies group at church is waiting for me to start shareing .
when baking I always gather all my stuff and measure it out then I bake.

I think it is very important to gather all ingredients before you start and put them away as you use them.

I put all my ingredients on the right side of the mixing bowl and move them to the left of it after I use it. That way I am not forgetting anything!! It’s so easy to forget a vital ingredient like the baking soda!!!!!!❤️

Hi, These look amazing, thank you for this opportunity to win. Looking for bread recipes made in a bread machine.
Blessings, Paulette

One of my favorite ways to make Amish bread, is to make it into muffins! Makes it easy to create a variety with multiple starters, (which I keep on hand in the freezer), and for sharing with friends and neighbors!
I love having so many recipes from the ‘Friendship Bread Kitchen’.
You can even ad lib, with extra ingredients, and not go wrong.
Thanks so much for a great site to use!

When adding chocolate chips to a recipe I coat in a little flour to keep them from sinking to the bottom

I love these recipes and this site! I feel very confident baking when I am using a tried and true recipe from here. Love the variations suggested here, too! I’d love to try these pans with my next bread recipe!

I always clean as I go that way once your baking is in the oven you can enjoy your time.

I gather all ingredients before starting. Therefore, I know I’m not suddenly out of something and have to stop in the middle to run to the store.

I always measure all my ingredients out first. I use whatever containers I need to hold them all. Then after combining my dry ingredients, I sift them into a large bowl. When eggs are needed, I usually lightly beat them before adding them to my recipe. When adding liquid ingredients to dry ingredients, make a “pit” in the middle of the dry ingredients, it makes it easier to combine them well.

I always read a recipe twice before I start it, I gather all the ingredients l need and line them up as they are called for on the counter along with the measuring cups and spoons the mixer and bowls I will be using along with the baking sheets. I use parchment paper also, I then measuring everything out and set in order of how I will use them! This makes sure what I am making come out as it should.

I always have fresh eggs & butter at room temperature. Bc when I get to baking sometimes I never know what I’m going to make and what I’ll need. So it’s always nice to have them so there is no waiting for them to get to room temperature. 😁

I had no idea you could make savory loaves! Thanks so much for the ideas! I also didn’t know you can freeze the starter! What a great blog!

I bake friendship bread for church on Sunday morning and Wednesday nites. I love having the variety. This week I am doing the Root beer. I frequently use a bundt cake pan to make my bread aka CAKE look more festive.

Thanks so much for all of the great tips! Keeping starter in the freezer has REVOLUTIONALIZED my AFB baking.

I love minis because i can make a variety of flavors for gifting. I too had starters years ago, but never the recipe to begin my own. Eventually i ran out of people to share it with.

I have had so many beautiful positive comments on my give away mini loaves and they all ask for the recipe – so of course I oblige. This is the best loaf recipe and easiest recipe I have ever used. thank you so much for the opportunity to share with friends

I love the original friendship bread, lost my starter years ago. Glad to have a way to start again. Thank you

I just found this site and I am so excited! I use to bake AFB all the time and had pages of variations. I lost those pages and stopped baking it. Just this week I was offered some starter. I can’t wait to get back to baking it.
When I bake I like to plan ahead and make sure everything is measured out and ready to go.

Thanks for the recipe! I put my silicone molds on a cookie sheet to make it easier to get out of the oven. Good luck to everyone!

Have patience, enjoy the process, savor the experience and feel the love of friendship. I live making starter, sharing starter and answering friends questions after I give it to them-is the bag suppose to look like this! Yes, do I have to follow exactly? Why wouldn’t you? ❤️ Hi Darien!

I love this bread! Can’t wait to try mini loaves! 🙂

Before I can begin baking I have to start with a clean counter and sink. This means washing up any dishes and cleaning off my work area. I can then set out my ingredients, utensils, etc., that I will be using to bake. Everything goes so much smoother.

I love making mini loaves. My girls love getting their own. LOL!

Peel your bananas before freezing them. So much easier than peeling frozen bananas. 😁

I love the Amish Friendship Bread! Especially when I coat the pans with cinnamon and sugar before baking. Yum!!

I love my grandmother’s recipes. I am so glad that I have many of them in her perfect handwriting (is that even a thing any more?). Having the recipes is great. Being able to actually make any of them is another story. Her cookbook is riddled (good word for it, since it is a mystery to be solved) with “instructions” like a “pinch” of this, a “dash” of that ~ I now have those plus a “smidgen” measuring spoons ~ even a “handful” of something in one recipe. I put the word instructions in quotes because there aren’t really instructions, just ingredients , an oven temperature and time and I’m pretty sure ALL ovens back then only had one setting, “350°.” Of all of the ambiguous directions, my personal favorite is, “a warm bath” I seriously thought for years and years that my God-fearing, church-going, saint of a grandmother must have been traipsing through a field of magic mushrooms when she wrote that recipe. It wasn’t exactly something I could bring up easily to my mom. How would that conversation go? “Um, in case you didn’t know, your mom’s a secret druggie?” Yeah, no thanks. I had to wait a couple of decades to realize that “a warm bath” was an actual thing ~ for some kind of custard, maybe. I actually remember saying that I didn’t like whatever it was so my mom wouldn’t turn to that recipe and discover the same secret that I had found. I know my grandmother must have been busting a gut laughing at me from heaven for all those years I thought she was drunk or stoned.

Fate is fickle. We were just talking about Friendship Bread and starters at work on Monday. Today I found your website. Awesome! Back in the day I had a problem with boredom. I was only given 1 recipe. Your site has so many recipes I started a double batch of starter for me and for the girls at work. My tip is to have a hubby who will not complain when you leave him to do the dished when you have to rush out the door for work again. He also does the shopping and calls with questions about the items on the list.

Love this site! My 2020 resolution was to bake more and get more confident with my baking! I made my starter on Jan 1st and have been nursing it on the counter since. I have a lot in my freezer lol I like to keep 1 cup out at all times growing. Everytime I visit family or friends I bring one of my frozen bags to get them going! My ritual is to get everything out at the beginning and put it away as I use it. That way I can easily remember what I’ve added and what still needs to go in.
I have never baked with silicone pans, I have a set of aluminum ones that I got from my great grandmother when she passed away. I’ll have to look into using them.

I bake lots of cookies with my AFB starter. I use three large sheet pans lined with parchment. One pan in the oven, one pan cooling and one pan with scooped cookies waiting to go in the oven. I take cookies to work and send them to work with my daughter. Everyone loves AFB cookies! Chocolate chip and oatmeal raisin with walnuts are my two favorites.

I hadn’t made any AFB in 20 years, I’d lost the recipe and I was so overjoyed to find this website. I already have my starter going, and can’t wait to bake some bread! Thanks for making this possible!!! I’ve already shared your website with a few different friends. And I plan on passing on some starter to my “friends”.
Thanks so much🍞

A couple of tips! 1) When making mini loaves (because I don’t have a silicone pan), I run a strip of parchment paper in each of the wells. If they stick, I just pull up on the tab of the parchment paper. It’s similar to the ribbons that manufacturers used to put inside of battery cavities – for easier removal.
2) Have a husband as a “fetcher.” If you forget an ingredient, have your “fetcher” fetch it and measure it for you. 🙂

recommend a starter in the freezer for busy weeks!

I live in a VERY humid area (south Louisiana). I’ve found that leaving my starter in a zipper bag gives mixed results. I have a friend who’s a baker and suggested that I leave it the open, just covered with a towel. Wow! What a difference!

I’m getting back into this after taking a couple of years off. Made my starter, and tended it lovingly for 10 days. On baking day, I have my recipe set out, and all non perishable ingredients are set out the night before. The day of, I measure out my ingredients into plastic containers so I can dump them in the bowl and I’m ready to roll. Today, my first batch of starter was ready. I fed it, and had my ingredients ready. I put 1 cup back into the container for baking in 10 days. 1 cup went into a freezer bag and put into the freezer in case I need to bake in between. The rest (5 cups – very happy starter!) went into the small flat gladware containers that come with deli meat at the grocery. Each held a cup nicely with some headroom. I baked off two cups worth (4 doz muffins), but by then, I was in pain from a back problem. I loosely covered the remaining 3 and placed them on the counter and I’ll bake them off in the morning. My tip is to be organized – have everything out and measured before you begin!

Purchasing high-quality kitchen tools and equipment can be expensive. I always check the housewares section of thrift stores and scope out yard/garage sales. I often find items I would never buy if I had to get them new. I recently found several items for my KitchenAid mixer for less than $10 (saved about $100). The mixer was a “household/homestead gift” for Christmas/Yule a couple of years ago (we don’t buy each other gifts, we purchase something for our homestead).

I’m amazed at all the recipes and the many different versions of baked goods that can be made with one simple cup of active starter. Looking forward to experimenting to find our family’s favorite recipe.

I love your Friendship Bread Kitchen e-mails so much, always something new to try with my starter. My husband loves the moist breads and such. He has trouble eating dry foods. Thanks so much for all your work on helping us get the best out of our starters.

I got starter from an friend and have really enjoyed baking and trying new recipes. I keep some in the
freezer so I always have some starter.

I always keep some starter in the freezer and make sure it is dated so I know how long I have been growing it.
Love giving it as gifts! Some friends are scared and don’t know how to care for it so I always attach a copy of the care directions with some basic recipes along with this website!

After reading this post, I see my problem is a cold kitchen. I’m glad to know it is something like that instead of me doing something and not figuring it out! I tend to get as much of a recipe together the day before baking; it just seems to go better for me. I mix up all the dry ingredients in a lidded bowl and just leave it on the counter until the next day when I am ready to start baking. If anything requires coming to room temperature (I believe this does help in some instances), I take it out of the refrigerator that morning and by mid-day I am ready to go (that long because of the cold kitchen I assume). I have always wanted to use mini pans and I have not researched it yet, but wonder how you adjust the baking time. I love that you have so many different recipes and there are so many I have yet to try! I think my favorite of all are the scones as I am not a huge cake fan – but love breads and the original friendship bread. Good luck to everyone who wants to win the pans!

I love the AFB. I have only made it a couple times, it is very sweet, so I cut back on the topping. Love this site for any information I may be needing.

Mini loaves are easy to gift. Wrap in parchment paper, tie with twine, add a label and make someone’s day.

I am new to the AFB site and baking, I was given some starter back some 20 years ago when I lived in So. California. I love to bake, especially around the holiday time. But with being a full time teacher I find my baking time very rushed so I now start making cookie dough around the end of October then portion it out the way I would bake it (logs, thumbprint, balls etc) then freeze them on baking sheets. This way when I need to start my holiday baking just take them out of the freezer and I am good to go.

always read the recipe completely , and get all ingredients out before you start. it just makes the baking process so much easier.

I love Amish Friendship and look forward to new recipes using the sterter

This tip isn’t for Friendship Bread, but I bake cookies weekly. The tip I have is to always chill your dough. It makes the cookies bake more uniformly. They don’t spread into funny shapes. It helps combine the fats and gluten. It’s also easier to form cookies that are all the same size.

When I can get my family into the kitchen, I set up an assembly line of sorts. I set up the bowls of starter then get the first going. Then I pass it to the next person to prepare it for baking or rising while I get the next one going. These are my favorite baking days when the family joins in.

I have not been part of the Friendship Bread group for thirty years and soooo glad I have reengaged – so is my family!!!! The details you provide on how to maintain and keep the starter “happy” works! I have to laugh when I get up in the morning and the starter is overflowing the container. Still need to work on making bread but looking forward to it using your website guidelines on successful bread making.
Thank you!!!

I had missed enjoying a good slice of Amish Friendship Bread since my step mom passed away. She was the one who baked it frequently. When I found this website I was overjoyed, especially after reading many of the recipes. I have made many different flavors, including a couple I modified. I love how moist my bread has been and stayed. One tip I would share is, I line just the bottom of my mini pans with parchment paper before coating with the cinnamon sugar. Thank you so much for this website and your tips and recipes.

LOVE this site and all of the recipes you provide! It’s been YEARS since I’ve received any starter, so I decided to make my own. It has been a hit! My friends and family are SO EXCITED! I’m on my 3rd round and have made the basic Friendship Loaf (my husband’s fave) and the Blondies (delicious!)…next week I’m going to try your Triple Chocolate Coconut Loaf. Thanks for all you do!

I love this site, it gives me so many ideas and recipes that I never had. I can’t wait to try your scones. I’ve made your simple Amish Friendship cake many times and always get complements. Right now I have 2 starters in my freezer and plan on buying blueberries for my scones! Thanks you so much for this wonderful site!

I have starter in the freezer and one out on the counter. Since I have most recently started baking again around the holidays, I have plenty to share😃

Being able to freeze the starter and then feed it overnight before baking has been a game changer for me. A 10 day cycle wont work in my schedule since I only bake on weekends. Thanks for the many tips and recipes!

Don’t use ultra pasteurized milk. It’ll kill your starter, and you’ll have to start over.

Love making the small loaves, there are only two of us.

I am so glad I found this site. I had lost my starter recipe, for years, and was super bummed!
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that there are so many new variations, including low fat and low sugar (or sugar free)!!! I will never lose this sight again!!