t: something that is erroneously called "Amish Friendship Bread Starter" (they have nothing to do with it--it's just a catchy name). If you've never experienced this new responsibility, it basically involves ten days of kneading and feeding. On the tenth day, you bake, and if you don't pass along at least three cups of the starter, something bad happens to you and your family--per my copy of the instructions. I haven't passed any on, and I am getting worried!The Instructions I Recieved:
Amish Friendship Bread
-Do not refrigerate.
Day 1: Do nothing
Days 2 through 5: Mash the bag.
Day 6: Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup of milk to the bag. Mash the bag.
Days 7 through 9: Mash the bag.
Day 10:
Pour entire contents of bag into a non-metal bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1 1/2 cups of flour, and 1 1/2 cups of milk. Measure out 4 separate batters of about one cup each into four gallon size Ziploc bags. If you keep one for yourself, you will be baking every ten days.
Keep a starter for yourself and give the other three to friends, along with a copy of the recipe. Only the Amish know how to create a starter so if you give them all away you will have to wait until someone gives you a starter back.
Using the remaining starter (about one cup), follow a recipe for bread.
But seriously, the instructions make the entire process out to be a lot of work. Since receiving a cupful from a coworker exactly 21 days ago, I have been coddling mine. I think my cat may be getting jealous.
With the amount of work that seemed to be involved, I did some internet research, and I subsequently found that most food blogs claim that you don't have to bake every ten and feed every six. You do, however, need to knead or stir the starter everyday. If you will be on away vacation, or otherwise not available to the needs of this concoction, you can freeze the starter. You don't even need a starter-sitter. I think that's quite a relief. Furthermore, you don't have to give all of it away, and it is probably healthy for the starter if you throw some away every so often.
And so, since the starter isn't nearly as high-maintenance as it might seem, I've decided to turn mine into a sort of science experiment. This might worry some of you. Who eats their experiments? But don't be scared, it's just active yeast. You eat it all the time!
The bread is really quite delicious, especially with a ribbon of brown sugar and cinnamon running through it. The more mature the starter is, the easier it is to take care of. Just make sure to discard any starter that looks pink or brown, or smells bad. In the near future, I intend to experiment with the starter by making muffins, coffee cake, and maybe pancakes. Apparently, the starter also works well as a replacement for sourdough. Does any one else know of other uses for the starter? I'd love to hear some more ideas.
P.S. Dear Mom, sister and aunts: let me know if you would like a cupful of starter and some instructions! There are also tips for making a starter from scratch here, or purchase one here. But really, I think that buying some starter really defeats the purpose, don't you?
I like day 1 the best.
ReplyDeleteI got some friendship bread starter from a friend about 15 years ago. I found it hard to keep up with it. I was just thinking about trying it again and then I read your post.
ReplyDeleteI have the starter on my counter. I believe it is Day 7 and I have not fed it since I baked a week ago. It is fine. I am thinking of baking a cake that calls for sourdough starter with it in a couple of days. I will let you know how that turns out.
ReplyDeleteI think you just have to be fearless when dealing with the starter and not let it control your life. However, most people recommend that you paper it for the first week or two.
When I said "paper", I actually meant "pamper"!
ReplyDelete