Amish Friendship Bread Starter Recipe & Printable (2024)

FAQs

Is amish friendship bread starter the same as sourdough starter? ›

Since it involves sugar and milk, Amish friendship starter has a sweeter taste than standard sourdough starter, and it does require commercial yeast to take off, but its principle is still the same — share what you have with others.

Timing and Temperature

This is usually the case in cold environments (AC under 70F, winter kitchens). If your starter is barely bubbling or not bubbling at all 12-24 hours after the last feeding, simply stir it again and let the jar sit for a day or two. Then feed again and see if you get bubbles.

Not only that, the starter will keep indefinitely, as in years. You put 1 cup of starter in a gallon-sized freezer Ziploc, label and date it, and stick it in the freezer. Adios! Fast forward ten years.

Alcohol, sometimes called hooch, is a sign that your starter is hungry and needs to be fed. You may see a layer of amber colored liquid either on top of the starter or somewhere in the middle. You can just stir it into the starter, use or discard a portion as usual, then feed what's left. It should be fine.

Generally, you can substitute a packet of yeast for 100g of sourdough starter. If your recipe uses less than a packet of yeast, you can use less sourdough starter, however it won't make too much difference because of the way wild yeast works.

It turns out that Sourdough Bread Starter is better for you, far healthier than the dry yeast many manufacturers and home cooks have been using to make bread. Powdered yeast is processed to rise the bread really fast. It is not meant to break down gluten or Phytic Acid the same way that natural sourdough yeast does.

The original instructions for Amish Friendship Bread states that you should not use metal bowls or utensils. The original reason was because there's a chemical reaction that occurs between the fermenting starter and metal.

stir your starter in between feedings - try stirring it twice in between feedings and really give it a chance to get oxygen into the mix. This will help to activate your starter without too much effort.

The best flour blend for creating a new sourdough starter is 50% whole-meal flour (whole wheat or whole rye) and 50% bread flour or all-purpose flour. I recommend a 50/50 mix of whole wheat flour and bread flour. Why do you need to use these two types of flour?

Don't worry — everything will be just fine. A sourdough starter is often likened to a pet, but unlike a puppy, if you forget to feed it when you're supposed to, nothing bad will happen. Because even though starters are technically alive, they're incredibly resilient.

Why does my Amish friendship bread sink in the middle? ›

Keep the oven door closed while your Amish Friendship Bread is baking. You may be tempted to peek, but sudden temperature drops can result in the bread collapsing in the middle.

If you don't get rid of the excess, eventually you'll have more starter than your feedings can sustain. After a few days, your daily 1/4 cup flour and water won't be enough to sustain your entire jar of starter, and your starter will be slow and sluggish, not much better than discard itself.

If your starter looks discolored with a pink or green tinge, has mold (a no-brainer but worth mentioning), or if the sharp acetone smell doesn't go away, discard your starter and make a new one from scratch. It's sad, but so is food poisoning. The rule in the Friendship Bread Kitchen is: when in doubt, throw it out.

While some starters might develop a thin layer of hooch (a liquid that forms on the surface), especially if they have been neglected, mould growth is a definite problem. A mouldy sourdough starter will exhibit visible signs of mould growth, which can vary in appearance depending on the type of the mould.

Yes, AFB starter is hardy, but it needs to be fed. If your starter turns pink or has pink splotches, throw it out.

Ultimately, what you call your sourdough starter, mother dough, chef, levain, etc., is up to you. Much of this is cultural, and each culture seems to have its terminology, but it's also a preference. They're all preferments, and they all help bring flavor, aroma, and keeping qualities to your bread.

Different types of sourdough starters will have different qualities and components including: Levels of hydration. Acidity levels. Sources & strains of yeast.

Rather than using a traditional sourdough starter, Greek yogurt and sour cream are mixed with bread flour, yeast, and a pinch of salt. The active cultures in the Greek yogurt and sour cream ferment the dough and give the bread traditional sourdough flavor.

A poolish is a version of sourdough starter or preferment, except that poolish is made with commercial yeast as opposed to natural or wild yeast. A poolish also requires much less time than a sourdough starter. Both poolish and sourdough starter are fed with wheat flour and fermented at room temperature.