Sourdough Amish Friendship Bread

Get your sourdough starter out for a twist on this slightly tangy, super moist, Sourdough Amish Friendship Bread. Popular during the 80s and 90s this chewy sweet bread was one of a kind treat that was made much like a sourdough starter and then shared with others.

I grew up making Amish Friendship Bread back in the 90s and it was a family favorite!

Change up the flavors – This recipe makes two loaves so you can split the batter in half and add two different kinds of pudding in the smaller size box to make them both different flavors. There are a variety of pudding flavors you could try, chocolate, vanilla, pistachio, lemon, and cheesecake to name a few. You can also add in things like chocolate chips, walnuts, pecans, or a cinnamon sugar streusel on top.

Why sourdough?– As you may know, the original recipe calls for an Amish Friendship Bread starter that is a mixture of milk, sugar, flour, and yeast. It goes through a 10-day process of fermenting on the counter much like sourdough starter does. For this recipe, we substitute the Amish Friendship starter for the sourdough starter. Because the sourdough starter is not sweet I added more sugar to make up for the sugar that would have been in the original Amish Friendship Bread recipe.

Ingredients for Sourdough Amish Friendship Bread  

• 2 c flour
• 2 c sugar
• 1 1/2 c unfed sourdough starter (Discard)
• 3/4 c vegtable oil I used classic olive oil
• 1/2 c milk
• 1 5.6 oz big box instant jello pudding chocolate, vanilla, butterscotch, pistachio, etc (or 2- 3.4 oz boxes)
• 3 eggs
• 1 tb vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 c chocolate chips (optional)
• 1 c nuts (optional)

Streusel Topping:

• 1/3 sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• Mix the sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle on top of the loaves. If you want double the recipe and sprinkle half of the mixture on the bottoms of the pans before pouring in the batter and finishing with the rest on top.

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit
• In a mixing bowl, combine the sourdough starter. (I used mine unfed, and cold, right out of the refrigerator.) oil, sugar, eggs, milk, and vanilla.
• Next in a separate mixing bowl mix the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and instant jello pudding. If you wish to split the mixture and make it into two different flavors, hold off on the instant pudding and add that at the end.
• Combine the dry ingredients with the wet ingredients. If you plan on making two flavors now is the time to split the batter and add the individual pudding mixes in, and any add-ins if you want.
• Grease two standard-sized loaf pans and pour in the batter. Add any toppings you would like on top or the streusel topping if you wish.
• Bake for 1 hour and 10-15 extra minutes if they need. A toothpick should come out clean.
• Once they are baked let them cool for 10 minutes before removing them from the pans onto a cooling rack.
• Let them cool completely before storing them in an air-tight container.

This recipe can easily be made into muffins.

This recipe will make 24 muffins, follow the recipe as you would for the bread only bake them in a muffin tin. Once you have everything mixed together, line a muffin pan with baking cups. Distribute the batter evenly into the cups, and bake them for 20-22 minutes. I like to make two different kinds of pudding flavors for the muffins. Usually, I use vanilla pudding with chocolate chips and the other half chocolate pudding with chocolate chips. Sprinkle the streusel on top of the muffins right before baking, or chocolate chips, or nuts.

Storing Sourdough Amish Friendship Bread

You can store Sourdough Amish Friendship Bread at room temperature, in the refrigerator, or in the freezer.

Allow the bread to completely cool before bagging it or placing it in an air-tight container to avoid condensation buildup that could lead to fast mold growth.

Storing it in the refrigerator would be the best way to keep it fresher if you want it to last longer then a few days.

For long-term storage keep it in a freezer bag or wrap in cling wrap and aluminum foil in the freezer for up to a month. Thaw it at room temperature before unwrapping it to avoid condensation.