Friendship Bread

Ingredients

• 1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 3 cups all-purpose flour, divided
• 3 cups white sugar, divided
• 3 cups milk

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water. Let stand 10 minutes. In a 2 quart container glass, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added. Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture. Cover loosely and let stand until bubbly. Consider this day 1 of the 10 day cycle. Leave loosely covered at room temperature.

1. On days 2 thru 4; stir starter with a spoon. Day 5; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Days 6 thru 9; stir only.
2. Day 10; stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Remove 1 cup to make your first bread, give 2 cups to friends along with this recipe, and your favorite Amish Bread recipe. Store the remaining 1 cup starter in a container in the refrigerator, or begin the 10 day process over again (beginning with step 2).

To freeze a starter for a single later use:

Place in freezer in 1-cup amounts. When ready to use, take one out and let sit for the 10 days. Do not add the extra 3 cups on the 5th or 10th day. Stir each day. On the 10th day, follow the rest of the recipe and the bread should turn out just fine, and you don't have to find 3 people to give the starter to.

• 1 cup starter
  
• 2/3 cup vegetable oil
• 3 eggs
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

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


Comments: The last time I did this, I put the stuff in freezer bags, so I could just mush them around instead of stirring with a spoon. I found a lot of variation in what you can add to the bread--nuts, chips, etc--so I think that pretty much whatever you want to do with it would be fine. In fact, THIS WEBSITE has plenty of options.