Let's Be Amish Friends

About a month ago, my good friend Brittany gave me a starter bag of and a recipe for something called Amish Friendship Bread. The legend behind the bread is that only the Amish know what to put in the starter, and then the bags must continue rotating around like a chain letter. You break it, no more bread. However, a quick Google search reveals that you can, in fact, make yourself a starter. Hooray technology! But, boy, do they make you work for this stuff! I was skeptical when I saw that it takes 10 days of fermenting, mashing the bag and adding ingredients before you could bake the bread. But Britt assured me that it was well worth the effort so I gave it a try.

It was pretty fun to watch the bag bubble and expand as the ingredients fermented on the counter. Some days we had to let the air out multiple times - it was out of control! On the 6th day, you add some flour, sugar and milk. Then on the 10th day, it's bake time! You add more ingredients, separate out starter bags for some friends, and make 2 loaves for yourself. And it did not disappoint! It actually tastes more like a cake than a bread - and we all know how I feel about cake :) We devoured one of the loaves - breakfast, snacks and dessert - and gave the other to a friend. I would have kept one of the starter bags for ourselves, but the next day we left for our Cabo trip. I'm debating starting up a new one - so let me know if you are interested in some delicious Amish goodness!