Is “friendship bread” worth the maintenance?
Photo by basykes 
My husband came home from work on Friday with a bag of friendship bread starter and a sheet of paper with some instructions and a recipe. He was happily explaining the process to me and said that everyone was doing it where he works. I could see from the look on his face that he assumed I would be ecstatic to add another task to my list of things to do in my vast and seemingly endless spare time.
I stared at the yeasty bag of slime in horror. My husband doesn’t remember this, but many years ago, a coworker gave me some friendship starter–and it was a monster that soon took over my life. I made the first batch and packaged up some starter for my own friends. What a great idea! I made a second batch–nice! On my third batch I started becoming anxious–did I stir the bowl today? Was it day six? Did I need to add sugar, flour, and milk today? Do I have any more friends to give this mess to? I can’t just dump it down the drain–what a waste! I wonder if our mail carrier would like some?
Finally, I found myself holding my bowl of the food equivalent of Star Trek’s tribbles over the sink–hovering over the gaping hole of the garbage disposal. Should I keep it going or just end it now? I faced the bubbling batter and won. I rinsed the remains down the drain with a sigh of relief and swore to myself that never again would I be caught up in the friendship bread obsession.
I gingerly took the toxic bag from my husband’s hand and tossed it in the bin.
Have you ever been caught up in a friendship bread loop or something similar? Please provide all the gory details.
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It’s fun for the first round or two, then you have to give it away or just dump it. Remember, after the first round if you dump it it’s not like you wasted any money or anything.
funny
ummm wow this is the most stupid thing ever
Hahahahaha… I work at a grocery store, a lady comming through the line once gave me a bread starter. I started to do it, but then i got sick of the smell and threw it out.
That’s to funny because my mom came home with friendship bread starter last week and I told her do not give that crap to me! LOL I would have trashed it too….
you are a freak, lol
I don’t consider making friendship bread a trap. It soulds as if you were misinformed on the steps needed to keep the dough alive. You don’t have to add milk or sugar. There are bacteria and yeasts that are already thriving in your starter. They break down the flour into different sugars; one type the yeast can eat and the other for the lactic acid bacteria. Also, if you don’t want to keep it alive in the fridge and tied down to feeding it equal parts of water and flour, you could put it in a bag and let it freeze. Then take the frozen sheet and bust it up into little chips. These chips will keep in the fridge for months and you pull a couple out when you want to make the bread.
I usually burn it. Just throwing it away doesn’t guarantee it won’t come back.
WOW!!!
Have your husband do it, since he’s so enthusiastic about it.
WOW!!! I HAVE been caught up in this mess of a mess! I, like you, decided to take control of the situation and I dumped it into the garbage quicker than you can sing a verse of “Kumbaya”.
I have had the occasion of getting caught up in the madness, wondering did I stir, add the milk, the sugar….ENOUGH already!
So, I commend you for having the strength to JUST SAY NO!!!!!
Yes I have and experienced basically the same feelings as you. I think it’s worth it around the holidays and if you are able after one or two batches to say that’s enough. You don’t want to let it take over your life as it well can. We have only so many friends and we don’t want to run them off. If kept up it may cause friendships to dissolve
I never got caught up in this because I don’t like the taste of it!
I am 18 and i just started i really like them but they are really expensive and i dont really have all the time i mean i gave a full time counseling job( i dont get paid) i am a full time student in college, i am also a senior in High School! i dont have time to bake lol..
Yes I have. I don’t still have any but to be honest I wish I did. it is quite a good treat.
Kinda fun, a lot of work but worth it to me.
That was HILARIOUS!
I’ve never heard of this custom at all. Totally new to me. I *am familiar with the history of “sourdough” bread though. I am actually a descendant (not that many times removed) of upper-Midwest Great Plains homesteaders that pioneered the western Dakotas in the late 1880s – early 1900s. They always kept a ball of sourdough in a small crock with a piece of cheesecloth covering it. It helped them to survive the sometimes harsh and sparse conditions on the Dakota prairies in their sod homes. I’m assuming that this “friendship bread” (how did it get that name anyway) is adapted from that somehow.
It’s amazing how modern day corporate America will glom onto just about anything, no matter how tenous or ridiculous the supposed connection, to try and foster some sort of supposed “comeraderie” among workers. What they need to do is directly confront problems in the workplace such as workplace gossip & backstabbing, workplace bullying by supervisors, favoritism not based on objective performance etc. instead of this “feel-good” gimmick stuff. I’m really glad that I work for a non-profit medical organization now – I don’t miss the rat race one bit, or it’s gimmicks to try to pacify workers.
woww, lol !
never heard of that before .. are they yummy ? lol & why are they so ADDICTING ?!
My roomate found the recipe to make friendship bread starter. It takes a few extra days starting a starter yourself but when we get in the mood for Amish friendship bread we just make a starter. Then we’re not tied down to keep it going forever. The breads very worth it doing it that way. If I had to keep it going inevitably no it wouldn’t be. But once in awhile yes!
It freezes well btw so we triple the starter and make a bunch of loafs then freeze them.Then get rid of the starter .
My co-worker brought some of this in on a monday and was so estatic about me trying this out. He even brought in some finished to taste……no bad….I took it home, left it on the counter, where for 3 days I took the time to squeeze the bag…..then it got pushed to the other side of the counter and hidden from view, where I forgot about it for 2 weeks, until I found the time to clean up the kitchen…..what a mess….needless to say it went into the trash and any future ones will also.
I have a sourdough starter, I don’t know if that’s similar, but it doesn’t require too much attention. Once a week I take half the starter, make a loaf of sourdough, “feed” the remaining starter with a half cup of flour and a quarter cup of water, stir it, let it sit at room temperature for an hour, then place it back in the frige until the next week.
I remember that bread. it was so tasty! I really don’t remember it being that much of a problem though. when we got tired of it we just threw it away or made all of the bread. simple as that.
I have tried it and sorry to say, I do think it is worth the time. It is absolutely the best !!!!!!!!! It really isn’t as much trouble as it seems. When you have had enough, yes, rinse it down the sink, but not before you have made 2 or 3 batches.
My mom received this recipe and bread, I don’t remember what it was called, but it has a Spanish name because its supposed to be a Mexican thing that if you do, it will bring good luck to your family. My mom made it and she had no problem doing it because it didn’t take no more than 5 minutes a day adding the ingredients or stirring it. I don’t know if it actually brought us good luck, but if you believe in it, then it doesn’t hurt to try!
Never heard of friendship bread but 20 yrs. ago, it was the friendship cake. It took forever to finish adding, stirring, remembering, what to do next but in the end, it was all worth it because you passed a starter off to someone else. I’d say “go for it”! In another 3 months, you will have forgotten all about it.
I think it is worth it. After the first batch I gave away all but one starter. The second time I just baked it all and gave away the breads. I made muffins with some of it and took them to work. I did get caught in the endless cycle once. My coworkers and friends starting watching for me so they could hide in fear that they might hear those dreaded words…”Anyone want a friendship bread starter?” Sometimes you just have to break the cycle or friendship bread will leave you friendless.
I have never before this article heard of such a thing as “friendship bread”. Honestly, it’s nice that you would put all the effort into making this bread but it seems like alot of work for bread. Why not write them a card saying how good of a friend they are. It takes like 3 minutes rather than 3 days. No go on the friendship bread for me :p
friendship bread is amazing, if you follow the directions correctly it should turn out correct (:
we had a whole line going through my family over the summer!
My mom makes friendship bread and my family absolutely LOVES it! It really doesn’t take That much time..it sits there for 10 days then you add more ingredients then cook. The taste of the bread is totally worth the work!!
YES
I have heard that you can freeze the mix instead of continously feeding and baking
what the heck is friendship bread, this article makes no sense
Never heard of it. Thank God!
yes have been caught up in the absolutely chaotic mess of friendship bread and felt incredibly guilty for about 30 seconds and dumped it! As I did I felt incredibly relieved until someone told me that the actual starter for those takes a very long time,(if done correctly), to ferment and mix or whatever they do with it. So now I simply say no thankyou. I feel I’m doing the right thing for myself by not accepting the chore of keeping the starter going and going and going…..
Friendship bread is THE BEST! I grew up on it, although we never shared it like you’re supposed to. But there was never a time it wasn’t in our house. It’s called Amish Friendship bread here in Missouri. It’s so good that after my mom died I tracked down the aunt that gave my mom the recipe so I could get it from her. I don’t think my mom waited through all the steps though & I know she didn’t give out starters to others. I don’t remember. I’d be curious to see your recipe & see if it’s the same.
Argh! It’s a demonic mind trick! Dump it. My mother got a ‘mushroom’ years ago, that you were meant to ‘grow’ in a glass dish, drink the juice from it, and when the ‘mushroom’ divided, share it with your friends. Supposed to be this big health thing. It was FUNGUS. It was the scum that formed on top of the vinegar crud, after it spoiled. I don’t know how it didn’t kill people. It, too, required a lot of babysitting, attention, and special treatment. So not worth it.
It is definatly worth while. Even though it is a pain to make sure to do it every day and it can be confusing, the friendship bread I made always turned out great. Try to either do it right before bed, or first thing in the morning. That way you will remember, and not be concerned with other things. And if you can’t find more people to hand it out to, just eat it all, or give some people two. (just make sure to casually bring it up, and ask if they liked it!) I hope I helped a little! Bye.
haha!
thats funny that this topic comes up, my mom just decided that she’d had enough of it.
We enjoy it in the beginning, so did our friends that we gave it away to. We made a bunch of batches and put them in the freezer, after a while though enough is enough.
It’s not really that hard, and yes for some people it is well worth it. Just about any really good bread is a lot of work to make at home, but NOTHING beats the taste of really good made-from-scratch homemade bread. My family has a “friendship” bread starter that my great-grandmother started way back when she first got married, it’s got to be about 80 years old by now. That kind of bread is not just yummy, it’s also a treasured family heirloom.
Just laughable sentamentalism. If I wanted to be friends with someone I’d want far more then some weird bread dough.
I will die if someone ever gives me that…. Or rather it will die when I burn it so it never comes back.
Is anyone else grossed out by the look of that dough?
Oh yes it is. it’s delicios. it was gone in 2 days.
When you get tired of it, just use the last bit of it and don’t continue it. It’s fun for awhile and no harm using the last bit of it instead of feeding it or trashing it
to funny! my mother in law got like 4 bags in one day from her job and we have been making it scence then! aahh its terrible that was like 7 months ago. good news is if anything bad ever happens we have a freezer full of amish friendship bread!!!!
Amish Friendship Bread is a superb friend-maker and fattener. The preparation can be expensive and time consuming, but the end result is one that friends and neighbors can never turn down. If done during holidays, the Friendship Bread could keep the baker of the house busy enough, but having time for other pursuits.
Slathering butter on the freshly baked slice and then enjoying the fruit of the laborr is nothing but heavenly.
Mitzi, you are so funny!
lol. it sounds disgusting.
I have thrown out soooo many of those things. I have only actually made the bread twice, and it WAS really good, but too much of a commitment for me. I guess I am lazy, lol. I always laugh how the directions state that it’s an Amish recipe and the recipe to making an original start is a long lost secret. Yeah, right. Look it up on Google.
SERIOUSLY?? Havent any of you people tried frozen bread dough??? It’s already to go, just defrost it in the fridge and put it on a heating pad for 4 hours, bake and enjoy!! I’ve done that yeasty, nasty friendship bread…it never made it past my kitchen to the kitchens of loved ones, nor “hated” ones…lol..
Anyone from Alaska recognizes that as “sourdough starter”
Funny how the name gets changed.
How Funny!!! I just passed on two of the starters to some people at work this morning. I actually had fun making the stuff. Now, this was given to me a few weeks ago, and I have not endure several generations of the stuff, but now I am afraid– very afraid! What have I passed on??? Forgive me friends!!!
This was the rave back in the 90′s. Everybody seemed to have been doing this and if you weren’t doing it well, you just wasn’t hip. Someone gave me a friendship bread starter back in January and I just smiled and threw it away. I wasn’t about to get caught in that sort of thing especially when you can go online and get the recipie and just do enough for you and your family and it taste as equally awesome as something being passed around and around and around….did I make you dizzy yet? LOL
its a pain in the butt! soooo true!
but it tastes so amazingg.
so in my opinion it is worth it if you haven’t had it in a while or just want to try it for the first timee
Wouldn’t it be nice to BAKE the bread and give it away to friends rather than causing them to do all that work. Now THAT’S Friendship Bread.
I did one round of it so far and had so much batter that I ran out of flour, milk and sugar and HAD to keep the remainder as starters. I am now staring at 4 bags as starters and feeling overwhelmed. It seems like more of a pain in the rear than anything else. I am considering throwing them out. I just can’t eat/give away 4 dozen muffins every 10 days. It feels like chain emails, intriguing until you realize how annoying they really are.
My friend gave me a started bag and I put in the fridge and it looked really bad afterwards. I’m not sure what I’m supposed to do with it now. =\
It’s delicious!
My neighbor gave some to me in the fall, after 2 mth I finally threw it out. You will go through a lot of milk, oil, flour and sugar. There are great recipes on armchair.com and web searched. My neighbor is still doing hers after months and months. I watch it for her when she goes out of town. I can now say that I HATE the stuff even the bread when its cooked and given to me. Good Luck until you hate it, then pass it on to an enemy.
Amish friendship bread is the best bread i have ever eaten! If it were not worth the mantenance, i would make it every day! It has a rich, but not too rich, sweet maple-ish flavor. Definetly try it!
Happily, no one has ever invited me to join in this sort of friendship chain. It sounds like just sourdough! I used to make it, but didn’t like the flavor too much, nor did my husband, so I stopped.
Tellingitlikeitis and some others here are spot on! If anyone wants to make friends or give something to a friend, let them cook anything they want to. Don’t give your poor friends something that they have to tend and take care of and may not even like, while at the same time putting pressure on them to pass the “favor” on to a bunch of other people, who are urged to pass it on, ad infinitum! Way to LOSE friends, if you ask me!
This reminds me of chain letters and chain emails. How I hate both! I never pass things on.
My mom got caught up in that about a year ago and was instantly fed up with it. Personally, I would do it, but give away all of the bags you’re supposed to give away instead of keeping one for yourself, which just keeps the cycle going.
Yes, I was but I couldn’t truthfully tell you anything about it because it was over 20 years ago. However, I didn’t think it was all that great. I made yeast bread, 3 loaves a week of egg bread, and I liked that. That much is truly, Susan D. Snavely.
I had some and went on a 6 day cruise and the person that was taking care of our animals was suppost 2 make it but did not so I never got 2 finish it but i wish some 1 would give me some more.
We have a sourdough bread starter at home that requires addition of ingredients every ~10 days. We’ve left it longer than than that on many occasions. It doesn’t require making the bread, just feeding it every once and a while.
And the bread it makes is a huge hit everywhere we take it, so definitely worth it!
All the above comments are funny. But I have enough trouble feeding my cats, so why would I want to make bread that I had to feed? Fortunately, my kitchen is tiny and I don’t have space to keep bread as a pet.
Haha. I remember my mom was doing this last Spring. She couldn’t get out of it. Then she gave some to her sister, and she’s still doing it. It’s almost spring now! I didn’t know it was so well known lol
With friends who give you garbage like this, who needs enemies?
And no, it is not “amaaaaaazing” or “a huge hit”; it’s an insult and a potential health hazard.
If you are one of those people who feel very guilty about throwing out the gobs of starter that is building up in your house, then why not have a festival of baking the starter into bread or muffins, then run the whole lot down to your closest food pantry or homeless shelter. They will gladly take all those baked goods off your hands, and you can be done with the whole thing. If someone asks you what you did with the starter you were given, you can just tell them it got out of control so you baked it all up and donated it to a shelter…what are they going to to, criticize you for that?
I just save one starter for myself and triple the recipe and bake extra loaves. They’re easier to give away than the starter and they freeze well.
Wouldn’t this bread-stuff be similar to chain letters? even internet ones that say if you believe or know 10 people mail this out; if not you will receive a certain amount of bad luck for a certain # of years.
I personally think its worth it. My grandma just cuts the batch in half and only makes it for us. And it tastes sooo yummy!
oh my goodness that is so funny! for my sisters birthday she was given a bag of amish friendship bread and i had never heard of it. it tastes delicious and its not like you have to baby sit it.
Friends don’t give friends pets. Pets are anything you have to feed.
hahaha I am making some bread right now! I use banana pudding, two very ripe bananas, and walnuts. I have been told many times it is the Best banana nut bread ever! When I am done baking, i just put a bag of starter in the freezer, and dont need to worry about for months!
That stuff is like the extended auto warranty telemarketers………haunts you forever!!!
Is ANSWERS worth the Maintenance???
You guys have time enough to come up with “useful” information like this, but can’t fix the whole heap of problems caused by (and on) the site itself!!!
Friendship bread is the bomb! My mom is always making it, sometimes its a little weird but it’s nice and she’s always taking like 5 loafs in every so many weeks! Haha, the stuff is great but just make a bag, it’s your choice. Though I realize how addicting it is!
I love friendship bread and cake! I keep my starter in the fridge and every few weeks I take it out, pour out half, add in a little more water and flour and put it back in the fridge. Take it out whenever I want to use it.
I have had the sourdough monster take over before, however keeping it in the fridge works well.
Ah the dreaded Friendship Bread starter. My sister battled this monster for almost two months. Seeing all the money she put into it, and all the time, I say they ought to call it an Enemy Bread starter, ’cause I wouldn’t wish this on my worst enemy, if I had one.
yes, it tastes very good, but it’s just not worth the time and trouble!
OMG! It is the most evil of breads. I had thought it fun at first the bread taste good when cooked but it never stops! I had came home after a weekend away (helping a friend) to discover it had taken over my counter top. *tear* it was horrible!
I shall never take friendship bread again, because no true friend you inflict such a horror! lol.
I’m with AllenL on this one…too funny!
my step mom made some friendship bread for me and my family and it is definately gotta be the most delicious thing ive ever tasted. but she started to get the anxiety that you talked about with the schedule thing. and she decided to only make it on christmas to solve the problem
but now i cant wait til christmas to have some friendship bread and a glass of eggnog.. mmm delicious 
I’ve always thought it was really gross…I mean, who wants to actually eat something that may have been kept at room temerature for literally YEARS and in so many homes ?
Ewwwww….
Gross. It’s like a freaking chain letter that festers on your counter. That’s disgusting. It’s comparable to a computer virus. Gross! Gross! Gross!
Listen, I really suggest you try it. The finished cake is absolutely delicious…moist and delectable! Sure it takes some time but the process is fun to watch really. For crying out loud, live a little!
in response to the comment I just posted, I did a friendship CAKE. I’m not sure if the recipe is the same or not but I’m assuming the idea is the same. Adding certain ingredients to a potent starter over time. The CAKE recipe is absolutely deeeeeliciouso!
I agree with all of the above,, it does haunts you,, I like to get a start around xmas, and then I do 3 batches and make huckleberry breads to give away for gifts,, then I dump it untill the next year,,
poor bread, people seem to hate it that much…
Ha- I ended up with more starters than people to give it to. I put it in the freezer and one day I tossed all of it. My family began to hate the taste of the bread and well- yep I’d do the same as you.
i never did that but i can see how people would get all worked up over it thinking it -has- to be done a certain way. but it doesn’t have to be done a certain way, its alive and flexible that way. and its okay to not grow it any more if you don’t want to. you can obviously always find more if you wanted to! and you could freeze bits of it for decades and it would still be okay to use as a starter again. think of it as a temporary pet that you keep until it has babies and then you give them to other people to pass on when they have babies. nothing serious. just relax!
I tried the bread one time and found out I had no friends when it came to someone taking starters. lol But I remember as a kid my mom had “brandied fruit” She fed it, it fermented, it stunk and all of the adults told how much they loved it. Something that stunk that bad as you walked into the kitchen, I wanted no part of. Broke me from feeding what is supposed to be food!
I would like to have the recipe for the friendship bread., I used to belong to a Home Demonstration Club years ago and I lost the recipe. Can someone send it to me. Thanks.
tashabenjibaby
That’s like those Christmas treats that ya leave on the doorsteps of other families in your neighborhood, right?
You can frezze it for about 2 months until you want to bake again. If you do frezze it mark what day you put it in the frezzer on the bag. I’m 13 and I love making friendship bread.
I understand your panic. I, too, hate being given anything that creates an obligation in me to do something. However, it sounds like this is important to your husband, especially in terms of being seen as a full participant in his workplace. I’d make a batch, let him handle distribution, and then throw the stuff out. That way you have let him demonstrate that he is one of the gang (and that you are supportive of his worklife), and I can guarantee that the office will lose interest in friendship bread after they have passed it around a few times.
Its not only unworthy of keeping such rotten thing in the name of Friendship but also I am sorry that I have wasted my precious time in reading the Answers out of curiosity. Nobody blamed but myself
I think I would just make beer if your going to ferment something. it takes time too but beer is easier to give away and will help make new friends LOL!!!!!
Never heard of it.
Yes it is the best bread ever!! I suggest keeping the dough to yourself its to good to share even with friends.
If you keep it in a large ziplock bag instead of in a bowl it’s easier to stir (you just squish the bag) and you don’t have to smell it.
I have a firm rule that one round is enough. I make one batch of bread and give the rest of the starter away.
ha ha, my husband just brang up the beloved ‘friendship’ bread the other day….seems his ex made some and it was the most tasty thing ever….
funny! since i was only given friendship bread once and it went in the garbage….after one look at it.
i thought he was remembering something wrong. nope, his ex made it and it was sooo yummy.
just another reason i will never make that. besides its too much work, its rude to give your friends chores – it would be better call it ‘passive aggressive’ bread….and its looks nasty.
like so many of you said, friendship bread is very tasty. when i inevitably end up bringing home a bag of starter, i usually keep it going through a few batches, but quickly get sick of finding ‘friends’ to stick with starter… or worse, end up with eight loaves of the finished product in the freezer (though it does thaw out beautifully). usually when i reach this point, i finish the starter by measuring it out and baking it all, so that way none ends up in the garbage. i hate to imagine the giant yeasty friendship bread starter glob monsters growing in our landfills. lol.
I like this picture of our current culture….husband comes home for work with dreams of home-made bread…wife says, too much work! not enough time! it will control me!! So let the hubby do it for awhile, but do not give him access to your friends. And,come to think of it, in this climate, do you really think he should take chances in the workplace???
It is awsome its worth it TRUST me
“Friendship Bread Starter” sounds like a yeast infested chain letter to me!
Just buy a bread machine and make your own from scratch.
I have some Amish Friendship Bread at my desk right now! My mother-in-law gave me a started bag a couple weeks ago and I’ve had a lot of fun with it! The bread is soooo good and I’ve been able to share with a few anxious friends who’ve also enjoyed it. There’s really not much to it, you just mush the bag most days… it was funny though how I got home around 10pm on day 10 and realized I didn’t have eggs to make the bread with! Because the bag had expanded so much due to fermentation, the zip lock had opened, luckily not spewing anything out. I ran to Wal-Mart and grabbed my eggs. The bread was delicious then and still is three days later!
I’ve done it before quite recently (January in fact), and whenever I graciously give it to my friends, expecting to be thanked profusely, they go, “Ummmmmm…. thanks.” Finally, my solution for getting rid of the ever growing batter, was to leave for Florida the day I gave it out. Eureka!
Ha ha! We had this stuff (“Amish friendship bread”) going around our clinic for a while. Luckily it was the ER staff, not the day staff that I was a part of, so I never had to deal with it directly. I did get to try some and it was pretty good. However, I noticed that after a week or so, everybody started adding stuff to the bread (like chocolate chips) or baking it different ways, (like as muffins), so I know they were getting sick of it.
It’s a cute idea, once. After that, forget it.
well, bread is bad for the figure anyway, so that’s that.
Instead of “Amish Friendship bread” I always refer to it as “Amish curse bread,” for just the reasons cited! Sorry, no gory details as I now decline all friendship bread offers.
I did this about a year ago and it wasn’t too bad. I found that it didn’t matter if you baked it a few days late because it is just sitting there anyways. In the end, the bread didn’t taste very good because it was super sweet. It was fun while it lasted I guess. I might do it again some day.
Good old sour dough! You can put in any bake good that requires yeast. It makes pretty good booze with the right makings. Put it in a dehydrator and make a powder of it. You’ll never have to buy yeast again. You don’t have to spread it around.
I LOVE it!!! For those of you who haven’t tried it and would like to, here are the links that I use for the recipes:
http://www.motherearthnews.com/Real-Food/Artisan-Bread-In-Five-Minutes-A-Day.aspx
http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/Recipes-Patterns-Instructions/no-knead_bread.asp
Friendship bread is awesome! My grandmother made some, then shared the starter with me. Yes, it does take some time to make it, but it is delicious!
Make him take care of it if he thinks it is so cool!
Sounds…good..
haha, well I have never heard of it before this.
wow, this stuff must be going around, I just got some too. really hard to keep up, and personally I don’t like the bread (so I gave it away)
I like it, but it can be messy. I kept it in a ziploc bag. After awhile you have to be careful because as the gas builds up the bag can pop open. I came home one day to an exploded bag and goo all over the place lol
LOL. Sounds like an old-fashioned sourdough bread started. This “friendship” thing is a new one on me. Seems like the yeasty equivalent of a chain e-mail, and about as welcome.
Oops, I meant “starter,” not “started.”
I was once given a friendship bread starter and the woman who gave it to me when on and on about how delicious the bread was going to be. So exicitedly i started it, then gave away the starters to my friends with strict instructions not to give any of it back to me. The look and smell of it there on my counter seriously grossed me out and when i baked the bread it still had the same fermented smell and i could not bring myself to even try it. if i ever get one again, in the trash it is going.
I’ve got a recipe for friendship cake that you’d probably enjoy. The best part is that it turns into “brandy” soaked fruit and is intoxicating.
Whether you make the cake or not, you can enjoy the liquor… haha
As much as I love friendship bread, there is only so much a girl can take. My elderly neighbors are always giving me starters, I take with with a smile and a thank you. I do not always make them, sometimes I just pass them on to my parents or someone else that I know.
I turn offers of the bread down, and when I’ve had it forced upon me I’ve gone home and trashed it. In my opinion, it goes through way too many hands. I just think of the germs that are in there. I don’t know who washes their hands, or who has a pet or messy kid around while they’re doing their part in keeping the bread chain going, or who sneezed. I don’t even try it if someone brings it into work already baked. I guess I’m just a snob.
I’ve never done this, but it sounds nasty! I would definitely not keep it going.
USEFUL TIP:
I found myself running out of people to give the starter to, so I figured out how to use it without tossing it.
2cups (2 bags) of starter = 2 loaves of bread. Just take the starter and start with the main recipe for baking. You can also 1/2 the recipe for one loaf.
When I made a batch and dished out the bags, I measured what was left for starting the recipe. I always freeze the bags of starter. So now, when I want to make more bread without making more starter, I just thaw 2 bags (1 cup each of starter) and bake from there with no leftovers.
I’ve done it a few times. I love the bread and love making variations of it. It always goes over great when I take it in to the break room at work. But – it does get to be a never ending loop. I have 3 bags of starter in my freezer right now. I’m not even sure if it will work after being frozen. Or when I’ll ever try it. I just hated the thought of wasting it. Somehow I feel less guilty if I freeze it and say I’ll use it “someday”. Then if it doesn’t work, it’s not like I killed it on purpose. Besides, I’m fairly certain I’ll be able to find another starter somewhere if these don’t work.
I’ve done friendship bread before and only did a few batches. You just need to share it with friends then stop; maybe keep some for yourself for later. Personally, I wouldn’t have thrown it away, but asked my husband to do it himself since is was from His friends.
I actually like it and you can add walnuts and craisins. If you dont wanna do the maintnence just seperate it into like 4 or whatever and then the part u keep skip down to the directions on how to make it and just make it up that day
Ive done it and its great and no 10 days or however many of work.
I have and love to do this bread at the holidays. I start at the end of Oct. and don’t stop making it until the week before christmas. It does make a lot of bread in which I send off to people. They all love it but never want to take on the task of making it. It does become a monster of such mass, but it is easy to freeze and you can make so many different kinds. I also learned this last holiday that the starter can be frozen. If this helps any of you out on the seemingly endless loop one can get mixed up in with this creature called friendship bread.
If you like the taste of that first batch or two but you feel like the yeast culture is taking over your life, I’ll let you in on a little secret:
You can make the exact same recipe whenever you wish (and, just as importantly, not when you don’t wish) using a culture you start yourself with a cup each of milk and flour and one packet of dry yeast. Mix them up in a ziplock bag, let them sit at room temperature for 48 hours with occasional squeezing and releasing of excess gas, and you can then use the culture to make your Friendship Bread, minus the “friendship” part of inflicting the Thing that Wouldn’t Die on all your soon-to-be-former friends.
Makes a decent sourdough bread, too.
I sometimes get the starter too but when I run out of friends to pass it too because of various reasons, I simply bake off the bread and freeze it. Later it can be thawed out to take to different get togethers or given to someone to welcome them to the neighborhood etc. I have never had much so to be wasteful seems sad to me.
It is sooooooo worth it !!! The bread is delicious and like others have said you pass along the extra and keep just what you need.
Also fun for moms and daughters to do together.
It really is. U have to give a couple of loaves away but you can keep the rest for yourself. I already made all of mine and I wish I had more! It is soooo good!
I love friendship bread!! It is really tasty but the starter only keeps for so long. Honestly, I would rather just have a loaf of the bread from a friend rather than the starter and all it entails.
I found that if you have three starter bags, then you can combine them and add the ingredients you would add to make bread and bake it all up. It will be gone forever! (Well, at least until your husband brings more home:)
Oh, yes! I have been caught up in it a couple times. We did like the taste after we eliminated all that unnecessary sugar. Boy, talk about sugar binging! I did it to please friends who were so excited about the project. I laughted when I read your “history” with the stuff. I felt exactly the same way. It became a growing menace on the kitchen counter; something I dreaded having to face. I finally ditched the stuff and went back to making good ole oatmeal bread when I felt like it without having to be a slave to the process.
yes, I remember when this happened to me! The bread was surprisingly delicious considering that it looked really gross before it was baked and it was basicly spoiled milk in bag…made me gag. It was such a pain. I threw out the rest after I baked the first batch. I hope I never get handed another bag! I would rather someone bake it for me and bring it over! That would be more friendly, I think!
I love friendship bread.
Making it…. not so much.
i love friendship bread i make it all the time differnent ways… its really good made with chocolate pudding instead of vanilla and you can add bannana or choc chips. also you can make your starts and freeze them in stead of giving them away so you can defrost one wheneve you have time to make it.!!!
I was almost talked into starting this but realized that I can’t remember to take so much as a vitamin everyday let alone something annoying like that. Couldn’t be bothered plus I think it tastes awful probably because of how it’s made.
haha, that suckkkkkks
I guess if you do not have any pets, bread starter could make a fine substitute. But it sounds like I’d rather have a pet rock!
I have heard of it, but no never got caught up in it, thank God! Lol. I have however gotten almost caught up in one of those underwear/kitchen towel/socks type deals. I think it goes something like this… You get a letter in the mail from a friend that says please buy me a pair of socks (or what have you) then send em back to the person and send out ten more letters to friends of yours, asking them to do the same. You end up getting all kinds of goofy or cute looking socks in the mail from each of your friends, and they all pass it on too so that they recieve a bunch as well. Fun but kinda silly!
YES IT IS WORTH IT. Don’t worry about being totally exact on the stirring and which number day it is. This stuff is quite forgiving. I look at the instrustions as suggestions rather than requirements. Add near the right day, stir as often as you remember, if you go 15 days instead of 10, it is still fine. Or, you can slow it down in the fridge. Do a google search for Amish friendship bread recipe and you will find at least 100 different flavors and recipes. Don’t use a metal bowl or spoon. If you run out of people to give it to, you can feed it smaller amounts and even pour a little down the drain every now and then. I like to bake it and give away the cake (“bread”). When they ask for the recipe – give them a bag of starter!
Loved reading this-very humorous. You are a good writer.
Too bad! It’s wonderful once you get past the daily stuff. It’s really good bread. I’ve done it a couple times. It’s highly worth it. Although I see most people don’t agree. Fine, give it to me. I don’t necessarily share it, but I’ll gladly make it for myself.
My mother-in-law tried to get me to join her “friendship bread wagon”. I refused. I hate crap like this..like those stupid emails people send to each other. “Send this to 10 of your friends or you will DIE!”. DUMB, DUMB, DUMB!
Oh, my gosh. My mom got stuck on frieendship bread and made it for three months straight.
Yeah, sure it’s not fun to make, it doesn’t look pretty, and it kinda stinks, but it is delicious. It practically melts in your mouth. There are many different variations to the recipie (example- chocolate friendship bread, pumpkin friendship bread), and they are really good too. Next time you come across a starter definetly make it, you won’t regret it!!!
My Mom used to bake a variety of bread all the time. I miss those days
Maybe if I sweet talk my girlfriend she can carry on the tradition…
I’ve been keeping up the friendship bread for nearly a year now. If you want to keep the starter going without having to worry about having enough friends to take the extras, just use 1/2 cup each of the sugar, flour, and milk on day 10, then keep a cup of starter for yourself. Friendship bread starter is very forgiving if you miss a day or 2, so don’t obsess the number of days. If you’re close to the actual day, it’ll do fine. Also, if you want a breather from making the bread, but don’t want to throw the starter away, just mark the bag according to the number of days age, and place it in the freezer. When you’re ready to make more bread, just take the starter out of the freezer. After a couple of hours, you’re right back on schedule where you left off!
it really is worth it. its delish!!
My son made friendship bread and it was SO delicious…. I say friendship bread is definitely worth the maintenance.
My mom makes it and she LOVES it. It’s kinda like therepy. And it’s so awesome when it turns out and if you share it with your friends its amazing to see their face!
Good luck!
xoxo
A
This bread is amazing. And although you have to mushy it for so many days and add a bunch of ingrediants its AMAZING! The best desert bread you will ever have!!!
I had a guy give me a starter a few years ago. I made it once and then got to thinking about what a pain in the butt it was going to turn into. I got rid of it. Really wasn’t worth the trouble.
Lol. My mom got a bag awhile ago and lost her mind. Now she calls it “Animosity Bread.”
No lie, my mum made some once and it is the most delicious thing I have ever tasted. It may look nasty but once you are done its amazing.
Sounds like a labor-intensive version of a chain letter.
Probably invented by a wife/hubby who was tired of the hubby/wife’s co-workers and work-related stories at home.
I don’t know why the fuck everyone is so against the stuff. I’ve been doing the bread off and on for years and it is really simple. You keep it in a bag NOT a bowl ( do you have any idea what kind of things could get in there, hair, dirt, dust, bugs, ect.) and on the counter (not the fridge-robert-it is not supposed to get that cold) you kinda mash the bag once or twice a day for 10 sec. is all it takes, then at 5 days ( and you could write it on the calendar if you are totally inept at remembering what 5 days ago was) you add 1 c. each of sugar, flour, and milk. then mash for 5 more days then add 1 c. of each again (which by the way take less than 5 min.), and divide between 5 BAGS and keep 1 starter and freeze the rest. Very simple and easy, and then you have an easy bread dough for whenever you want some thing for snacks, or even a potluck. So for everyone who has never heard of or tried it, you should not listen to most of these people, because they obviously are so lame they cant figure something so simple out. And you should try it, it is kinda fun, and the kids love to mash the bag and make the bread. If you don’t know of anyone who has a starter, you can find recipes on the internet that aren’t too hard.
Well, it tastes delicious. And it freezes great. I think it is great, because, well it is DELICIOUS! I have never have had the same problem. I am sorry to hear about your troubles!
You could try making copies of the instruction sheet and then cross out each day as you do it, and then put it under the bag of bread mix to show you already checked it off, and then 1 thing the next morning you take it out, do what needs to be done, and put it back under.
my mom made it for a while but it got to be a real pain and we got sick of it. She would experiment with different types of puddings and fruits (bananas/apples) in it. That kept it different and interesting for a while. Good for a few rounds but then dump it or give it away. IMO
Both my mother and I have been stuck trying to find just one person we could pass this baton to. We felt tremendous guilt at tossing out “FOOD”, starving people in Africa and all. Our friends would have nothing of the passing of the starter any further, and thus we also had to make “the decision” and down it went!
I won’t be accepting any further invitations myself.
I have found a shortcut that I use for my Friendship bread. I prepare 1/3 C milk, flour, and sugar that I use as my starter batter. Then I just put in the regular ingredients. No extra to try and get rid of, no waiting, no waste. One day recipe. Hint mix the flour and sugar together first, then slowly add milk while stirring. No lumps that way.
Tried it once….
i never knew someone could get so obsessed. thanks for the warning!
That’s a pretty mean thing to do. It seems as if you’re attempting to sound “fiesty” by saying you “gingerly” threw the “toxic bag” in the trash. But really, you just sound nasty. It’s not funny to throw away something that your husband is excited about and write an “amusing” anecdote about it. This post is really lame.
Desi – you’re my hero!
I have never heard of this and I guess I’m glad I missed it.
If they were really friends that gave it to you they would have given you already baked just for you to enjoy! LOL I did it once, didn’t want to do it again, so I handed all the bags out. Atleast I can say that I didn’t break the cycle.
I’m on day 8! But I plan on just baking them all and being done with it. What a load, I agree with you. Life is too short to mush the bag mush the bag mush the bag…
LOL! I am SO glad that others are “fed up” with the Friendship Bread! A friend of ours gave us 2 loaves of the bread for Thanksgiving and they were so good. After we told her this, she gave us a starter. Umm…boy….not a good experience. I fixed it twice and it never, ever came out as good as the loaves we had been given. I have no idea what happened, bc I followed the recipe to the letter. I have 2 starters left in the freezer and I think they’ll soon meet the trash. I like baking, but for some reason, I just cannot get this bread to turn out good!
It was a mess and I was disappointed in the taste. The next batch of batter went down the drain.
This is so neat cause my mom just tried to give it to me this week, instead I have a teenage son who loves the Top Chef stuff, and I told my mother I thought it would be a neat project for them. He took it and did the daily tasks, and then on the adding and baking day…he went to my mother’s and they completed it together!!! He had the 3 other starters and decided to keep 2 and give the others to the older ladies in our neighborhood…that liked to bake. I just keep the few ingredients he needs, and he takes care of the rest. His turned out great!!! He added Chocolate chips, and Cinnamon…..with our family of 4..mostly men…lol, it goes quick! You can always give it as a gift, or find a child who would like to help or can just do it themselves!
Ahahah! That sounds like a metaphor for Yahoo! Answers! Yes, I would say I have been caught up in an Answers friendship bread loop. But you can’t give points here, right … so why am I answering? O.o
Yes, it is an Amish tradition. Honestly it is the best thing you will ever eat. I have never heard of anyone who didn’t love it.
sounds like the equvilant of a chain letter.
I toss all snailmail chain letters, and delete all email chain letters, so I’d probly ditch the bread/dough within .0000000000000000000000000002 seconds of seeing it.
do u no mrs.garman???
Yeah, it is a lot of work and it is annoying, but goodness that stuff is delicious!
I will do it once & even give away starter …. once. After that , The one I work for myself gets divided but instead of giving it away, I bake it all up. Some I may put raisins & cinnamin in, nuts & choc. chips in another batch, candied fruit in yet another & so on. Then I give the loaves away. If we get tired of it or don’t have time to work it all, I put it in the freezer untill I’m ready for it again. We really like it. It’s great when you go to pot lucks or need a hostess tgift etc.
Please dont send me fruit cake this year
Its just another nightmare
Try making the starter for the friendship cake!!! that takes ten weeks!! I do it every year and make Two batches. Everybody wants the cakes but NOBODY wants the starter!!!And…They can’t wait for me to make the next batch!!! lol
I am thankful I dont know or work with people who do this type of thingl
My mother used to get starter from her friends and make the bread. I personally could never eat it, never knowing how long it had been in the “bag”, never knowing if the people who had been handing it down for only God knows how long had done it right. And how can any one bake and eat something that has been Lord knows where and for how long! I never like the smell of it when it was baking either. Wise decision to trash it!!
Haha! !ow! My girlfriends mom gave my mom some. We’re leaving town in a few days, and it’s not worth the time or mess. My mom is all anxious about it. What have these Amish folk done?!
All you have to do is put the starter bag in the freezer. It would have been find until you decide to make it.I have some in my freezer now that have been their for almost two years if the starter is good it want freeze just take it out put it on the counter and begin to go through the process to make your bread. Oh it is great!!
I like the friendship bread. I had no problem with it spoiling . I numbered the top of the bowl (we did not use bags) I used with an eraseable marker. and erased each one each day I did something. The extra I froze and day 1 was the day it thawed out on the counter. Some extra I did give away. I have also double the batch and the one extra I put in a butter bowl and just froze it. We did not squished it but used a rubber or wooden spoon to stir. It was not hard as it sounds. Just a few minutes at a time. Someone taught me too to subsitute lemon or even choclate pudding instead of the vanilla. If you want to email privately. I will send you the link where I found the starter and the steps after that using a bowl.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Amish-Friendship-Bread-Starter/Detail.aspx
I found this post MOST AMUSING.
Thanks for the laugh!
this looks completely disgusting!
I personally have never been on that train. Though I do know of a few people who have and everyone of them heave ended up throwing the sour down the toilet. That’s a shame because you can make some really tasty breads. This method was in fact the way most bakeries made bread during the last world war (WWII). You would take a little yeast, flour and salt. Mix it to a sloppy dough and let it rise (or sour) and then add it to the remainder of the recipe and leave it to rise over a long period, usually 24 hours. The breads had flavor, something missing in todays white wrapped sliced stuff.
Never heard of this. I can’t try it because I don’t have any friends to give the friendship bread to. WAA! Maybe I’ll ask my dentist…
I got a bag and thought it’s be a great daycare project. Problem is once I rid myself of all the bags, I am afraid they will all bring one back and I’ll end up with 8 bags.
Also I made a batch into muffins – great for the kids!
that thing looks like hell
I like the bread, I’ve never had it in a bowl ,just a ziplock bag that you mush once a day. I don’t give it away to people tho. If your not a baker you’ll hate it so I just make one larger loaf and keep the starter for myself. Or, I make the bread for others. That always goes over well.
Anyone try the pancakes? They are much better than any mix you can buy at the store. Sort of a sweet taste I have never tasted in a mix.
I am concerned that someone, way back in the cycle of this bread…someone I don’t know, maybe thought it would be funny to add a little of their own personal ingredients to it (if you know what I mean). I have some of this starter on my counter but will be dumping it when I finish this message.
WHY WOULD YOU THROW OUT ‘FRIENDSHIP BREAD’? With something with a name like ‘friendship bread’ you should keep and cherish it forever like a friend…. made of bread.
I will probably be accused of having no idea what ‘friendship bread’ is, which is true, and having not read her question. I’ll have you know I did skim through about 3/4 of it, so I only read about 5 complete sentences so that would be only a half good accusation.
hysterical! was recently given a bag and thought the same thing, remembering a bowl of it exploding in my kitchen back in the early 90′s! nonetheless since i really like the neighbor who gave me the starter and the little loaf of bread that accompanied it was pretty tasty i decided to do it. now 11 days later (i was a day late adding the flour/milk/sugar) i’ve got some bread in the oven – i decided to use 2 bananas vs. instant pudding (yuck – that can’t be very amish) and at least it is making the house smell good – now what the hell to do with the other 4 cups of bubbling goo? i really don’t know 3 people to give it too – and, as most agree, who wants it anyway!!??
i my i forgot to put oil in the bread and it’s already in the oven……i can’t imagine what it will look like
This is great stuff. I go thru the cycle. There are so many variations, you never get time. When I don’t have time to bake it, I just freeze the amount I was supposed to bake and label it as a “baking starter.” When I have time to bake, I grab it, thaw it out overnight, and bake the next day. Never fails. Also, if I can’t give away the starters, I freeze them labeled as “starter”. The day you take them out of the freezer is day zero, the next day is Day one. This also never fails. I have found that I never have to search for someone to get a start from by freezing a few.
My friend tapered down the original recipe so that she only ends up with 1 cup of starter at the end of 10 days. So every 10 days she can bake two loaves and doesn’t have to get rid of any starters, and is not making it so much that she gets sick of it. You can always add more of the ingredients if you do want to give someone a starter.
My roommate bought home a bag of this, and at first I thought ugh, a chain cake yet. But she “mooshed” it for the requisite four days, adding milk, sugar and flour on day four; mooshed a few more days and didn’t feel like doing the final steps, so I undertook the measure. Not too bad–no separating eggs, or creaming butter. Just adding oil, milk, flour, pudding mix (!) and some spices, then preparing the pans and coating them with more sugar and cinnamon, also coating the top with sugar & cinnamon. Then baking.
Was it worth 10 days of squishing, mooshing, mixing and sprinkling. I would not have believed it, but YES! I am not even a big fan of loaf cakes or “tea breads.” Usually they tasted to heavy and thick. But this cake/bread was excellent–the taste was enchanting and compelling in a way I can’t desribe and have not experienced in these sorts of cakes. Others than I experienced the same delight–when my roommate took one (the section of dough made two) of the cakes to work, people really got excited over it. She never saw the like when any other desert was brought in.
One step I forgot to tell you about was, at the second and final mixing, you separate the dough into four sections, baking one and freezing the others to give away. I dont’ know if I want to inflict the duty on anyone else. I’ll keep them all for me.
I just think that something sitting on a counter for more than a few min…hr max (esp in my FIL’s house) is totally unappetizing…not to mention over a few days!!! GROSS!!! Does cooking kill all that nauseating bacteria festering in the baggie?
Nauseating bacteria…did you ever eat cheese?
it is really worth it!!! and there are so many variations you can do with it on the 10th day…for instance rather than using vanilla pudding mix use chocolate and chocolate chips and omit the cinimon. Also if you can add nuts, be creative as long as you use pudding it doesnt matter the flavor. I made it once with vanilla pudding white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts and it was fantastic. Dont pay attention to these people talkiign about the fermenting and bacteria…the yeast takes care of that. Try making it once and you will see how well worth it is…..