It’s Finn, it’s 11:15, and I’ve got a recipe.
A few days ago, I was surprised with a text message from my best friend.
“Look on your porch.”
“Okay..?”
I was curious, so I got up and opened the door. A ziploc bag with a recipe taped to it and a suspiciously batter-looking substance inside of the bag was sitting on my front step.
I picked up the baggie, and read the recipe paper.
“Amish Friendship Bread,” it said.
I soon found out (by reading the recipe instructions) that she had given me a bag of bread starter, and instructions on how to make Amish Friendship bread.
Here’s what the paper said.
Making Amish Friendship Bread
Preparation:
Day 1: Do nothing
Day 2, 3, 4, 5: Mash the bag
Day 6: Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk. Mash bag until well mixed.
Day 7, 8, 9: Mash the bag
Day 10: Pour starter into a non-metal bowl and add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk.
Divide out 1 cup portions of the starter into separate one gallon ziplock bags.
Keep 1 cup of starter for yourself.
Give away the bags to friends along with this recipe.
Ingredients:
For Bread:
1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
1 cup oil
½ cup milk
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
Optional Ingredients:
1-2 small boxes instant pudding (any flavors)
1 cup chopped nuts
1 cup raisins
For optional cinnamon sugar coating:
½ cup sugar
½ teaspoon cinnamon
(combine to make a dust/powder)
Directions for Bread:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (165 degrees Celsius).
In a large non-metal mixing bowl, add ingredients as listed.
Grease two large loaf or cake pans, or a muffin tray of your choosing.
Dust the greased pans with the cinnamon sugar mixture (optional).
Pour the batter evenly into your pan of choice and sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar on top (sprinkling the mixture is also optional).
Bake for one hour or until the bread loosens evenly from the sides and a toothpick inserted into the center of the bread comes out clean.
Makes two loaves if done in loaf pans.
I had no idea what to expect. I don’t have the best experience with baking.
I might’ve managed to burn microwave popcorn…
I decided to give it a shot, and I did the preparation for each day.
It wasn’t anything out of my league, and on day 10 I asked my mom for help with baking.
We were missing pudding mix, and we had no idea if some ingredients were able to be substituted.
The original instructions didn’t specify what we could and couldn’t substitute, so we followed the steps as closely as we could and hoped for the best.
We made the batter, combined white and brown sugar, and almost poured a tablespoon of salt, not a teaspoon into the batter.
Oops.
After laughing about our mishaps, we tried to get serious and find two loaf pans.
Of course, we didn’t have any, so we grabbed a mini loaf pan and a muffin tray.
I asked my mom, “What’s the worst that can happen?”.
She chose not to answer.
At this point, it was about one in the morning. We had started baking at 12, and it took us about 15 minutes to decipher the original instructions.
We put the batter into the pans, and put the pans into the oven.
I set a timer, and we both split ways. My mom took a nap, and I wrote the Creating Creativity post. I also read a book, and waited for the timer to finish.
About 20 minutes in, the kitchen started to smell fantastic. I was a bit shocked. It smelled so good!
Usually things smell smoky when I use the kitchen.
I’ve burned muffins, microwave popcorn, exploded chicken strips, and burnt tostino’s pizza rolls in the microwave and in the oven.
Cooking is not my strong suit. Clearly.
The timer rang, and I woke up my mom. We took out the muffin tray and loaf pan, and put the bread on a tray to cool.
It smelled so good, I was tempted to eat it right then and there.
However, sleep came first. I hit the sack, and my mom and I tried it when we woke up.
It was fantastic!
We made it with soy milk and a butter substitute, our usual way, so my dad was able to eat it!
It was really awesome being able to make something that I didn’t have to cut the burned edges off of.
And the best part?
I was left with three other bags of starter to give to friends.
Stay safe, keep smiling, and I’ll ‘see’ you next time.
-Finn