consp20@bingsuns.cc.binghamton.edu (Tammy Silverberg) (01/26/91)
Hi. Has anyone ever heard of "Amish" or "Friendship" bread? A friend of mine got a 'starter' on a trip to Pennsylvania this past summer and we'd like to know the recipe. I know it is a milk-based mixture that must be left at room temp. and be stirred every day for 10 days. After this time it smells of alcohol (yeast? in the mix.) Then, flour, sugar, etc. are added, it is divided into 4? batches - 2 are baked, 1 is kept to continue for the next 10 days and 1 is given to a friend. Problems arise when all your friends have received their own starters and you are left with lots of the mixture. We'd like to know how to start this ourselves (the milk, yeast, and other ingredients) so we can stop making (& eating!) Amish bread for a while - but not loose it when we want to begin again. Thanks. Tammy [ I strongly suspect that the whole reason for the starter is that it is a local Pennsylvania wild yeast, a la San Francisco sourdough. Perhaps there is some way of preserving the yeast either by drying or freezing? -aem ]