Sweet French Bread with Amish Bread Starter

Here is the latest Recipe for the Home Baked Sweet French Bread using Amish Bread Starter.
2 Cup Starter (only 2 days old from 5th day)
5 TBsp Sugar
3 TBsp Softened Butter
2-1/2 Cup Unbleached Flour
1 Cup Whole Wheat Pastry Flour

Mix all ingredients in a large plastic bowl (with lid) with Sturdy Spatula for about 5 minutes. & Hand Knead for 10 min. in the bowl.
Cover the plastic container.
Let it rise till Double about - 12 hours.

Roll the Doubled Dough into shapes of French Bread:
Divide the dough into halves.
Roll out the dough into oval shape - 1/2 in thick.
Place them on top of Non-Stick Cookie Sheet, side-by-side to each other & leaving about 2 inches of gap to allow the dough to rise till double in size.

Using sharp kitchen knife or scissors, slit the top of the bread dough about every 3 inches.

Cover it with Saran Wrap loosely and also place an empty 8 oz yogurt cup, for example to keep saran wrap from touching the dough's surface.

My kitchen temperature was about 62Degrees. To help rise the dough.
Place the cookie sheet above a pot of hot water without turning on the stove.
Change the hot water several times to help dough rise into double in size.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Egg White Wash -
Beat 1 egg white with a tablespoon of water together.
Egg white wash will give the bread nice shine and soft top.
Otherwise, just brush the top of the bread dough with Water right before baking time.

Brush each Bread dough that has rise in double with Egg White Wash.

Place at top second rack of the conventional (gas) oven
Bake for 35 to 40 min.
Bread will look shiny and brown.



The texture is more like a bread than the French Bread. Maybe less kneading will create less fine looking bread. Taste wise, it is great.

AMISH Friendship Starter Diary

Croissant and Cinnamon Roll.

The basic Amish Friendship Starter Bread recipe can be found at: http://www.armchair.com/recipe/bake002.html

Follow the recipe steps and modify as necessary. As you gain experience you can add the starter in place of the dry yeast to bake all kinds of wonderful home made breads and other favorite goodies.
Here is of mine to share:
This is how the Starter looks like between Day1 through 5.
Bubbly and plastic will expand almost like a balloon.
Be sure to keep the plastic Closed.
Do not refrigerate. There is no reason to.
Day 1 thru 5





The starter will develop into foamy bubbles at the top.
It develops pungent smell - very normal.
No discoloration, however that I have ever noticed.
Every day, pop open the plastic and carefully with your hand, just knead gently around the the plastic to subside the foam and bubbles -- basically just squeeze the plastic bag with top open a few times - every day - squeeze the plastic bag all around. You should be able to tell which part of dough is more liquidy and others drier. So, use your hand and with "open close" hand motions to mix the starter well. Be sure to close the bag.



On day 10, it's time to prepare and mix the starter with your favorite ingredients.
Be aware that it has been taking minimum of 12 hours for the dough to complete the first rise at 65Degree room temperature.
A pot of warm water is used as well to aid in rising.

If you do not have anyone to share the Starter on the 10th day and you want to continue keeping the starter for the next baking, you can adjust the Day 10's ingredient feedings to the Starter - Flour, Sugar, and Milk mixture measurement to 1/4 Cup each rather than 1 Cup each.

Amish Sourdough Bread recipe posted at the web site posted above is very easy to make. I will change the amount of flour from 6 Cups to 4 Cups, and use melted butter rather than the "oil".
Some recipe variations to try:
1. 2 Cups Starter
2. 6 TBsp Sugar
3. 4 Cups Flour
4. 1 Cup warm milk and 1/4 Cup melted Unsalted Butter
5. 2 Eggs plus 1 Egg Yolk ---Keep the Egg White for egg white wash for bread.
6. 1 tsp salt
7. Optional - 1/2 Cup Coconut Powder.

Mix all ingredients and Knead well - about 10 minutes.
The dough should be very soft to the touch.
Brush a full teaspoon of oil in a large plastic container with a lid. The dough is almost difficult to handle without additional flour, but do not add extra flour.
Let it rise over night. When the dough doubles in size, punch down and make it into variety of shapes.
Place the shaped dough on top of non-stick baking pan with lips/sides.
Let it rise again till double.
Preheat oven to 325 - 350 degrees.
Prepare egg white and 1TBsp of water. Beat it up to mix water and egg white.
Use a pastry brush to brush egg white wash on raised dough.
Enjoy watching the wonderful bread turn into golden brown.
Depending on the size of the bread - 12 to 20 minutes of baking time.

AMISH Friendship - Bread Diary

I was given a bag of Amish Friendship Starter about a month ago. I tried four different recipes thus far and these are the favorites:

1. Banana Bread
2. Bundt Pan Bread and Cup cake size bread with Raisin, Cinnamon, or plain dinner roll.

3. Coconut Mango Bread

4. Sour Dough Bread

Texture and Taste Results:

1. Banana Bread - Excellent. Cake like. Banana gave the bread the moisture without Instant pudding mix and Applesauce that the recipe calls for.


2. Bundt Pan Bread and Cup cake size bread with Raisin - So, So. Very Dense and Heavy Bread without Banana or Instant pudding mix and Applesauce. I t is very filling to last several hours.

3. Coconut Mango Bread - Very good. Tasty. Using Dehydrated Mango was a good idea. Coconut powder gave the bread the just right amount of flavor--just enough to wonder where are the coconut flakes.

4. Sour Dough Bread - Very good, but its more like Hawaiian sweet bread than the sour dough.

Photo Journal:
And here is the photo journal of how the Amish Friendship Sour Dough Bread was made.
Hot Dog buns or the home made submarine sandwich bread turned out very tasty.

Mixing the Starters with ingredients without using any "metal" utensils is one of the challenge. That means - no electric mixer; unless, you have a set of beaters made of "wood"?


After proofing the dough overnight --- till doubled in size; roll the dough into shape and let it rise again for another 8 hours.


Brush it with egg white and water wash before baking at 325 degrees for about15 to 20 minutes.

These are Sour Dough Breads, Cinnamon Rolls, Dinner Rolls - with raisin in the Bundt Mini-Muffin pan.
They turned out to be toooo dry. Likely need less time to bake them.

The best part of all these baking is that there are no preservatives. All ingredients uses were premium quality available - butter, organic milk, organic eggs.


The "Sour Dough Bread" turned out beautifully.
They tasted more like sweet bread than "Sour Dough".





Bon Appetite!