In this article
Sometime in the 1980s and 90s, a plastic bag of batter with a photocopied sheet of instructions went around nearly every town in America. Somebody from down the street handed it to you, you kept it on the counter for ten days, and at the end you had two loaves of bread and three new bags to pass along. It was a chain letter you could eat.
And the bread was good. Soft and sweet, somewhere between a quick bread and a coffee cake, with a cinnamon sugar crust on every side. If nobody has handed you a bag lately, you can start one from nothing with flour, sugar, milk and a packet of yeast. The schedule below is the one from the photocopied sheet, day by day.
Why this friendship bread works
- A sweet yeast starter. Ten days of feeding gives the batter a depth that a plain quick bread does not have. It bubbles and puffs up the bag, and that is how you know it is alive.
- Instant pudding in the batter. The pudding mix holds moisture, so the loaves stay soft for days and slice without crumbling.
- Cinnamon sugar instead of flour. Dusting the greased pans with it gives a sparkling crust on every side.
- A slow oven. One hour at 325°F bakes the rich batter through before the crust gets too dark.
Ingredients
Makes two 9x5 inch loaves, about 12 slices each, plus three 1 cup bags of starter to give away. The starter needs 10 days on the counter before baking day. US cups with grams in brackets.
For the starter, day 1
- 1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons, 7g)
- 1/4 cup warm water (60ml), about 110°F (43°C)
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 cup milk (240ml)
For each feeding, day 6 and day 10
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (125g)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1 cup milk (240ml)
For the two loaves
- 1 cup friendship bread starter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup neutral oil (240ml)
- 1/2 cup milk (120ml)
- 1 cup granulated sugar (200g)
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour (250g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix (5.1 ounces, 144g)
For the cinnamon sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar (100g)
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Butter or shortening for the pans
You also need a gallon-size zip-top bag, a glass or plastic bowl and a wooden spoon. Never a metal bowl or a metal spoon for the starter.
How to make friendship bread
The starter, days 1 to 10
- Day 1: stir the yeast into the warm water and leave it for 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy. In a glass or plastic bowl, stir together 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar with a wooden spoon, stir in 1 cup milk until smooth, then the yeast. Pour it all into a big zip bag, seal it and leave it on the counter.
- Days 2 to 5: squeeze the bag once a day to mix the batter. When the bag puffs up, open a corner, let the air out and seal it again.
- Day 6: add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk to the bag. Seal and squeeze until no lumps of flour remain.
- Days 7 to 9: squeeze the bag once a day and let the air out when it puffs.
- Day 10: pour the starter into a large glass or plastic bowl. Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk and stir with a wooden spoon. Take out four 1 cup portions. Bake with one. Put the other three into zip bags and give them away with a copy of the schedule.
Baking day
- Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans generously. Mix the 1/2 cup sugar with the 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, and dust the inside of both pans with about half of it, as you would with flour.
- In a large bowl, stir together the 1 cup of starter, the eggs, oil, milk, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
- In a second bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and the dry pudding mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until no streaks of flour remain.
- Divide the batter between the two pans. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar over the tops.
- Bake for 1 hour, until the loaves are deep golden, the tops have cracked and a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.
Tips that make the difference
- Write the dates of day 1, day 6 and day 10 on the bag with a marker.
- Let the air out of the bag whenever it puffs up. In a warm kitchen that can be every afternoon.
- The schedule forgives you. Feeding or baking a day late does no harm.
- Stir the batter until it just comes together, as you would for muffins, and the loaves stay tender.
Variations
- Chocolate. Use instant chocolate pudding, add 1/4 cup cocoa powder (25g) to the dry ingredients and fold in 1 cup of chocolate chips. Dust the pans with plain sugar.
- Butterscotch pecan. Use instant butterscotch pudding and fold in 1 cup of chopped toasted pecans.
- Apple. Fold 1 1/2 cups of peeled, finely diced apple and 1/2 cup of raisins into the finished batter.
- Muffins. Spoon the batter into 24 lined muffin cups, top with cinnamon sugar and bake at 325°F for 22 to 25 minutes.
Storage and make-ahead
The loaves keep for 4 to 5 days at room temperature, wrapped well or in an airtight container.
To freeze, wrap a cooled loaf in plastic wrap and then foil. It keeps for 3 months. Thaw it on the counter in its wrapping.
Extra starter freezes too. Pour 1 cup portions into zip bags, press out the air and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw a bag on the counter for a few hours, call that day 1, and carry on with the schedule.
Frequently asked questions
Do I have to give the starter away?
No. Keep one of the three bags and begin the ten days again, or freeze the portions for later.
Why can I not use a metal bowl or spoon?
It was on every photocopied sheet, and the usual explanation is that reactive metals can give the starter an off taste. Glass, plastic and wood are safe. Baking in metal loaf pans is fine.
My bag is not bubbling. Is the starter dead?
A cool kitchen slows it down, so move the bag somewhere warmer. If there are no bubbles at all by day 3, the yeast was old or the water too hot. Start again with fresh yeast.
Can I make the bread without the pudding mix?
Yes. Leave it out and add an extra 1/2 cup of flour and 1/2 cup of sugar. The loaves will be a little less moist and will dry out sooner.
Somebody handed you a bag once. Start one anyway. The bread is as good as you remember, and this time you decide who gets the other three bags.
Friendship Bread (Starter From Scratch, 10 Day Schedule and Two Loaves)
friendship bread from the very beginning: how to make the starter from nothing, the 10 day schedule for the bag on the counter, and the two soft cinnamon sugar loaves you bake on day ten.
Ingredients
- 1 packet active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup milk
- 1 cup friendship bread starter
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup neutral oil
- 1/2 cup milk
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 large box instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- Butter or shortening for the pans
Instructions
- Day 1: stir the yeast into the warm water and leave it for 5 to 10 minutes, until foamy. In a glass or plastic bowl, stir together 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar with a wooden spoon, stir in 1 cup milk until smooth, then the yeast. Pour it all into a big zip bag, seal it and leave it on the counter.
- Days 2 to 5: squeeze the bag once a day to mix the batter. When the bag puffs up, open a corner, let the air out and seal it again.
- Day 6: add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk to the bag. Seal and squeeze until no lumps of flour remain.
- Days 7 to 9: squeeze the bag once a day and let the air out when it puffs.
- Day 10: pour the starter into a large glass or plastic bowl. Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk and stir with a wooden spoon. Take out four 1 cup portions. Bake with one. Put the other three into zip bags and give them away with a copy of the schedule.
- Heat the oven to 325°F (165°C). Grease two 9x5 inch loaf pans generously. Mix the 1/2 cup sugar with the 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, and dust the inside of both pans with about half of it, as you would with flour.
- In a large bowl, stir together the 1 cup of starter, the eggs, oil, milk, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
- In a second bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and the dry pudding mix. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and stir just until no streaks of flour remain.
- Divide the batter between the two pans. Sprinkle the rest of the cinnamon sugar over the tops.
- Bake for 1 hour, until the loaves are deep golden, the tops have cracked and a toothpick pushed into the center comes out clean. Cool in the pans for 10 minutes, then turn out onto a rack.
