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I just had my first experience with Amish Friendship Bread. My sister gave me the starter and the recipe... I am posting the recipe here to have a handy place to save it. I would've posted a photo of the baked loaves, but we ate them before I had the inspiration to photograph them.

Some notes... I condensed some of the recipe in my copy here. I also reduced the amount of the sugar and cinnamon mixture... We have a lot of it left over after following the original recipe. Also do not use any metal bowls or spoons the preparation of the bread, but of course metal pans for baking are just fine. Do not refrigerate the bag, or as my copy puts it, "Resist the natural urge to refrigerate." If you keep one of the bags of starter you make on Day 10, you'll be making two loaves of bread every 10 days. That seems like a lot to me, or it did until I found out you can freeze the starter, among other hints.

My copy of the recipe claims only the amish know the recipe, but apparently the cat is out of the bag, in case you get a hankerin' for some and nobody you know has any starter.

Amish Friendship Bread Recipe

Day 1
Do nothing.

Day 2-5
Mush the bag once a day.

Day 6
Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup milk and then mush the bag 20 times.

Day 7-9
Mush the bag once a day.

Day 10
Pour entire contents into non-metallic bowl. Add 1 1/2 cup flour, 1 1/2 cup sugar, 1 1/2 cup milk. Mix well. Measure one cup of batter into each of four gallon size Ziploc bags. Mark the bags with the date of this recipe so your friends know when Day 1 is.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.

Add to the remaining batter:

• 3 eggs
• 2 cup oil (or 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup applesauce)
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 large box or 1 cup vanilla or chocolate pudding

Grease 2 large loaf pans. In a small bowl mix 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Dust the loaf pans with 1/2 of the mixture. Pour the batter evenly into the two pans and sprinkle the remaining mixture on top.

Bake 1 hour. Cool until bread loosens from the side of the pan, about 10 minutes. Serve warm or cold.