Amish Friendship Bread at High Altitude
Dec 09, 2005 | From the kitchen of Rose
Chris Question:
Hi. I made some Amish Friendship bread, it is like a cake, but baked in small loaf pans. Every time I make it, it falls in the middle. I live at a "high" altitude, and I made the adjustments necessary, but the bread still falls. What can I do to fix this problem?
Rose Reply:
when you say you've made all the adjustments for high altitude i'm assuming you also decreased the amount of liquid. many people do the reverse bc of the dry air at high altitude but moisture in the bread results in a higher rise which then collapses bc the structure can't support it. aside from that, try using a flour with a higher protein content.
if you're using bleached all purpose use unbleached. if that doesn't do the trick try bread flour.
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Bobbie Robar
03/30/2011 01:14 PM
I adjusted the reciepe for high altitude. I used half the oil and added 2 Table spoons of Flour! The baked beautiful! Tasted better also! Pass it on!
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joanne wildeman in reply to comment from BJ
12/04/2010 04:54 PM
Yes, I to can not make amish bread at high altitude. did anyone send you a recipe. I made some to day and it sunk in the middle.
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jamie dixon
11/14/2010 04:25 PM
I have been making the quick recipe for amish bread, but now I live at 5000 ft anyone have any suggtions what to do other high altidue flour.
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Katrina
12/04/2009 09:58 PM
Another problem. I used 2 bags of starter today to make 4 loaves. I had made the recipe only once before with starter a freind gave me and it turned out fine. This time, however, I greased the pans, sprinkled them with cinnamon-sugar (which I did before with no problem) but today the bread stuck to every pan so bad it came out in chunks. What does it mean..no metal? My pans are metal. I also used metal utensils until I realized I wasn't supposed to be using them. How does this affect the recipe?
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Sheryle Parks
11/20/2009 07:50 PM
1.If i used self raising flour in my Amish fs starter then when someone else gets a starter and they use all purpose will it kill the starter?
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Sheryle Parks
11/20/2009 07:49 PM
1.If i used self raising flour in my Amish fs starter then when someone else gets a starter and they use all purpose flour will it kill the starter? 2. And how do you start the starter? 3.can you freeze the starter?
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Karen
06/20/2009 02:50 PM
I'm making my first loaves of AFB tomorrow and was wondering if I could use buttermilk instead of regular milk. I have extra and would hate to throw it away. Thanks ~Karen
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BJ
04/11/2009 10:36 AM
Questions: Ive been making the AFB and I want to give my mom one, but she lives in the high altitudes. How would I tell her to bake it or how much to use of the liquids etc..
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Wendy Swank
10/20/2008 10:11 AM
I recently baked a zucchini bread and substituted the 1 cup oil for 1 cup of applesauce, and it didn't turn out, the flavor was awful; so I think that all you can substitute for the oil is 1/2 of it with the applesauce.
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Dorine Rorabacher
09/19/2008 02:55 PM
When the wagon trains went West, they had barrels of sourdough in the heat. They would pull a pound of started out of the barrel and add the necessary flour to keep the supply. If the heat didn't bother the sourdough, I can't see why this would be any different.
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Dorine Rorabacher
09/19/2008 12:20 PM
I have experienced the same problem. When I make this reciept, I use ALL the dough. I measure the starter for each receipt and bake extra loaves. I might bake the first two loaves plain, the next two with applesauce, and the next two with berries. (It will all depend on how big your bread pans are.) I freeze the extra loaves and don't bake as often. This is really the best way to handle the surplus dough and is really nice when you need a desert for unexpected guests at coffee time. I also found, when I use nuts, if I dust the nuts with flour, then mix into the dough, they do not drop to the bottom of the pan. This bread comes out perfect every time and is the best coffee desert I have found. I also have frozen the starters for months and months, and they are always fine.
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Dave
09/17/2008 10:40 AM
I have made dozens of loaves with the recipe. I leave out the pudding sometimes. I use banana pudding with nuts and over ripe smashed bananas. I use apples, raisins, and nuts and cinnamon. I use applesauce, I have used cherries. Try using a can of pumpkin in it. After all it is that time of year. The bottom line is that the bread is really more like a cake and the sweetness and moistness will allow you create just about anything you can dream up. You really can't screw it up, even if you get your days mixed up or don't use the exact amounts each time. It is really good when you make a sugar butter or rum sauce and drip over it. I have frozen the extra for months at a time and reused it. My family hates me because they can't quit eating it.
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Doris
09/03/2008 10:10 AM
it won't hurt anything and yes it will curdle it is supposed to. when i first made it i was skeptical too but I made it with some students and they loved it.
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Anonymous
09/01/2008 06:08 PM
I have this amish bread that im making and my husband is very skeptical about it cuz u r supposed to have it sit out on ur counter for days with milk in it. wont the milk curdle?
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Sadie
08/12/2008 06:10 PM
I have kept Friendship cake starter in the refrigerator for very long periods of time with no bad effects. It seems to keep indefinitely.
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Anonymous
08/12/2008 03:20 PM
I recently tried making this Amish bread. The first batch was okay, but all the streusel sank to the bottom and was a sticky mess although the bread part tasted decent. The second just crumbled. I realized I used self rising instead of regular flour. Could this have been the culprit?
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robn
05/25/2008 02:44 PM
Hi, the Amish Friendship Bread mix has been sitting on my counter for 9 days and I keep opening it to let all the air out before mushing the bag. Am I supposed to be doing this and is the bag supposed to blow up like a balloon? It doesn't smell so good but mix texture and color seems consistent, kind of runny. thank you!
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Jess
03/04/2008 06:57 PM
First attempt with the bread. Today is day 7. I scooped out bags to share and wondered why I only had 2, and then about a cup left over. Thinking nothing of it I proceed to make the bread and then realized I was supposed to add more flour, milk and sugar before dividing it up. The bread looks ok . Any idea if the 2 bags are good and what, if anything I should add to them?
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Dee
02/18/2008 08:39 AM
I forgot to add the items on day 6 and now it is day 8. I left it at work and can't get it until day 9 did i ruin it or can i continue where i left off?
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Dee
02/18/2008 08:38 AM
I forgot to add the items on day 6 and now it is day 8. I left it at work and can't get it until day 9 did i ruin it or can i continue where i left off?
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Cheryl Matthews
02/13/2008 04:43 PM
Sadie,
I only add 1/4 cup each of the flour, sugar and milk each time. That way I don't have to give any away and I have enough to make the bread every 10 days.
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Cheryl Matthews
02/13/2008 04:40 PM
Blew it bigtime last night with my Amish Friendship Bread - accidentally added 1 tsp soda instead of 1/2, used 1 cup applesauce instead of 1 cup oil (successfully used 1/2 c each last time and thought I would go even healthier), and forgot to add the starter, so I wound up mixing it into the batter in the pans. Don't know which of these things or the combination of them made it so bad, but the bread turned out awful!!! I'm wondering if anyone has made bad bread and done something else with it? Anything but dump it in the trash? Thanks! (By bad I mean the taste is okay - not as good as usual, but okay, but the texture is yuk.)
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Sadie
02/04/2008 05:47 PM
I have given starter to every friend & neighbor I have. What amount of milk, sugar & flour should I add on Day 10 so that I only end up with one extra starter.
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Matthew
02/03/2008 04:50 PM
Becky--I wouldn't keep a starter with eggs in it. I think it would be best to remake the starter, especially if you're going to share it.
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Becky
02/03/2008 04:43 PM
I accidentally added all the ingredients (oil, eggs, etc) to the starter BEFORE separating out the 4 others... I'm sure the bread I'm baking today will be fine, however, is the starter ruined? I'm going to keep them around for a while to make sure before I give them away.
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Pearl Morrow
12/21/2007 02:41 PM
I made the Amish Fbread with cook and serve pudding. Also, I used the starter 2 days before time. The bread tasted good, but didn't have the volume it should have had. I suppose this was because of the regular pudding instead of instant. Also, the pudding I used was Tapioca. I noticed some of the little buds in the pudding cooked crunchy. I didn't care for that.
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Allison
12/18/2007 08:18 AM
Someone gave me some Amish friendship bread. I just put in in the fridge when I got home and left it there over night. When I took it out, I noticed it said not to refrigerate. Did I ruin it?
Thanks
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Sondra
12/17/2007 01:05 AM
To answer 1. Yes, it can be frozen, thaw at room temp for 3 hours then start counting as Day 2 (because Day 10 is the day you baked the bread and Day 1 of the new starter) 2. Yes, you can bake all of the starter at once. Just figure out how many cups of starter you have and multiply your recipe accordingly. 3. The milk DOES go bad, that is the point. We want the same good bacteria that is in yogurt to grow in the starter. Bacteria is not all bad. That is why we shouldn't use antibacterial everything, but that is a whole other story. :) 4. The sweetish sour smelling thing is also fine. That's what you want to smell. If it is red, orange, green, or molded, then throw it out. Otherwise, you are ok. 5. Where to find a recipe? INTERNET! 6. If you forget a day, don't worry about it, do it now! One day won't hurt. I forgot to put ingredients in one day, then a couple days later when it was time to bake, forgot again, so I baked it on day 12, no big whoop. It still tasted GREAT!! Hope this helps. Happy Baking!
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Robin
11/10/2007 07:16 AM
I was wondering about the milk added to the starter. It seems like it should be refrigerated. I would think the milk would go bad. Please let me know how this works! Also, is it OK to bake it on day 11 instead of day 10?
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Amanda
10/01/2007 03:47 PM
Was wondering if anyone has the recipe to make the Amish sourdough starter and directions to make the bread.
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Amanda
10/01/2007 03:46 PM
Was wondering if anyone has the recipe to make the Amish sourdough starter and directions to make the bread.
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bobbielou
09/11/2007 03:08 PM
I have a sourdouugh starter, And I am wondering if I can use it to make amish friendship bread, and if so can some one give me a recipe?
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Dolores Moses
08/14/2007 01:16 PM
Hi I haven't made a friendship cake for years but found a recipe for the starter and am going to try it out this fall. I am wondering if anyone knows if freezing the starter will ruin it or not? Is there a way besides to keep it for a long period of time?
Dolores Moses
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Sandy Counts
07/18/2007 10:07 PM
I have been reading comments on Amish Friendship Bread variations. Try Googling it. There's lots of info out there. I read somewhere that cook and serve pudding doesn't work. I haven't baked it yet. Having time issues but hope to bake tomorrow. Also read that the individual starters can be frozen and then thawed for 3 hours before baking. My starter smells very sour. Does anyone know if that's normal?
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Lette
06/26/2007 12:48 AM
I made my 1st Amish Friendship Cake today and it was wonderful...1 recipe made 2 bread pans, and a little bread pan...I added chopped walnuts to the top of 2 breads, along with raisons and gently pushed them into the batter...it worked well..and I used the cin., sugar combo for dusting the pans after greasing..that made the edges crunchy...QUESTION: Has anyone tried using regular pudding mix (cook and serve) instead of instant?...I would love to try it!
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Carol Weber
06/25/2007 09:48 PM
I didn't read the directions and put it in the refrigerator. Did I kill it or should I go on?
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Becky
06/25/2007 09:47 PM
If I don't want to continue to make more starters...can I just use each individual starter and add the ingredients on the last day without making more starters? And regarding the person who used buttermilk instead of a starter, how much was used?
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Rose
06/17/2007 11:47 AM
sourdough starter should not have any sugar at all.
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Lori
06/17/2007 08:05 AM
I have an Amish Friendship bread starter but wondered if I can make real sourdough bread with it or does this version have too much sugar
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Darryl
06/13/2007 09:55 PM
Rose and Amy also:
Hi there finished my starter bread,cooked it ,,it turned out excellent. and just letting you know yet it was liquedy when I was letting it stand for the ten days which was what was worrying me etc,,,it obviously was supposed to be that way,,..thanks and Thank You Rose for your advice,,:) Darryl
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Darryl W.
06/08/2007 12:06 PM
Amy
The recipe I used is at this address,,http://www.massrecipes.com/recipes/04/09/amishfriendshipbreadorigi17682.html,
this weekend I reach day 10 ,,I will you know how it turns out,,,this one was made with yeast,,,,
DARRYL
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Amy
06/07/2007 04:42 PM
Someone gave me a bag of this amish friendship bread starter, I was skeptical at first because I didn't know the person well that gave it to me, and I'm a clean nut, so I questioned where it came from, but I decided to make it and it is AWESOME. But now, the only way to keep it alive is to make it every 10 days, because I don't know how to make the starter - I looked on the internet and there are two versions, one with yeast and one without. Anyone know how to make starter?
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Rose
06/06/2007 05:57 PM
i've never made this bread but someone on the blog posted something about how the starter is there for flavor but the chemical leavening for rising.
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Ms. Darryl Wellman
06/06/2007 05:37 PM
Hi there ,
Such a great site,,,thank you yet I do have a question.
I am on Day 7 of making Amish starter Cinnamon bread,(the kind where one adds pudding),,it is in a plastic bowl,lightly covered with plastic. But i am worrying ahead of time that it is supposed to rise? Is that correct?..as it just seems real liquedy,,this is getting me worried..and I dont want to waste all these ingredients...please HELP!!
Thank YOu
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Rose
05/30/2007 04:02 PM
get the book "pie in the sky" by susan purdee--it addresses cakes as well and she has a website. i'm sure she can help you. i have no experience baking at high altitude and therefore can only theorize.
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Camille Klimek
05/30/2007 02:45 PM
I am trying to bake a wedding cake for a friend and we live at 5,200 ft. I am using the White Butter Cake recipe from the Cake Bible. I repetededly get a fallen center. I have tried many adjustments, one at a time, and then together, and nothing is helping. When I decrease BP it helps a little, and when I increase oven temp. it only overcooks on the outside. Increasing protien doesn't seem to make a difference at all, and I haven't adjusted liquids yet. I am about to pull my hair out, yet remain determined. Can you help me??? I still have 6 weeks!
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Isabel
05/21/2007 02:54 PM
I have been using an amish starter for a while, it is really important to not let it touch metal. Try baking in a glass or silicone pan. Good luck
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Rose
05/12/2007 03:29 PM
excellent imaginative and scientific thinking--thanks for sharing it and the results.
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Matthew
05/12/2007 03:23 PM
There seems to be a lot of questions about the starter in Amish friendship bread, so I thought I would add my thoughts.
I had never actually tried it until someone brought a loaf into work. The taste was not at all what I expected from something made from a starter. It tasted like a very moist and sweet quick bread without any of the sourness or complexity I associate with bread made from a starter.
This experience got me thinking more about this bread, so I looked over some recipes. Since this bread is baked directly after mixing, the leavening agents are the baking powder and baking soda. I believe the starter functions as an acid to react with the chemical leavening.
What about the sour or complex flavor, why is it not present in the finished bread? My guess is that the reaction between the baking powder, baking soda, and the acidic starter neutralizes its flavor. Since the primary leavening agents are chemical and there is no discernible sour flavor in the finished loaf, wouldn’t buttermilk have the same effect?
I tested my hypothesis by replacing the starter with buttermilk. The bread rose fine and the flavor and texture were just like the regular AF bread, if not a bit moister and more flavorful.
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Rose
05/06/2007 09:20 AM
as long as the utensils were clean there shouldn't be a problem.
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Beth
05/02/2007 10:11 AM
I just wasn't thinking!!!I accidently used a metal measuring cup to divide my Amish Friendship Bread starter and I also used a metal ladle to pour remaining batter into loaf pans. What are the concerns for the use of metal kitchen tools with this recipe?
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Stefani
04/30/2007 03:54 PM
How can I use the starter on day 10 without adding more ingredients as I will not be making bags to give away.
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Kara Keeter
04/26/2007 10:12 AM
I make the Amish friendship bread at 4500 feet. I haven't made any adjustments in the usual recipe other than I am generous when measuring out the amount of starter to add, sometimes using a full cup instead of the 3/4 cup called for. However, I don't bake them in two loaf pans; instead, I pour the entire batch of batter into a tube cake pan. It works great!
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udy
04/17/2007 04:17 PM
I have a starter of amish bread and miscounted day 6 and added the ingredients on day 7 instead. How does this affect the recipe?
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Rose
03/29/2007 11:44 PM
josh, i totally agree. have you tried googling? surely there must be an authentic recipe out there in cyber space!
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Josh
03/26/2007 07:01 AM
Looking for a more traditional Amish Friendship Bread recipe that does not rely on packaged instant pudding for moisture and texture. Seems a waste to make a real starter and then corrupt it with all those chemicals. Substitutes?
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Rose
10/07/2006 09:22 PM
sorry, i've even heard of southern sourdough. sounds good though!
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Alice Hollowed
10/07/2006 09:03 PM
Do you have a recipe for southern sourdough? Its kinda sweet and fluffy not much like the traditional sourdough.
alice
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