Amish Friendship Bread Starter: Feeding & Care Guide
Welcome to your Living Dough Amish friendship bread starter! This guide organizes the feeding and care instructions supplied with your starter, including its first feeding and the daily routine for keeping, baking with, and sharing your culture.
This starter's milk-and-sugar feeding routine is different from our traditional sourdough starter routine. Follow the measurements below rather than substituting the standard flour-and-water feeding ratio.
What to expect when your starter arrives
Begin feeding your starter as soon as possible after receiving it. It may not look bubbly straight out of the package. Our Amish friendship bread starter may rise or bubble less than a traditionally fed sourdough starter, so do not expect it to double after every feeding.
Day 1: The first feeding
Place the entire starter you receive in a larger clean jar, bowl, or container. Mix in:
- 2 ounces of milk, approximately 4 tablespoons.
- 2 ounces of flour, approximately 7 tablespoons.
- 2 ounces of sugar, approximately 4 1/2 tablespoons.
The ounce amounts in the supplied instructions are weights; the tablespoon amounts are approximate.
Use unbleached flour. All-purpose flour or bread flour is recommended for the first few feedings. The supplied instructions allow dairy or plant-based milk, with whole milk described as the traditional choice.
The supplied routine calls for keeping the starter at room temperature, covered with a towel.
Day 2: Feed with flour, milk, and sugar
The supplied instructions say to mix 1 cup of flour, 1 cup of milk, and 1 cup of sugar into the starter on day two.
Each day after: Keep a manageable amount
Retain 1 cup of starter, removing the remainder from your maintenance container. Add:
- 1 cup of flour.
- 1 cup of milk.
- 1 cup of sugar.
This is a 1:1:1:1 ratio by volume: starter:flour:milk:sugar. It is not the same as a traditional sourdough 1:1:1 ratio by weight.
You can keep a smaller or larger amount, provided you use equal volumes of retained starter, flour, milk, and sugar for this routine.
Dividing starter for baking and sharing
The friendship bread tradition is to divide starter into 1-cup portions: keep one portion for the next feeding, use one for baking, and share extra portions with friends who enjoy baking.
Give friends the feeding instructions along with their starter so they understand its flour, milk, and sugar routine.
When to bake with your starter
The supplied guide suggests using the starter once it bubbles consistently after feeding. Plan to begin your recipe when the starter is roughly at its peak size, approximately 3–6 hours after feeding in the original instructions.
Activity and timing can vary. This starter may not rise as dramatically as a traditional sourdough starter, so do not rely on doubling alone.
Countertop and refrigerator routines
The supplied care sheet calls for feeding a countertop starter every 24 hours with equal volumes of retained starter, flour, milk, and sugar. It describes a roughly weekly feeding routine for refrigerated starter.
How is this different from traditional sourdough?
This guide covers the milk-and-sugar friendship bread routine. The supplied instructions also mention maintaining the culture with flour and water, but do not give a detailed conversion method. Contact us before changing routines if you need help.
For comparison, read our traditional sourdough starter care guide and explanation of the traditional 1:1:1 feeding ratio. Those measurements should not replace the friendship bread measurements on this page.
Questions about your Amish friendship bread starter?
Email Joe@LivingDough.com with questions about the supplied instructions. Include your feeding amounts, milk and flour choices, storage conditions, and photos when helpful.
Follow @livingdough on Instagram to share your baking photos, recipes, and videos.