Amish Sourdough Bread Recipes

Steps:

• For starter, dissolve yeast in warm water. Mix with 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar or honey and 1 cup milk (lowfat or 2% milk is OK). This is day 1 of 10 day prep. Use a plastic or glass container.
• Leave starter on the counter covered, and stir daily.
• On the 5th day, add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar or honey (or combination) and 1 cup milk. This is called 'feeding' the starter.
• Continue to stir daily. On the 10th day, add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar or honey and 1 cup milk. Starter can now be divided and given away or frozen. I usually wait a day to bake after feeding starter.
• If you are not baking the next day, you can refrigerate starter, but bring to room temperature on baking day, or the night before, if frozen.
• If you receive a cup of starter as a gift, feed immediately and wait a day before baking, to give starter a chance to ferment, at room temperature.
• To bake: Place 1 cup of starter in bowl of mixer. Put mixer on slow speed using a dough hook, and add all ingredients. All ingredients should be room temperature.
• Add 2-1/4 tsps. yeast, 1 cup water, 1 cup milk, 2 tbls honey, 1/4 cup oil, 1 cup whole wheat flour, 2 eggs, 2 tsps. salt, approximately 6-7 cups white flour. You can add more whole wheat and less white, as preferred.
• Knead dough for 10 minute in mixer. Dough should be slightly sticky, but smooth and shiny and should mostly all be on the dough hook when done.
• Remove dough from mixer bowl to a floured board and knead by hand two minutes, shaping into a large ball. Oil inside of mixer bowl.
• Place dough back into bowl, swirl around in oil, and turn over so all sides are oiled. Press down, cover with a clean towel and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled.
• Punch down and divide into two loaves. At this point, 1 ball can be made into 12-14 rolls. Divide into even balls, (if you have a scale, about 2-1/2 oz. each) place on greased cookie sheet, pressing down to a flat disc. Brush tops with beaten egg white mixed with 1 tbl water and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, if desired.
• Cover and allow to rise for 1 hour, or until double in size.
• Preheat oven to 375° and bake rolls for 15-20 minutes, until browned.
• For loaf of bread flatten 1/2 of dough into a rectangle, to remove bubbles and roll up to a log. Roll two sides under and place log seam side down in greased loaf pan. Brush top with egg white and sprinkle with seeds. Bake at 375° for 25 minutes. Remove from pan and thump bottom of loaf. It should sound hollow when done.
• You can bake 1/2 of dough and shape other half into a loaf, wrap tightly in plastic wrap and freeze. When you are ready to bake, remove from wrap and place in greased loaf pan. Cover and allow to defrost and rise in a warm spot. Brush with egg white and sprinkle with seeds. Bake as usual.

Steps:

• In a small bowl, dissolve the yeast in warm water for about 10 minutes. Stir well.
• In a 2 quart glass or plastic container, combine 1 cup sifted flour and 1 cup sugar.
• Mix thoroughly or the flour will get lumpy when you add the milk.
• Slowly stir in warm milk and dissolved yeast mixture.
• Loosely cover the mixture with a lid or plastic wrap.
• The mixture will get bubbly. Consider this Day 1 of the cycle, or the day you receive the starter.
• For the next 10 days handle starter according to the instructions below for Amish Friendship Bread.
• Day 1: Do nothing: refer to date on bag should be day 10 of mix.
• Day 2: Mush the bag.
• Day 3: Mush the bag.
• Day 4: Mush the bag.
• Day 5: Mush the bag.
• Day 6: Add to the bag- 1 c plain flour, 1 c sugar, 1 c milk, and mush well.
• Day 7: mush the bag.
• Day 8: mush the bag.
• Day 9: Mush the bag.
• Day 10: follow instructions below--.
• Pour the entire contents of the bag into a large metal bowl.
• add 1 1/2 cups plain flour, 1 1/2 cups sugar, 1 1/2 c milk. mix well.
• lable four ziploc bags with date and Day 1.
• fill each of the four bags with 1 cup of batter. (these are the starter bags to give out to friends). If you don't keep one for yourself you will have to wait until someone gives you a starter batter.
• Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
• to your remaining batter you need to add the bread making ingredients.
• grease bottom and sides sides of 2 large loaf pans or spray with pam butter flavor or bakers joy.
• mix pan coating mix and dust the insides of each pan with it coating sides and bottom of each pan well.
• pour batter evenly into the 2 loaf pans and sprinkle any remaining dusting mix on the top of the batter.
• bake approximately 1 hour until toothpick comes out clean. cool until bread loosens from the pan easily. turn onto serving dish or wire rack.