How to Make Amish Friendship Bread Starter from Scratch: Ingredients, Faq & Recipes
By James H. Sterling
Running continuous 10-day cycles quickly yields more starter than most households care to bake. Managing this surplus requires practical storage tactics.
Starter can be frozen indefinitely. Measure 1-cup portions into heavy-duty freezer bags, press the air out, and lay them flat in the freezer. The freezing process puts the yeast into suspended animation without rupturing cell walls. When you want to bake, thaw the bag on the counter overnight. The following morning counts as Day 1 of a fresh cycle.
If you bake every two or three weeks, use refrigerator dormancy instead. Feed the starter on Day 10, transfer it to a sealed glass container, and store it on a middle refrigerator shelf. The cold slows yeast metabolism to a crawl. Take it out once every two weeks, let it come to room temperature, stir in half a cup each of flour, milk, and sugar, and return it to the fridge.
Discard management is equally straightforward. Any unneeded 1-cup portion can go straight into waffle batters, pancake mixes, or pound cakes on Day 10 without running through a new cycle.
James Sterling reports on renewable energy developments, climate policy, ecological conservation, and green tech innovations around the globe.
