Yesterday I made 8 loaves of “Amish Friendship Bread” for the freezer.  It was an edible science project on fermentation (sourdough) that He-Man brought home from homeschool co-op.  This is the second time I have made this same bread.  Once, a long time ago, a neighbor gave us a “start.”  The bread is okay.  I wouldn’t have done it, but I had already worked on the “starter” for the 10 days prior (on He-Man’s behalf, not mine)  and I didn’t want the ingredients or time to go to waste.  It really tastes more like a cake than a bread though and really isn’t healthy for breakfast by any stretch of the imagination.  That being said, the kids seem to like it quite well.  What kid wouldn’t want cake for breakfast?

Anyhow, after making this recipe AGAIN, that I said I wouldn’t make again after the first time, I have two main thoughts on the subject.  First, I don’t see how this recipe can be Amish.  It has instant pudding in it.  Do the Amish use instant pudding?  That doesn’t sound very authentic.  And second, a real friend would just give you a yummy, baked loaf of bread, not a bag of goop that you have to mess around with for 10 days.  And that is the reason I didn’t pass any starter along.  (My friends know I love them).  And now we have 8 loaves of “bread.”  There.  That’s my two cents.  If you feel you must try this experiment yourself, I found this link with pretty much the same recipe I got from co-op (though mine didn’t have apples or raisins added, which would actually make the bread a little better for you).

***After writing this post I googled to see whether Amish bread was truly Amish – pretty much everyone’s consensus is that this is a load of crap.  However, I have to link to this post, because it made me laugh out loud on another reader’s experience with this “quick bread.”  Check it out if you need a laugh…