Potato Flake Amish Friendship Bread

Potato Flake Amish Friendship Bread uses instant potato flakes in the starter and makes a wonderfully soft and flavorful bread! 

This Potato Flake Amish Friendship Bread recipe was given to me by a neighbor and friend many years ago and is a recipe I continue to make!  You can find the starter recipe here.

The end result of Amish Friendship Bread is a smooth fine crumb, soft texture, and a slightly sweet flavor.  Unlike the San Francisco Sourdough bread, this recipe is more sweet than it is sour, and makes delicious buttered toast or sandwich bread.

To get started, you’ll need my Potato Flake Amish Friendship Bread Starter.

Tips for making Potato Flake Amish Friendship Bread:

• Gather all of your ingredients.  In the culinary world, this is called “Mise en Place” meaning to put everything in its place. This is an important step because it allows you to make sure you have all of your ingredients and your half-finished recipe won’t wait on a quick trip to the store.

So go ahead and measure out all of your ingredients. You can use fancy little ingredient bowls, or do what I do: use paper plates or pieces of parchment paper to hold my measured ingredients.  That way it’s a quick, no-fuss cleanup.

• Don’t use too much flour.  For beginners, it’s usually frustrating when bread recipes say “4 to 6 cups of flour”. Why such a range? Well, it’s because you want to use just enough flour to create a nice dough, but not a brick of dough, and this takes a little finesse by adding a little at a time.

• Follow the baking instructions.  Sometimes it’s hard to tell when the bread is done in the middle.  A general rule of thumb is if it’s golden brown and smells like toast, it’s probably done through and through.  If you’re ever unsure, use an instant-read food thermometer.

The internal temperature of the bread should be between 190 and 200 degrees Fahrenheit. 

• Practice. Don’t give up on yourself the first time you make bread.  If it fails, try again. Believe me, the end result is worth it!

Looking for more bread recipes? Try these reader favorites!

Potato Flake Amish Friendship Bread Starter

Homemade Sourdough Starter

Homemade Sourdough Bread

Sourdough Soft Pretzels

Sourdough Pancakes

Sourdough Pizza Crust

Have you made any of my recipes? Post it on Instagram and tag @jennifercooks123 and #jennifercooks!

Print Recipe

Potato Flake Amish Friendship Bread

Author: Jennifer Locklin

Ingredients

• 1 cup starter
• 1/2 canola oil
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 5 to 6 cups Bread Flour
• 1 Tablespoon yeast

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• Combine all ingredients into a large mixing bowl.
• Using your hands or a stand mixer, mix the ingredients together until you have a nice dough that leaves the side of the bowl but is still soft.
• Knead by hand or with a stand mixer. Knead by hand for about 10 minutes, or if using a stand mixer, knead for 2 minutes.
• Clean, dry and grease the bowl and place the dough back into the prepared bowl.
• Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel or loosely with plastic wrap in a draft-free warm place (countertop is fine).
• Allow to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Divide dough into 3 equal pieces and roll and shape into 3 thick logs.
• Place into 3 greased loaf pans and cover loosely again and allow to rise until almost double, about 45 minutes to an hour.
• Bake at 350 degrees until golden brown or an internal temperature of 200 degrees.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool in the pans for about 5 minutes.
• Remove from pans and cool on wire rack.
• This dough also makes delicious dinner rolls. Instead of shaping into 3 loaves, pinch off dough into walnut-sized balls and place on a greased sheet pan and follow the same rise and baking instructions.