Potato Flake Amish Friendship Bread Sourdough Starter uses instant potato flakes is easy to make and makes a wonderfully soft and flavorful bread!
Potato Flake Amish Friendship Bread Sourdough Starter is one of the easiest bread starters to make and to maintain. Unlike San Francisco style sourdough starters, this one doesn’t use any flour.
Instead of requiring a couple of weeks before use, this starter is ready to use within a couple of days and is very low maintenance to feed and maintain.
This sourdough starter is sweeter and milder than San Francisco style starters, and makes a delicious, soft, fine bread that delicious warm with butter or as a hearty sandwich! Try baking the Potato Flake Amish Friendship Bread as soon as the starter is ready!
Tips for Amish Friendship Bread Sourdough Starter:
- Before each feeding, it’s important to use or discard at least a cup of the starter, this will prevent your starter amount from growing out of control.
- Make sure you take the time to measure precisely when making the starter, and then again when you’re making the bread. It will make a world of difference in the end product.
- This recipe can be interchanged for use in my other sourdough recipes, just make sure you feed it at least 8-12 hours before use.
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Amish Friendship Bread Sourdough Starter
Equipment
- Weck Jar for storing starter
Ingredients
Starter Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons instant potato flakes
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup warm water
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast or one package
Feeding Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons instant potato flakes
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup warm water
Instructions
- Start with a clean glass container or medium glass bowl.
- Cover with a breathable tea towel or loose cling wrap that is slightly gaping.
- Leave it at room temperature for 4 days, stirring daily.
- Remove 1 cup of the starter to make your bread. Place the remaining starter in the refrigerator.
- Maintaining The Starter
- Allow it to sit at room temperature for 6 hours, or until it looks bubbly and active.
- Once bubbly, it can be used in bread recipes.
- Keep stored in the refrigerator between uses and feed every 3-5 days
*Nutrition information is automatically calculated based on ingredient data and should be considered an estimate. When multiple ingredient options are provided, the first listed is used for calculation. Optional ingredients and garnishes are not included in the nutrition analysis.
Does this recipe have any flour? I don’t see it listed in the ingredients.
Hi Genie! No, this starter recipe does not have any flour.
What degree of warm water do you use?
The rule of thumb is 105-115, but no higher.
Where does the yeast come into play?
Hi there! The yeast is mixed in with the starter ingredients.
How often do I add the yeast? Is it only in the initial starter?
Yes, it is only in the initial starter.
I would like to know, step five of the recipe where it says to remove all but a cup. After I do that do I put the rest of it back in the refrigerator and wait five days to feed it? Or do I feed it first and then put it in the refrigerator For five days?
You remove 1 cup of the starter to bake with or simply discard all but 1 cup of the remaining starter. This is a discard/feed process you do every 5 days to keep the starter alive. You leave it on the counter for 8 hours the first time you combine the starter ingredients, then you can refrigerate for 5 days at a time between feedings. You can use the starter from the refrigerator, but allow it to come to room temperature first.
IM WNTING TO TRY MAKING SOUR DOUGH BREAD, INSTEAD OF DUMPING HALF THE DOUGH…CANT YOU JUST START A NEW BATCH OF SOUR DOUGH, I HATE WASTE
Sure, you can do that! I have some recipes you may like to use with the discard as well:
https://jennifercooks.com/sourdough-pancakes/
https://jennifercooks.com/sourdough-soft-pretzels/
https://jennifercooks.com/homemade-sourdough-bread/
Can I bake with it after I feed it the first time after it sits on the counter for 8 hours or do I have to wait till it sits in the fridge for 5 days.
It’s best to use it after it fully sours, which may take up to 5 days.
I’m getting ready to start me a starter! I had one many years ago …….actually carried with me to Shanghai because I was living there at the time. It was a little piece of home and all my friends loved it. However on my return to the states my recipe started gurgling and ran over in my soft natural colored backpack! And you know it smells….but I emptied the bag when I got home….everything was covered with starter and I took the smelly wet leather bag and put in a sink of warm soap water….cleaned the stuff from bag and all was clean! My starter survived and I continued using it for a total of 15 years! So I’m doing it again! Thank you for the recipe!
That’s awesome! I love that you can use a sourdough started for years and years!
I understand I take it out of fridge every 5 days. I feed it, leave on counter, then remove my cup for making bread. What I’m confused about is when to discard the extra— before or after feeding and sitting out. If I understand it right, I should only have 1 cup of starter when I return my jar to the refridgerator. I really want to get this right since I’ve discovered I can eat this even though gluten affects me due to silent reflux. Thank you
Hi Paula! Great question! You discard it BEFORE feeding. I hope this helps!
I always take my starter out of fridge then feed it, let it sit on counter overnight then next morning kinda stir it around & pour 1 cup of it in a glass measuring cup then if I’m gonna make bread I measure out the amount I need then discard any that’s left but if I’m not gonna make any bread that week I will just pour all but that 1cup I saved down the drain then return my 1cup I had saved back in its jar cover with coffee filter then screw on the band part of lid w/out the center part of the lid (the flat) then stick it back in fridge for another week(it’s easier for me to just pick a day out of the week & feed it on that day every week. There has been times I’ve gone 2/3 weeks between feedings &it is still going strong since 2021 & of course I have 2 jars going just in case I happen to knock one over or something (because im clumsy like that sometimes)and I would have a spare.
Wow, Jenn, you’ve got that starter routine down! I love that you’ve got two jars going—more backup plans than I have for dinner most nights! Isn’t it wild how those little bubbling jars keep going strong even after a bit of neglect? Yours is a real trooper!
Your “one day a week” plan is genius—starters are like low-maintenance pets. And I feel you on the clumsiness. I’ve spilled enough things in my kitchen to know a backup is always a good idea!
Thanks for sharing your routine—keep that sourdough magic alive!
which is the correct way feed potato flake starter, feed 1st then discard, or discard and then feed starter. ? I have seen these 2 ways in different recipes. Thank You
Hi Dora! For this particular recipe, I have always done it exactly as directed. It may work other ways but I have not tried any other ways for this recipe.
What is the ideal temperature my kitchen should be when leaving it on the counter? My house is usually on the colder side. I just tried making my starter and I failed. It stayed liquid. I’m thinking it’s because my house is on the colder side.
Hi Sarah, thanks for reaching out! You’re absolutely right — temperature plays a big role in getting your potato flake starter to bubble and thrive. Ideally, you want your kitchen to be somewhere between 70-75°F for the best results. If your house runs cooler, that could definitely be the reason your starter stayed liquid.
But don’t worry — there are a few tricks to help it along! You can place the jar in a warm spot, like on top of your fridge or inside an OFF oven with the light on (just make sure it’s not too warm — we’re going for cozy, not sauna). Another option is to wrap the jar in a kitchen towel or use a seedling mat to add a little warmth.
Don’t give up on it just yet! It might just need more time and a bit of warmth to get going.
I just started my starter and it’s time to feed it. If I take one cup out to bake with and discard the other I want have any left? I am confused!
Hello! It can definitely be a little confusing at first, but don’t worry—you’re on the right track. When it’s time to feed your starter, you only need to take out one cup—that’s your “discard,” but instead of tossing it, that’s the part you bake with! The rest of your starter stays put, gets fed, and keeps on living happily on your counter (or in the fridge, if that’s your style).
So no need to throw any more away—just scoop out that cup when it’s baking time, and your starter will keep going strong. Hope that helps, and happy baking!