Friendship Bread

 

Every February I can’t help but think of my Mom. You see, every February it would be cold and brown outside however in my house it was warm with the smell of cinnamon. Mom made this incredible bread that took 10 days to make. She used a sourdough starter that she had from friends in California. It was job to get on my bike and deliver these little bags of goo to neighbors and teachers. She was very protective of the process but she taught me how to make the bread. The only thing she neglected to teach me was how to make the STARTER. If you don’t have the starter then you can’t make this incredible bread. So, I went on a search through her recipe cards, books, and notes. BINGO! Written on the back of her Best of Lake Elsinore Cookbook was the missing starter. I thought it was going to be something magical and difficult. Well, I was wrong. Only 4 ingredients and 4 Ziploc bags! Here is the starter recipe:

Frannie’s Friendship Bread

1 (0.25 ounce) package active dry yeast (NOT QUICK RISE)
1/4 cup warm water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup whole milk

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water along with 1 teaspoon of sugar. Let stand 10 minutes. If it gets frothy then you know your yeast is alive and happy.
In a medium sized bowl, plastic or ceramic container, combine 1 cup flour and 1 cup sugar. Mix thoroughly or flour will lump when milk is added.
Slowly stir in 1 cup milk and dissolved yeast mixture.
Cover loosely and let stand at room temperature until bubbly. This is your DAY 1 of the 10 day process. For the next 10 days treat the  starter according to my printable instructions. Divide into 4 gallon sized Ziploc bags. Once this is done, Enclose my printable instructions with each bag when you deliver.