Got this idea from an eG thread. Give a jar of starter together with a loaf of sourdough bread with the recipe, and a jar of homemade preserves (also with recipe).
Friendship cakes have been called the "edible chain letter." Various friendship cake starters have been passed from person to person for more than a hundred years. The original concoction, a.k.a. Amish Friendship Cake or Herman Cake, started as a mixture of flour, sugar and water.
Airborne yeast fermented the mixture which was a staple to early pioneers in bread making. Of course, this was before you could buy active dry yeast at the grocery store.
The starter, which was the leavening agent, was used to make pancakes, breads and cakes. Sourdough packing pioneers relied on the starter as a leavening agent. Today?s friendship bread recipes are more of a luxury or a novelty than a necessary staple.
When the starter is passed on, a recipe and instructions are given with it. The mixture sits on the counter for seventy-two hours, until it becomes a fermented starter. Then, according to a carefully prescribed ritual, the starter is fed and stirred daily. The stirring must be done with a wooden spoon, for 10 more days. If it is not carefully nurtured, the starter will die.
But then if it lives, the resulting mass must be divided. One portion goes into a quick bread batter, another is kept and the two remaining portions are given to friends, thus the name - friendship bread. Folks too greedy to share have found that the starter spreads to gigantic proportions, soon over-running the kitchen. After experiencing this disaster, most people are compelled to pass it on.
Anthropologists say people like to share things they have invested their time in. It is the notion of giving something of yourself. Although this friendship bread starter is a frugal gift, it is homemade and it produces a mouth-watering bread with a distinctive taste that can only be achieved with the starter.
Thanks, Carla. I'm one of those who like to make/bake things as gifts. Too bad I can't find enough people or even one other person to start a chain here.
Replies
Great idea, I think it started with the Amish people in the US.
It's a way to make friends! That's why they call it a starter!
Jeremy
[b]Friendship Cake or Muffin Bug[/b]
Friendship cakes have been called the "edible chain letter." Various friendship cake starters have been passed from person to person for more than a hundred years. The original concoction, a.k.a. Amish Friendship Cake or Herman Cake, started as a mixture of flour, sugar and water.
Airborne yeast fermented the mixture which was a staple to early pioneers in bread making. Of course, this was before you could buy active dry yeast at the grocery store.
The starter, which was the leavening agent, was used to make pancakes, breads and cakes. Sourdough packing pioneers relied on the starter as a leavening agent. Today?s friendship bread recipes are more of a luxury or a novelty than a necessary staple.
When the starter is passed on, a recipe and instructions are given with it. The mixture sits on the counter for seventy-two hours, until it becomes a fermented starter. Then, according to a carefully prescribed ritual, the starter is fed and stirred daily. The stirring must be done with a wooden spoon, for 10 more days. If it is not carefully nurtured, the starter will die.
But then if it lives, the resulting mass must be divided. One portion goes into a quick bread batter, another is kept and the two remaining portions are given to friends, thus the name - friendship bread. Folks too greedy to share have found that the starter spreads to gigantic proportions, soon over-running the kitchen. After experiencing this disaster, most people are compelled to pass it on.
Anthropologists say people like to share things they have invested their time in. It is the notion of giving something of yourself. Although this friendship bread starter is a frugal gift, it is homemade and it produces a mouth-watering bread with a distinctive taste that can only be achieved with the starter.
[size=9]Put together from various sources.[/size]
Thanks, Carla. I'm one of those who like to make/bake things as gifts. Too bad I can't find enough people or even one other person to start a chain here.
TP,
you sent me those moon cakes! Imagine the miles and the place they traveled, but most of all the time and effort to make package and send them!
Alway's grateful,
Jeremy