Amish Friendship Bread--Part II

Yesterday, I promised the recipe for Amish Friendship Bread.  Today, I deliver.

If you have received a bag of starter from a friend, skip the first portion of the recipe below (for the starter) and skip straight to "Amish Friendship Bread."

Amish Friendship Bread Starter
1 (.25 ounce) package active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
1 cup milk

In a small bowl, dissolve yeast in water.  Let it stand for 10 minutes.  In a large glass, plastic, or ceramic bowl, thoroughly combine flour and sugar.  Mix thoroughly so it doesn't get lumpy when you add the milk.  Very slowly stir in the milk and dissolved yeast mixture.  Cover loosely, and let it stand at room temperature until the mixture bubbles.  Consider this day 1 of the 10-day bread cycle.

Amish Friendship Bread
Important Note: Don't use metal spoons or bowls.  Don't refrigerate.  If air gets into the bag, let it out.  It is normal for the batter to rise, ferment, and bubble.

Day 1: Do nothing.  This is the day you receive (or create) the yeast starter.
Day 2: Mush the bag.  (Some say "mash" the bag, but doesn't "mush" sound like much more fun?)
Day 3: Mush the bag.
Day 4: Mush the bag.
Day 5: Mush the bag.
Day 6: Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup milk to the bag.  Mush it all together.
Day 7: Mush the bag.
Day 8: Mush the bag.
Day 9: Mush the bag.
Day 10: Follow the instructions below:

Pour the entire contents of the bag into a non-metal bowl.  Add 1.5 cups flour, 1.5 cups sugar, and 1.5 cups milk.  Stir to combine (using a non-metal spoon).

Write the date on four gallon-size Ziploc bags.  Measure one cup of batter into each bag.  Keep one bag for yourself and give the other three bags to friends along with a copy of the recipe.  (Please note: according my my (ridiculously extensive) reading on the subject as well as a hot tip from my friend Kathi, you CAN freeze the starter if you don't want to keep baking bread every 10 days.  Just begin the cycle where you left off once the starter has thawed.)  You should have a little over a cup of batter left in your bowl at this point.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.  Grease two loaf pans.

In a separate small bowl, combine the following:
1/2 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoons cinnamon

Use half of the cinnamon sugar to dust the greased pans.

To the remaining starter batter in your bowl, add:
3 eggs
1 cup oil (or 1/2 cup oil and 1/2 cup applesauce)
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients:
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour
1 large box OR 2 small boxes of instant vanilla pudding
1/2 teaspoon salt

Mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.  Evenly divide batter between the greased pans.  Sprinkle the remaining cinnamon sugar over the top of the batter.  Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour.  Cool until the bread loosens from the sides of the pan (about ten minutes), and remove from the pan.  Serve for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until it's gone.