Cinnamon Friendship Bread

[ramen_addict]

As promised, here's a cleaned-up version of the bread recipe Mom brought home last week. Let me know if anything's unclear or completely wrong or... well, anything else I should know about.

Starter

Ingredients:
1 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
1 packet yeast

Equipment:
1 one-gallon Ziploc bag
1 permanent marker
appropriate measuring cups

Preparation Time:
10 days

1. Dump all the ingredients into the Ziploc bag.
2. Press out as much of the air as you can, seal the bag, and mix the ingredients together until they're pretty much mixed.
3. Write the starting date on the bag's front and leave it out somewhere nearby to ferment.

Fermentation Period

Day 2: Release any air that's built up in the Ziploc bag. Reseal and mush the starter together for a bit, then set it aside again.
Day 3: See Day 2
Day 4: See Day 2
Day 5: See Day 2
Day 6: Add 1 cup each of flour, sugar, and milk. Release as much air as you can, reseal, mush everything together, and set it aside.
Day 7: See Day 2
Day 8: See Day 2
Day 9: See Day 2


Day 10: Sharing

Ingredients:
3 ½ cups flour
3 cups sugar
3 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
3 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup oil
½ teaspoon vanilla
preferred greasing material

Equipment:
measuring cups
measuring spoons
up to 4 one-gallon Ziploc bags
large mixing bowl
small mixing bowl
a sturdy mixer
2 large loaf pans or equivalent bake-friendly dishes
permanent marker

Preparation Time:
a while to mix, about an hour to bake

1. Add 1 ½ cups each of flour, sugar, and milk to the starter. Seal the bag and mush it all up evenly.
2. Measure out 1 cup of batter into each of the clean Ziploc bags. Mark the current date on each bag, seal them up, and give them to friends with a complete set of instructions.
3. Preheat oven to 325°
4. Combine ½ cup of sugar and 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon in the small mixing bowl. Set aside.
5. Combine the remaining ingredients, including your starter, in the large bowl and mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
6. Grease the baking pans and dust the greased areas with your cinnamon sugar mixture.
7. Half-fill each baking pan with batter and sprinkle more cinnamon sugar over the surface. If any batter remains, set it aside for baking later or, if your oven's big enough, prepare another pan.
8. Bake for 50-55 minutes.
9. Cool for 10 minutes or until the bread naturally loosens from the pan. If the top is flat, turn the bread out onto a serving dish--carefully, since the cinnamon sugar may still be loose. Otherwise remove upright.

Day 10: Not Sharing

Ingredients:
2 cups flour
1 ½ cups sugar
3 ½ teaspoons cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 large box instant vanilla pudding
3 eggs
½ cup milk
1 cup oil
½ teaspoon vanilla
preferred greasing material

Equipment:
measuring cups
measuring spoons
large mixing bowl
small mixing bowl
a sturdy mixer
2 large loaf pans or equivalent bake-friendly dishes

Preparation Time:
a while to mix, about an hour to bake

1. Preheat oven to 325°
2. Combine ½ cup of sugar and 1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon in the small mixing bowl. Set aside.
3. Combine the remaining ingredients, including your starter, in the large bowl and mix with an electric mixer until smooth.
4. Grease the baking pans and dust the greased areas with your cinnamon sugar mixture.
5. Half-fill each baking pan with batter and sprinkle more cinnamon sugar over the surface. If any batter remains, set it aside for baking later or, if your oven's big enough, prepare another pan.
6. Bake for 50-55 minutes.
7. Cool for 10 minutes or until the bread naturally loosens from the pan. If the top is flat, turn the bread out onto a serving dish--carefully, since the cinnamon sugar may still be loose. Otherwise remove upright.

Notes: You can experiment with different flavors of pudding, as well as adding things like chocolate chips or nuts. Whatever you think will taste good! Also, according to the recipe I've got you're not supposed to use a metal spoon or bowl for mixing when you're preparing the starter, since it supposedly inhibits the fermentation process. I don't know how much truth is behind that, but it seems easier and quicker to mix it all in the Ziploc bag anyway. Do what you like.