Gingerbread Amish Bread

This recipe sounded like a perfect winter treat.  I can't wait to have this with a cup of hot tea!!  Doesn't this sound really yummy!  I luckily got a great deal on molasses that I needed for the recipe so I have two jars and I had all the spices in the recipe.  I didn't have crystallized ginger (which I love in my favorite cookies from a local bakery chain) but I was sort of glad that I tried it without waiting to try to find the ginger because it was super good.  I just heaped a little bit more spices in just in case it wasn't flavorful enough.  Can you believe how much I needed to pull out to make it!  It filled the whole counter :)

I mixed up everything per the recipe.  I used the plastic bowl and not the mixer because I was doing the chocolate chip cookies right after since I already had out all the ingredients.  Plus, you are supposed to mix the Amish starter in the metal bowls so I try to do when I know that it is something I can mix and I don't have to try to cream butter or anything too hard.  Check out the batter with all the little bubbles.

Then I greased and covered with cinnamon and sugar mixture in two loaf pans.  Since I was out of the non-stick cooking spray, I used a sandwich bag to spread the oil in the pan.  It works just as well and I hope to use it going forward instead of splurging on the spray for awhile.

I filled both pans with the batter evenly.  I was super excited to see how dark it turned out because I was certain that it was going to be tasty!

It did turn out great with two wonderful smelling loaves which I was trying to wait to dig into.

I got a few slices on the first night and then had a few the next morning for breakfast.  My husband and I agreed that it was the best bread that we have had with the Amish starter (and maybe at all).  He told me by having one piece and saying that he was going to try one more and then going back for another just one more.  This continued until I started laughing :)  It is worth just one more slice.  Do you want one??  Try out this recipe because it is one of the best tasting bread and perfect for the colder months!  I can't wait to make more because this isn't going to last long.

Update:  I made it a second time and used brown sugar instead of white sugar because I was out of sugar!!!  I wish that I could give a better comparision but since we long since finished the first batch, I thought that they were both good.

Gingerbread Amish Friendship Bread

Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour
Servings: 16
Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients
1 cup Amish Friendship Bread Starter
3 eggs
1 cup oil
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
6 tablespoons molasses
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 cups flour
1-2 small boxes instant vanilla pudding
1 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 cup diced crystallized ginger, plus 2 tablespoons for topping

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325° F (165° C).
2. In a large mixing bowl, add ingredients as listed.
3. Grease two large loaf pans.
4. Dust the greased pans with a mixture of 1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon.
5. Pour the batter evenly into loaf or cake pans. Top with 2 tablespoons diced crystallized ginger and sugar.
6. Bake for one hour or until the bread loosens evenly from the sides and a toothpick inserted in the center of the bread comes out clean.
7. ENJOY!

Kitchen Notes
If available, use turbinado sugar (also known as raw sugar, which has larger crystals) with the chopped crystallized ginger to top the batter. Add a dollop of fresh whipping cream for a festive dessert!

From Linda Delescale: “Use dark brown sugar in place of the white sugar, except for the pan coating and add in 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom to give the bread a little extra zing.”