Chocolate Chocolate Chip Amish Friendship Bread

I received an Amish Friendship Bread started from a friend of mine. I hadn't made any for about a year and I wasn't quite sure what I was going to do with it. I decided to mush it and feed it, as instructed, and once it was done and ready to be used I didn't feel like making any. So what do you do in that situation? You put it in the fridge, of course! Sure, the so-called instructions tell you NOT to put it in the fridge. It also states that 'only the Amish know how to create the "starter"'.

Yeah, right. That's why there are recipes for the starter on every single self-respecting recipe site.

They've cracked the Amish bread starter code!


I also doubt that the Amish regularly use Jell-o Instant pudding in their recipes.

Anyway, this version is one of my favorite recipes that uses the starter. It's chocolatey and fudgy, and instantly satisfies any chocolate craving. D loves this stuff, and so did his family when I took some over for a family gathering. In fact, D's 5-year-old nephew filled his plate with this bread behind everyone's back, and I found him in the stairwell finishing the last piece, looking very satisfied.

That's the beginning of a healthy lifelong chocolate addiction.


Chocolate Chocolate Chip Amish Friendship Bread

2 cups of Amish Bread Starter (taken through the entire 10-day cycle), find recipe here
3 eggs, slightly beaten
1 cup vegetable oil (or 1/2 cup oil, 1/2 cup applesauce)
1/2 cup milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 large box of instant pudding, Chocolate falvor (or 2 small boxes)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour two loaf pans.
2. Add eggs, oil, milk and vanilla to the starter and stir until combined. Combine baking powder, baking soda, salt, flour, cocoa powder and dry pudding mix and stir together. Add dry ingredients to wet batter, gently stirring until just blended. Stir in chocolate chips.
3. Divide batter between the prepared pans and bake for about 1 hour, until a toothpick insterted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pans for about 10 minutes, then remove bread to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

Or you can cut right in while it's hot. I'll warn you though. It falls apart if cut while warm, and it's a big mess. But oh, it would be delicious with some vanilla ice cream and caramel sauce.

*drool*

Note: I've notice that the center of the loaf tends to fall a bit by the end of the baking time. I'm not sure how to fix that but maybe adding a little flour would help...