The Best Chocolate Amish Friendship Bread (Rich & Moist Loaf!)

The Delicious Reward for a Little Bit of Patience

I’ll never forget the first time a friend handed me a zip-top bag filled with a strange, bubbly, and slightly sour-smelling batter. “Here,” she said with a smile, “it’s Amish Friendship Bread starter. Feed it for ten days, and you’ll have the best bread ever.” It felt like a curious science experiment and a culinary chain letter all in one. What if you could take that simple bag of starter, a symbol of community and sharing, and transform it into the most decadent, rich, and moist chocolate loaf imaginable? This is that recipe. This is the ultimate Chocolate Amish Friendship Bread, a deep, dark, and delicious way to use your starter that will have everyone begging for a slice (and their own bag of starter!).

Your Ingredient List for a Decadent Chocolate Loaf

This recipe takes the tangy base of a classic Amish Friendship Bread starter and infuses it with a double dose of chocolate for an unbelievably rich and moist loaf that’s part bread, part cake, and all delicious.

Component	Ingredient	Amount & Sensory Description
The Essential Starter	Amish Friendship Bread Starter	1 cup – The tangy, fermented, living heart of the recipe. This should be a bubbly, active starter on Day 10 of its feeding cycle.
The Wet Ingredients	Eggs	3 large – For structure, richness, and binding everything together.
	Vegetable Oil	1 cup – The secret to a supremely moist crumb that stays soft and tender for days.
	Milk	½ cup – Adds additional moisture and richness to the batter.
	Sugar	1 cup – For sweetness that perfectly balances the tangy starter and bitter cocoa.
	Vanilla Extract	½ teaspoon – A warm, aromatic background note to enhance the chocolate flavor.
The Dry Ingredients	All-Purpose Flour	2 cups – The primary structure for our soft and delicious loaf.
	Unsweetened Cocoa Powder	¼ cup – For a deep, dark, and sophisticated chocolate flavor.
	Instant Chocolate Pudding	2 (3.9 oz) boxes – The secret weapon! This ensures an ultra-moist, rich, and dense crumb.
	Leavening & Salt	1½ tsp Baking Powder, ½ tsp Baking Soda, ½ tsp Salt – To give the dense loaf the perfect lift and to balance all the flavors.
	Chocolate Chips	1 cup – For gooey, melted pockets of extra chocolatey goodness in every slice.
For the Pan & Topping	Sugar & Cocoa Powder	½ cup sugar & ½ tsp cocoa – For dusting the pans, creating a sweet, crunchy, non-stick crust.

Timing: A Quick Prep for a Flavorful Bake

While the friendship bread starter itself takes ten days to cultivate, the process of making this delicious chocolate loaf is incredibly quick and simple.

• Preparation Time: 15 minutes
• Baking Time: 1 hour
• Total Time: Approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes

While a standard quick bread bakes in a similar amount of time, its flavor is often one-dimensional. This recipe leverages a 10-day fermented starter. Food science data shows that this fermentation process develops complex organic acids, creating a remarkable depth of flavor with a subtle tang that is simply impossible to achieve in a non-fermented loaf.

Step 1: Preheat and Prepare Your Pans

First, preheat your oven to 325°F (165°C). Generously grease two large (9×5 inch) loaf pans. In a small bowl, mix together the ½ cup of sugar and ½ teaspoon of cocoa powder. Sprinkle this mixture into the greased pans, tilting and tapping the pans to coat the bottom and all sides completely. This pro-tip not only prevents the loaves from sticking but also creates a wonderfully sweet and slightly crunchy exterior crust.

Step 2: Combine the Wet Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, start by whisking your 3 eggs. Then, add the oil, milk, sugar, vanilla, and, most importantly, your 1 cup of active Amish Friendship Bread starter. Whisk everything together until it is smooth and well combined.

Step 3: Combine the Dry Ingredients

In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, cocoa powder, the two boxes of instant chocolate pudding mix, baking powder, salt, and baking soda. Whisking the dry ingredients separately is a key step to ensure the leavening agents are evenly distributed, which will help your loaves rise beautifully.

Step 4: Create the Rich Chocolate Batter

Gradually add the dry ingredient mixture to your large bowl of wet ingredients. Mix with a spatula or on low speed with a mixer until the ingredients are just combined. Be careful not to overmix! Finally, gently fold in the 1 cup of chocolate chips.

Step 5: Fill the Pans and Add the Topping

Divide the thick, rich batter evenly between your two prepared loaf pans. Sprinkle any remaining sugar-cocoa mixture from your prep bowl evenly over the top of the batter in both pans.

Step 6: Bake to Moist Perfection

Place the loaf pans in your preheated oven and bake for 1 hour. The bread is done when it begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a wooden skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean or with a few moist crumbs attached.

Step 7: Cool and Enjoy

Let the loaves cool in the pans on a wire rack for about 15-20 minutes before carefully inverting them to remove them from the pans. Let them cool completely on the wire rack before slicing.

A Look at the Nutritional Side

This is a rich, dense, and decadent chocolate loaf, perfect for a special treat or a gift. Here is an approximate nutritional breakdown for one slice, assuming each loaf is cut into 12 slices.

• Calories: Approximately 280-310 kcal
• Fat: 14g
• Carbohydrates: 38g
• Sugar: 22g
• Protein: 4g

Healthier Alternatives & Fun Variations

Want to make a few adjustments to this delicious recipe? Here are some ideas.

• Sugar-Free Pudding: You can use sugar-free instant chocolate pudding mix to slightly reduce the overall sugar content.
• Oil Swap: For a different flavor profile, you can substitute half of the vegetable oil with unsweetened applesauce or plain Greek yogurt. This will create a slightly denser loaf.
• Fun Mix-Ins: Feel free to swap the chocolate chips for other fun additions like peanut butter chips, chopped walnuts, or even dried cherries for a Black Forest flavor.

Creative Serving Suggestions

This rich chocolate loaf is wonderfully versatile.

• The Simple Classic: A simple slice is perfect with a morning cup of coffee or a tall glass of cold milk.
• A La Mode: Gently warm a thick slice in the microwave for 15-20 seconds and serve it with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream for an incredible dessert.
• Toasted with Butter: Believe it or not, a slice of this loaf is delicious when lightly toasted and slathered with a bit of salted butter.
• Drizzled with Glaze: For an extra decadent touch, drizzle the cooled loaves with a simple powdered sugar glaze or a rich chocolate ganache.

Common Mistakes to Avoid for the Perfect Loaf

Follow these tips to ensure your friendship bread is a delicious success.

1. Using an Inactive Starter. Your Amish Friendship Bread starter must be active and bubbly on Day 10 of its feeding cycle. If you use a flat, unfed starter, your bread will be dense, heavy, and lack the signature tangy flavor.
2. Overmixing the Batter. Once you combine the wet and dry ingredients, mix only until the flour streaks disappear. Overmixing will develop the gluten and result in a tough, dry loaf instead of a tender, moist one.
3. Underbaking. This is a very dense and moist bread, and it needs the full hour to bake through. Trust the toothpick test—if it comes out with wet batter, it needs more time.
4. Forgetting to Prep the Pans. The sugar-cocoa dusting is not just for flavor; it’s essential for preventing this sticky, sugary bread from adhering to the pan. Don’t skip this step!

Storing Tips to Keep it Fresh

Proper storage will keep this moist loaf tasting great for days.

• At Room Temperature: Once completely cooled, store the loaves well-wrapped in plastic wrap or in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.
• Freezer-Friendly: This bread freezes exceptionally well. Wrap the whole loaves or individual slices tightly in plastic wrap, then a layer of aluminum foil, and freeze for up to 3 months. It’s a perfect way to save one loaf for later.

The Most Delicious Way to Share a Little Friendship

This Chocolate Amish Friendship Bread is the ultimate reward for nurturing your starter. It’s an incredibly moist, deeply chocolatey, and satisfyingly rich loaf that bridges the gap between a quick bread and a decadent cake. It’s the perfect recipe to bake and share with a friend—perhaps along with a bag of starter so they can begin their own delicious journey.

We are so excited for you to turn your starter into this chocolatey treat! Let us know how it turns out in the comments below. For more creative and delicious ways to use your Amish Friendship Bread starter, be sure to subscribe!

FAQs: Your Friendship Bread Questions Answered

Q1: What exactly is Amish Friendship Bread starter?

Amish Friendship Bread starter is a sourdough-like starter made from flour, sugar, and milk that you “feed” and care for over a 10-day cycle. It’s often shared among friends and neighbors, much like a culinary chain letter, to continue the baking tradition.

Q2: I don’t have a starter. Can I still make this recipe?

Unfortunately, no. This recipe is specifically designed to be used with the 1 cup of starter you have on Day 10 of the cycle. The unique tangy flavor and the chemistry of the batter rely on the fermented starter. You can easily find recipes online to begin your own starter from scratch!

Q3: Why does this recipe use instant pudding mix?

The instant pudding mix is a secret weapon for an incredibly moist and tender crumb. The starches in the pudding mix help to hold onto moisture, guaranteeing a rich, dense, and never-dry loaf.

Q4: Can I bake this in a different type of pan?

Yes! This recipe works beautifully in a 10 or 12-cup bundt pan. You will need to grease and dust the pan well and bake for about 50-60 minutes. It also makes great muffins; bake them for about 20-25 minutes.

Q5: Can I leave out the chocolate chips to make it just a “chocolate” loaf?

Of course. If you prefer a loaf without the extra texture of the chips, you can simply omit them. The combination of the cocoa powder and the chocolate pudding mix will still provide a wonderfully rich chocolate flavor.