Friendship Sponge ~ and Bread!

*Very easy! You can keep this going for years if you want to. If you enjoyed this video, please give us a thumbs up so I know it was of interest to viewers. I appreciate it.
Friendship Sponge:
3 cup warm milk total
3 cup flour total
3 cup sugar total
1/2 - 1 teaspoon commercial yeast
*Days 1-5: mix 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, yeast and 1 cup warm milk, mix well. Allow to sit on the counter for 5 days. Stir daily. Keep covered tightly with lid.
Day 5: add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar, and 1 cup warm milk - no yeast after the initial start of your first sponge. Mix well. Allow to sit and keep the lid tight, stirring daily, until day 10.
*Day 10: add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup warm milk. Remove 1 cup of sponge for your bread. Place 2 cups of starter in two containers or baggies for friends-1 cup per container or baggie. With the remaining cup, allow to sit on your counter and feed as above for your next batch of sponge.
*Friendship sponge can be given away to two people every 10 days, hence why it is called ‘friendship’ sponge.
*Friendship sponge can make both bread and cake, and both are delicious!
Friendship Bread:
1cup starter
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3 eggs
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup milk
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
Optional: one large box instant vanilla pudding
*Preheat oven to 325°. Grease 2 bread pans and mix 1/2 cup sugar and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon together in a bowl, sprinkle the sugar mixture into the bread pans and shake pans to coat sides. Pour out remaining sugar mixture and set aside.
*Mix remaining ingredients. Pour into both bread pans and top with remaining cinnamon sugar.
*Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick placed in the bread comes out clean. Allow to sit and cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans. *Cool completely before slicing.
Friendship Cake:
1 cup sponge starter
2/3 cup oil
3 eggs
2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
*Consider adding: diced apples, raisins, nuts, dates, chocolate chips, cocoa powder, drained fruit cocktail or up to 4 overripe bananas. I have also added dried banana chips, dried blueberries, coconut and nuts together, other dried fruit.
*Add all ingredients, stir well. Do not use an electric mixer.
*Bake in a greased and floured bundt pan at 350° for 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
*Allow to rest and cool for 1 hour. Invert over a plate and allow to sit until cake dislodges and falls onto the plate.
*You can cover with frosting, drizzle with glaze or dust with powdered sugar.
*The sponge allows you to make another cake, bread, muffins, pancakes, or other food items every 10 days when it is time to split the sponge into 4 parts.
Both the cake and the bread are definite favorites here. I grew up using this recipe and I have always enjoyed the ease with how easily you can keep this sponge going. Besides using for cake and bread, we also use it for pancakes, muffins, even brownies! Simply adjust your recipe by reducing your liquid 1/4 cup for every cup of friendship sponge you use.
The sponge is very forgiving. So if you forget to stir it for a day or two, just stir when you remember. If you forget to feed it on day 5, each day it is not fed it will begin to sour - no worries. Just feed it when you remember and keep going. By day 10 when you split the sponge into 4 portions and restart your sponge, it will freshen again and become sweet because you have added in so many 'fresh' ingredients. And if all else fails and you've truly ruined it, just start a new sponge again.
In a prepper situation, you can use canned milk, powdered milk, and I have often used water when I ran out of milk or our goats were not producing milk - you just need a liquid, not necessarily milk.
Enjoy!
Rebekah ~ Everything Homestead
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[@watchmanonthewall3852]

I never heard of "friendship sponge"...looks good. Looks easy enough so I'll give it a try. Thanks!

[@everythinghomestead9222]

I have yet to meet someone who doesn't like it. It is not overly sweet and sugary, so you can eat it without feeling sick or thinking you have too much sugar. Excellent with coffee too.
I would encourage you to use the sugar/cinnamon on cake and bread, it really adds a nice touch.
Very easy to make the sponge, hope you have friends who might like the extra ;) If not, you can always make them into cakes and give them away...