Amish Double Chocolate Chip Bread

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I love making Amish Friendship Cinnamon Bread. It’s tasty, fast, fun, and easy to make in bulk. However, the recipe does require consistent maintenance. If you follow it to the letter, you will end up making several loaves of bread every 10 days. Even I need to switch things up every once in a while!

So if you’re tired of the same old recipe, I have a new one for you: Amish Double Chocolate Chip Bread.

It follows all the same basic instructions as the cinnamon bread recipe but with a decadently indulgent twist. It’s soft, flavorful, and oh-so-rich. If you’ve got a sweet tooth, a single slice from this heavenly loaf will be sure to satisfy.

It’s Fast and Easy

This Amish double chocolate chip bread comes together in a little over an hour (if you don’t include the time it takes to build the starter). It’s a great choice if you need a dessert for a party or social gathering, and you don’t have a lot of time to wait for bread to rise.

Better still, this loaf is about as easy as it comes to make. You don’t have to worry about yeast, as the active lifting ingredient in the bread is a combination of baking soda and baking powder. All you have to do is stir the ingredients together, pop them in the pan, and let your oven do the rest of the work.

It’s Versatile

Amish Double Chocolate Chip bread is incredibly versatile. You can freeze the bread for several months, and it will still taste as delicious as the day it was baked. You can take the same batter and use it to make muffins. Or you turn this loaf into a base for cake if you swap out the all-purpose flour for cake flour. And along similar lines, you could turn that cake base into cupcakes if you add a little frosting on top.

The possibilities for the bread seem endless to me – so if you have additional ideas for how to use this recipe, let me know in the comment section below.

Time

Prep time:  15 Minutes
Rise time: None
Cook time:  60 Minutes
Total time: 1 Hour 15 Minutes (Plus Starter Build Time)

Ingredients

If you’re making this bread from scratch, you’ll need these ingredients to build your starter:

Starter

• 60 Grams Warm Water (1/4 Cup)
• 7 Grams Dry Active Yeast (2 Teaspoons)
• 150 Grams All-Purpose Flour (1 Cup)
• 200 Grams White Granulated Sugar (1 Cup)
• 240 Grams Milk (1 Cup)

Bread

When you want to bake your bread, make sure you have the following ingredients available:

• 150 Grams All-Purpose Flour (1 Cup)
• 100 Grams White Granulated Sugar (1/2 Cup)
• 50 Grams Cocoa Powder (1/2 Cup)
• 2.5 Grams Baking Powder (1/2 Teaspoon)
• 2.5 Grams Baking Soda (1/2 Teaspoon)
• 3 Grams Salt (1/2 Teaspoon)
• 96 Grams Melted Butter or Vegetable Oil (1/2 Cup)
• 122 Grams Milk (1/2 Cup)
• 2 Grams Vanilla Extract (1/2 Teaspoon)
• 265 Grams Amish Friendship Starter (1 Cup)
• 2 Large Eggs
• 42 Grams Chocolate Chips (1/4 Cup)

For your convenience, I’ve listed both the volume and the weight measurements. But keep in mind that this recipe doesn’t have to be precise. Amish Friendship Starter isn’t an exact science because of the way it’s built and stored in bags for giving away. You might have a bit more or less than a cup of starter to work with, and that’s okay!

This recipe makes one loaf using one cup of starter. If you’re following the Amish Friendship instructions and you’re working with the two cups of leftover starter (that you haven’t put in bags), don’t forget to double the recipe.

Additional Equipment

Amish Double Chocolate Chip Bread doesn’t require a lot of fancy tools to make. If you have a few kitchen basics available, you should have no problem making this bread:

• Ziploc Bag (Gallon Sized)
• Permanent Marker
• Measuring Cups, Bowls, and Spoons
• Kitchen Scale
• A 9-inch X 5-inch Bread Pan
• Wire Cooling Rack
• Oven Mitts

Of course, you don’t necessarily need a marker or a Ziploc bag to make this loaf. Any kind of container for holding your starter will work. You can also make notes in a notebook or keep track of your starter with your phone rather than writing instructions on a bag.

If you do decide to make a purchase, keep in mind that I am an Amazon associate, so I earn money whenever you use an affiliate link. My opinions are my own, however, and I only recommend what I use regularly.

Instructions

Amish Friendship breads require a starter that you make, maintain, and then give away. Unlike my wild yeast starter that only involves water and flour, this Amish starter uses milk and sugar to feed the yeast. As a result, the starter tastes more sweet than sour, making it the perfect base for a lot of quick desserts.

Prep The Bag

If you’re making your starter from scratch, you’ll need a container for your starter as well as a place for all your instructions to follow. I prefer a Ziploc bag that I can write directly onto, but you can use any non-metal container to hold things and your phone to keep track of what you need to do.

Here’s what I write on my Ziploc bag:

• Day 1: Do Nothing
• Day 2: Mash the Bag
• Day 3: Mash the Bag
• Day 4: Mash the Bag
• Day 5: Mash the Bag
• Day 6: Add 150 Grams Flour (1 Cup), 200 Grams Sugar (1 Cup), 240 Grams Milk (1 Cup)
• Day 7: Mash the Bag
• Day 8: Mash the Bag
• Day 9: Mash the Bag
• Day 10: Pour entire bag into nonmetal bowl. Add 150 Grams Flour (1 Cup), 200 Grams Sugar (1 Cup), and 240 Grams Milk (1 Cup). Measure 260 Grams Starter (1 Cup) into 4 Ziploc bags. Give 3 bags away and keep 1 starter for yourself. With the remaining starter in the bowl, use it to make bread.

Or rather, those instructions are what I would write if I weren’t feeling lazy. Shorthand will work, too.

Make Your Starter

If you’re using a reusable container, you’ll want to mix things with a spoon rather than mashing the bag. The goal is to make sure all the bits of flour and sugar eventually dissolve and keep feeding your yeast.

No matter if you are using a bag or a different container, once you have your instructions ready, you can go ahead and mix the water, yeast, flour, sugar, and milk together for your starter. Remember to mix daily, feed your starter on day 6, and then feed and divide your starter on day 10. After that you can use your starter to make Amish Double Chocolate Chip Bread.

Again, you should note that this recipe only uses one cup of your starter to make one loaf. If you’re following the exact instructions from Day 10 (rather than using the starter from one of the bags), you’ll need to double the recipe. On average, I have about 2 cups of starter left in the bowl to make two loaves of bread.

Mix Your Batter

This Amish double chocolate bread comes together quickly, so before you get mixing, don’t forget to preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit (162 degrees Celsius). Then, combine your flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large mixing bowl.

Next, stir together your vegetable oil, milk, vanilla extract, eggs, and starter in a smaller mixing bowl until well incorporated.

Add your wet ingredients from the smaller bowl with the dry ingredients in the larger mixing bowl. Stir until just moistened. Avoid overmixing your batter or your loaf will sink in the middle.

Fold in the chocolate chips and then pour the batter into a lightly greased 9-inch by 5-inch bread pan. If you struggle with quick loaves sticking to the pan, consider lining your pan with parchment paper. Sprinkle additional chocolate chips over the top of the batter.

Bake Your Bread

Bake Amish Double Chocolate Chip bread for 1 hour. If you have a probe thermometer, the inside of your loaf should reach about 195 to 200 degrees Fahrenheit (90 to 93 degrees Celsius). If you don’t have a thermometer, an inserted toothpick should come away clean with maybe a few moist crumbs. Just note that the toothpick test can be unreliable, as it’s easy to mistake melted chocolate chips for unbaked batter.

Use a sharp knife to loosen the sides of the bread from the bread pan. Let the bread cool in the pan on a wire cooling rack for an hour before turning out the bread.

Once your Amish Double Chocolate Chip bread has finished cooling, feel free to slice, serve, and enjoy with a glass of milk.

If you have more bread than you can eat quickly, feel free to wrap some of the bread and freeze it to thaw later. Do not place the bread in the fridge as it will go stale faster.

Just the Basics

Secrets to Success

Amish Double Chocolate Chip Bread looks complicated on the outset. You have to make and maintain a starter for 10 days before you can bake with it. However, once you get going, the recipe is easy enough that even a beginner baker can turn out a professional loaf.

A good quick bread rises in the oven thanks to baking soda and baking powder. The fast rise should result in a beautiful cracked.

However, if you over mix your batter before pouring it into the pan, you may see a sunken middle rather than a slightly rounded top. Try to stir your ingredients until they’re just moistened rather than focusing on eliminating every single lump.

If overmixing isn’t your problem but you still have a sunken middle, skip greasing the sides of your bread pan. The bread will cling to the edges and receive extra support during baking.

What If I Don’t Want to Share?

Amish Double Chocolate Bread is meant to be shared – hence the name. But I understand that sometimes it’s difficult to find enough people to benefit from your generosity. Part of the reason I created this particular recipe is to use up those extra bags containing a single cup of starter, so you don’t have to bombard your friends and family with your baking.

Even you still feel like you have more starter than you know what to do with, here are a few suggestions:

• Make more bread. Each bag holds 1 cup of starter, exactly what you need to make one loaf. If you feel like baking more, go ahead and make additional loaves with your other bags.
• Make muffins. You can make 12 muffins rather than 1 loaf with this recipe. Turn up the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius), and reduce your baking time to 25 to 30 minutes.
• Make cake. Need a solid chocolate cake recipe? Swap out the all-purpose flour for cake flour, and pour the batter into a cake pan. Adjust your baking times according to the size of your cake pan.
• Make cupcakes. As with the cake recipe, swap out the all-purpose flour for cake flour, and pour the batter into a muffin tin. Turn up the temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit (176 degrees Celsius), and reduce your baking time to 25 to 30 minutes. Add frosting after everything has cooled, and you’re done!
• Freeze It. Starter freezes fairly well and lasts for several months. Just remember to thaw your starter for at least three hours before you bake with it.

Have additional suggestions for ways to use up your starter? Please share them in the comment section below!

Nutritional Information

Amish Double Chocolate Chip Bread is an indulgent dessert loaf. Naturally, it comes with a lot of sugar, so it’s more calorie-dense than the average slice of bread. If you’re trying to eat healthy, make sure to watch your portion sizes.

Note that each serving is for a single slice of the loaf, and I cut my loaf into about 12 slices. If you prefer thicker slices, your calories per serving will increase.

Did You Try It?

I love having a slice of this tasty quick bread for dessert after dinner. My husband loaves it whenever I turn the recipe into muffins instead. But what about you? Do you enjoy this bread as is or do you prefer it in muffin form?

Share your thoughts about the recipe in the comment section below. And don’t forget to leave a star-rating so other people can see and enjoy my Amish Double Chocolate Chip bread recipe.