My effort to duplicate Amish wedding bread

Thursday, I attended an Amish wedding. The daughter of one owner of a pallet mill I work with, married the son of the other owner. I’ve worked with the daughter for about ten years over the office phone. 

I’ve never been to an Amish wedding before. First, I’ll say that the Amish wedding service is unlike any I’ve encountered. The scripture selections are about the same for any Christian wedding, but the style of singing and the volume of singing, is unlike anything I’ve experienced. 

The service started at 8:30 AM Eastern time, with three German wedding songs, each was about twenty minutes long. Each started with one minister chanting a line, then the whole congregation started in, with a two part harmony. It almost sounded like an ancient chant, with parts of the song getting very loud. At times it would quiet down, then the minister would chant another line, and the whole congregation would start in again. It was clear that they all knew the words.

Next, there was two sermons and a scripture reading. There was an interpreter for the little non-Amish section. Finally, around 11:00 AM, the wedding vows were exchanged. Then elders of the Church gave comments regarding the sermon and the advice for the newly weds. 

Around noon, we broke for a meal. This was a big meal, as there were over 500 people attending the wedding. Dinner consisted of warm Amish bread, mashed potatoes and gravy, Salisbury steak in a cheese sauce, a fruit salad, a huge mixed salad, and ranch dressing. 

The bowls were passed, one for each side of the table. Just about when you thought you were finished eating, fresh bowls of the whole dinner were passed again. Finally, a dessert of ice cream and chocolate cake was served. My recipe is just a guess, but it comes pretty close to the flavor of the Amish bread they served at the wedding.

4 cups of flour

2 tbs. of brown sugar

1 tbs. molasses

1 tsp. of salt

2 tbs. of room temperature butter

2 tbs. instant yeast

2 cups of water

Preparation

Place the flour, sugar, molasses, salt, butter and yeast in a mixing bowl. Add the water and bring the dough together with your dough hooks. Adjust with a little more water or flour, until you have a moist dough that you can just knead with floured hands. Knead it for a minute, and let it rise for about an hour.

Knead the dough again, and set it into a loaf pan. Let it rise for another half hour, and brush the top with a little melted butter. Bake the loaf for about 45 minutes at 375º, or until it is golden brown, and sounds hollow, when you knock the bottom with your knuckles.

Serving

Friday night, I served my version of that Amish style bread, with lots of butter. I also made homemade chicken and dumplings, along with a salad, and a cold crisp off dry hard cider.