Amish Friendship Bread

[MrsJWine]

I have some Amish friendship bread starter. I've made one batch already, and it turned out really well. First time I've baked something that not only turned out edible, but also good.

I want to keep making it, but the sugar content is really, really high. Can I reduce it, or does the yeast need it? I figure it needs the sugar that gets added during the fermentation process (or whatever you call it), but on baking day, does it really need all that sugar? Can I use raw sugar, or is it too coarse?

[blarg314]

With bread in general, you can use less sugar or yeast, but have to let it rise longer. So I'd try leaving out half the sugar, but expect it to take more time to rise properly.

Raw sugar shouldn't be a problem chemically, but if the grains are large I'd give it a quick whirl in a coffee grinder or blender, to powder it a bit. Otherwise it might not dissolve fast enough for the yeast to get to it.

[MrsJWine]

With bread in general, you can use less sugar or yeast, but have to let it rise longer. So I'd try leaving out half the sugar, but expect it to take more time to rise properly.

Raw sugar shouldn't be a problem chemically, but if the grains are large I'd give it a quick whirl in a coffee grinder or blender, to powder it a bit. Otherwise it might not dissolve fast enough for the yeast to get to it.

It's one of those bread that sits for ten days. Halfway through you add some sugar, flour, and milk. I expect to use the same amount of sugar for that part. But on baking day, the recipe doesn't say to let it rise at all. You just mix it up the rest of the way and bake. So it would be fine to cut down that sugar quite a bit?