Amish Friendship Bread

A week ago I was given a ziplock bag filled with thick sticky liquid and a page of instructions. Amish Friendship Bread was the title and I find out that the sticky gooey stuff is a bread starter.
The recipe for this starter is a secret that only the Amish know, according to the recipe, so I guess I should find myself lucky to be given it. The instructions have me adding milk, flour, and sugar after 5 days and on the 10th day I add more of the previous ingredients then divide the mixture into 4 parts. I then give 2 parts away, bake with one, and keep the other to continue the process. Sounds like a baking "chain letter" to me. I was intrigued that this sludge would be sitting on my counter for 10 days and then I would bake with it. After a little internet research I have found that the starter replaces the yeast in bread recipes and if "properly maintained...can last for years (even decades) developing a more distinctive flavour as time passes" (http://www.suite101.com/article.cfm/baking_joy/85474/2).

Last night I decided to bake with one of the starters I still have. After struggling to find all the ingredients (instant Chocolate pudding) I finally was able to mix it all together and bake it. One hour later I had melt-in-your-mouth chocolate bread that tasted like a combination of coffee cake and pound cake. Yummmm....