Herman Secret Starter
Recipe Ingredients
Secret Starter
- 1 envelope dry yeast
- 1/4 cup warm water
- 1 teaspoon granulated sugar
- 2 cups dairy buttermilk
- 2 cups flour
- 2 cups granulated sugar
- Replacement Recipe:
- 1 cup water
- 1 cup flour
- 1 cup granulated sugar
Method
- Secret Starter: Soften yeast in water with sugar. Stir once or twice. Let stand 5 minutes or until doubled in volume. (If it doesn't double and bubble, the yeast is no good. Throw it out and start over with a fresh pack.)
- Beat remaining 3 ingredients together until smooth and beat in the bubbly yeast mixture at end of the 5 minutes. Pour into non-metallic 8-cup container with a loose fitting lid. Let stand in warm place 6 hours. As it bubbles up, stir it down (after the 2nd or 3rd hour - so don't be impatient!) Then it's ready to use. Say hello to Herman! Just remember to keep Herman out of drafts. Set him in a sunny spot-once in a while. He delights in this! He'll bubble up with excitement if the sun's shining on him a while!
- Replacement Recipe: Every time you remove a cup of Herman, you must replace him at once with this simple mixture.
- Beat it smooth and stir it into the mixture from which you removed the cupful for baking purposes. The above 3-cup mixture makes 1 cup of starter-batter exactly, so if you remove TWO cups of the starter, double the replacement ingredients.
- Always leave at least one cup of the starter at all times with which to begin your next batch of Herman.
The object of Herman - as a Good Samaritan Recipe - is to give a cup of the starter, along with the Replacement Recipe plus a cake to a friend. In turn they will keep the starter going and bake up something delightful to also share with another friend, along with a cup of the starter.
When you give away a cup of Herman a note must accompany it reading: "This is Herman. Treat him with love and keep him warm and away from drafts. Within 3 days of receiving this portion of his secret cake starter, please add to him a smooth mixture of one cup each - water, flour and sugar. Let him stand in a non-metallic container with a loose-fitting lid for 6 hours before using a portion him in the following recipe....."