Herman on the Rise Again!
 ‘Herman’ is back, by popular demand from sourdough
lovers
Kentucky is not known for sourdough bread, but when the
Herald-Leader published a recipe for sourdough starters
in the 1980s, it set off a baking frenzy.
“Herman” starter still is the most-requested
recipe ever.
The care and feeding of a bread starter is time-consuming,
and few people have the patience to keep it going. But
if you’re looking for a winter project, here’s
how to start a relationship with Herman.
“Herman” is a colloquialism (of unknown origin)
for a honey- or sugar-sweetened starter used primarily
for sweet breads, according to The New Food Lover’s
Companion by Sharon Tyler Herbst.
Most cooks get their starter from friends. The starter
is simply water and flour; or potato flakes and water;
or yeast, water and flour, depending on the recipe you
have. You must “baby” this mixture, because
your next loaf depends on it. You have to feed it and keep
it alive.
Once you get the sourdough starter, it must be kept in
a scalded crock or glass jar.
A portion of the starter, usually about 2 cups, is removed
and used as the base and leavener for some bread recipes.
Once fermented, yeast starters, the most famous of which
is sourdough starter, can be kept going in the right environment
for years simply by adding equal parts flour and water.
The starter is kept refrigerated and can be stored this
way indefinitely as long as it’s replenished every
one to two weeks.
When you take a cup or two from the starter, you
merely feed the starter with flour and warm water (or whatever
the original ingredients are), and it continues to provide
a most unusual and delicious leavening. When properly fed,
it will thrive.
After feeding the starter, cover and leave the starter
at room temperature for at least 12 hours or overnight,
until the yeast ferments and the mixture is foamy.
The starter is now ready to be used again, or it
can be refrigerated. When refrigerated, an active starter
goes dormant. The cold slows the metabolism of the yeast.
Before it is used or replenished, it should be brought
to room temperature. (If a starter turns orange or pink
and develops an unpleasantly acrid odor, undesirable bacteria
have invaded it, and it must be discarded.) Two cups of
the foamy starter mixture can be substituted for each package
of yeast called for in a recipe.
Before commercially available baking powders and yeasts
evolved during the 19th century, yeast starters were the
leaveners used to make bread. Such starters are a simple
mixture of flour, water, sugar and yeast. At one time,
airborne yeast was the only source used, but today, convenient
commercially packaged baker’s yeast is more common.
Going by the rules
These general rules for making sourdough are from the
late Lillian Marshall of Louisville, author of Cooking
Across the South.
• You should maintain about 3 cups of starter, because
most recipes call for 1 or 2 cups. Replenish your starter
pot after each use. Immediately after measuring out the
amount for the recipe, stir back into the pot enough milk
and flour to bring the level up to the original amount.
Never put anything in the starter pot except the same two
ingredients you started with. Leftover bits of dough will
ruin it.
• After replenishing, leave the pot out of the refrigerator
for a few hours until it starts bubbling again. Then store,
covered but not sealed, in refrigerator.
• The starter should be used and replenished every
one to two weeks. If a little clear liquid forms on top
of the starter after standing for a long time, just stir
it back in. It is an alcoholic liquid called “hooch,” and
it belongs there.
• In sourdough baking, soda is used to counteract
the sourness. Use the amount called for in each recipe
to start, then increase it next time if the product seems
too sour.
• Amounts of flour in most recipes are approximate
and depend on the consistency of your starter. Marshall
maintained her starter at about the consistency of cake
batter.
The flavor for the Herman starter evolves as it ages.
It is mildly sweet when it is young and more like a sourdough
when it is older.
Herman starter
2 cups flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 envelope active dry yeast
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups warm water (105 to 115 degrees)
In large mixing bowl, mix flour, sugar, yeast and salt.
Gradually stir in the water. Beat or whisk until smooth.
Cover with towel. Set in warm (80 to 85 degrees) draft-free
place.
Stir 2 or 3 times a day for about 3 days or until
starter is bubbly and produces a yeasty aroma. Transfer
to larger bowl, large jar or plastic container. Cover
partially. (Tilt lid or punch holes in plastic cover.)
Refrigerate. Makes about 11⁄2 to 2 cups of starter,
depending on thickness.
Mixture can be creamy or as thick as dough because of
room conditions, the age of Herman and other variables.
Care and feeding of Herman
The starter should be used within 14 days and replenished
or “fed” immediately after each use.
To feed starter, stir or whisk in 1 cup each of flour
and milk and 1⁄2 cup sugar. Mixture need not be completely
smooth.
If you do not plan to use the starter within 14
days, cover tightly and freeze. Freezing slows the fermentation,
so let the starter stand at room temperature several hours
or until thawed and bubbly before reusing it.
Herman white bread
1 envelope active dry yeast
11⁄2 cups warm water
(105 to 115 degrees)
1 cup Herman starter
11⁄2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons sugar
About 6 cups flour, divided
1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
In large bowl, dissolve yeast in the warm water. Add
starter, salt, sugar and 21⁄2 cups flour.
With electric mixer on medium speed, beat 5 minutes.
Cover. Let rise in warm, draft-free place about 11⁄2
hours or until bubbly.
Combine 21⁄2 cups flour and the baking soda.
Stir into yeast mixture.
With hands, work in enough additional flour, 1⁄4
cup at a time, to make a stiff dough. On lightly floured
surface, knead dough 5 to 7 minutes or until smooth. Divide
in half. Cover with towel. Let rest 10 minutes.
Shape into 2 7-inch round loaves. Place each on lightly
greased heavy cookie sheet.
With a sharp knife, make diagonal slashes across tops.
Cover. Let rise in warm, draft-free place about 1 hour
or until doubled.
Bake in preheated, 400-degree oven about 35 minutes or
until browned. Loaves should sound hollow when tapped on
bottom. Makes 2 loaves, 14 slices each.
You must always replace what you remove from the starter
for the next recipe. If well maintained, a sourdough culture
will last a lifetime. Each time you take a portion of the
starter for a recipe, generally replace that amount with
equal quantities of water and flour. However, there are
many philosophies about feeding amounts. For example, if
you remove 1 cup of starter to make Sourdough Bread, you
must replace it with 1 cup of water and 1 cup of unbleached
all purpose flour. Whisk these ingredients into the starter
until blended but not completely smooth. Any remaining
lumps will dissolve as the mixture ferments.
Never return any “old bread dough” to
the starter container: The introduction of old dough
containing salt or commercial yeast would compromise
the taste and quality of your wild starter.
|
