In the late 1970s and early 1980s, Amish friendship bread, as well as an interchangeable starter referred to as Herman (the name varies), became a popular exchange among friends who shared the starter as well as recipes.
Herman Starter
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Standing time: 5 days
Yield: 4 cups
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup warm water
2 packages (2 1/4 teaspoons each) active dry yeast
2 cups each: milk, flour
1. Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of the sugar over the warm water. Sprinkle yeast over mixture; set aside until doubled in volume, about 10 minutes.
2. Combine milk, flour, remaining sugar and yeast mixture in a plastic or glass container. (Do not use metal.) Stir with a wooden spoon; cover loosely. Set aside at room temperature, at least 8 hours.
3. Stir mixture once a day for three days. On the fourth day, measure out 1 cup of Herman for baking; measure 1 additional cup to give to a friend as a gift.
To replenish starter: Add 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk and 1/2 cup sugar to remaining batter. Stir mixture once each day for the next three days. On the fourth day, measure out 1 cup of Herman for baking; measure 1 cup to give to a friend as a gift; feed remaining batter with 2 cups flour, 2 cups milk, 1 cup sugar. After the 10th day, you can begin using Herman daily or as desired. Keep feeding every 5 days; or if you are not using it often, just add 1 tablespoon sugar.
Nutrition information per cup:
492 calories, 6% of calories from fat, 3 g fat, 2 g saturated fat, 9 mg cholesterol, 9 g carbohydrates, 12 g protein, 64 mg sodium, 2 g fiber
Herman Coffeecake
Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 35 minutes
Yield: 12 servings
When this recipe was made in the test kitchen, most of the topping baked into the batter to become part of the cake. Tasters gave a hearty thumbs up to this rich, crumbly coffeecake, adapted from “The Best of the Herman Sourdough Herald.”
Topping:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
Cake:
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup oil
2 eggs
2 cups Herman sourdough starter, see recipe
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. For topping, mix together brown sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon in a medium bowl; set aside.
2. For cake, sift flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt together in a medium bowl; set aside.
3. Mix sugar and oil in a large bowl with a mixer on medium speed until combined. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Add Herman starter; stir in dry ingredients. Transfer batter to a greased 13-by-9-inch baking pan; crumble the topping mixture over the batter. Bake until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 35 minutes.
Nutrition information per serving:
479 calories, 39% of calories from fat, 21 g fat, 7 g saturated fat, 57 mg cholesterol, 69 g carbohydrates, 5 g protein, 266 mg sodium, 1 g fiber
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