Monday, October 17, 2011

Herman Bread

Well I promised a couple of weeks ago to come back and post about some of the things that I can make with Herman. Then my whole family got sick. When you live in a house with 4 kids and two adults this always takes a bit of time to over come. I am on the tail end of it, for a second time. Thankfully this second time was not nearly as bad as the first time I got it.

I have made several things with my Herman Starter and even shared starter with my neighbor. I can not tell you which my favorite thing to make thus far is but I do know that we all enjoy the bread. The bread can be made into cinnamon rolls or lovely free formed french bread. As the starter ages it gets more sour and not so sweet. Right now my starter is still on the sweeter side but it is turning out lovely rich tasting bread.

The recipe for the bread is simple (as far as bread from scratch goes) I don't have any pictures *yet* I hope to come and update with pictures later today since I have to bake more bread today.

Ingredients:
1 envelope (or 2 1/4 tsp) yeast
1 1/2 cup warm water
1 cup Herman starter
1 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
aprox 6 cups flour divided
1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:
in large bowl dissolve yeast in warm water. Add starter, salt, sugar, and 2 1/2 cups flour. Mix well until there are no lumps. I use a wire whisk for this but you could use an electric mixer if you wanted to. cover with a towel and let rise in a warm draft free place about 1 1/2 hours until the mixture has risen and is bubbly. Combine 2 1/2 cups flour with baking soda and add to the mixture. With your hands add enough flour to make a stiff dough 1/4 cup at a time. Place on a floured surface and kneed 5-7 minutes. Divide dough in 1/2 shape dough. Allow dough to rise another 30 minutes to 1 hour, until doubled in size. Bake in a 400* oven for 35 minutes or until golden brown.

I have also made lovely muffins with the Herman Starter, as well as pancakes. I have a recipe for cookies but have not attempted those just yet. I am thinking of making some Herman Doughnuts as well...

Tell me have you started your Herman yet? No? Want to? If so check out the link Here to see how to start. Then come back and tell me all about it in the comments section.

2 comments:

  1. Thank you so much for the recipe, Crystal! I haven't made my Herman yet, but hopefully I will do that before the holidays.

    I'm glad you and your family are on the mend.

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  2. I remember years ago making bread like that. It was fun to do. By the way, those flowers I posted about are helianthus. After I wrote the post I remembered the name of them. Black eyed susans have very black centers.
    Hope you are enjoying your day.

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