HERMAN'S ON THE LOOSE!
Dough that threatens to smother Michigan ....
I have a newspaper clipping from way back in the 70's about Herman. It was an article how Herman is spreading and how he quadruples in size every 10 days and if he continues to grow at his current rate, the oatmeal-color ooze could completely cover the North American continent by 1983! No one seems to know where Herman came from, but we do know that he is made of yeast, flour, milk, water and sugar. The article explains how a human being gives a friend a cup of Herman (alias the Friendship Cake) along with instructions on his care and feeding. The friend becomes the new host organism. On the fifth day, the new host feeds Herman a cup of flour, a cup of milk and half a cup of sugar. Bye the 10th day, Herman has become four cups of sweet yeast dough. And so, the host uses two cups of Herman for baking, gives away one cup, feeds Herman again and the cycle commences once more. Herman is passed down thru familes, friends, and co-workers.
And so, Herman came into our family when my kids were little ... and I'm sure they all will remember the "feeding of Herman"! Here is how Herman works: You mix flour, warm water and yeast together and let it incubate overnight in a loosely covered container in a warm place. Then you add sugar, milk, and flour the next day and stir with a wooden spoon. After that, Herman should be refrigerated and stirred at least once a day. On the fifth day, you feed him again. At the end of 10 days, when you have four cups of Herman, you give a cup to a friend, keep a cup and feed it, and use the remaining two cups to make coffee cake, crumpets, cake, oatmeal cookies or blueberry pancakes, using the recipes I have listed below. Or you could experiment -- Herman has even been used to make pizza dough. The ony problem about Herman is that you have to bake him every 10 days, and if you don't remember to stir him every day he has a tendency to overflow and mess up your refrigerator.
If you decide to make Herman, I hope you enjoy the fun as much as my family and I did so long ago. Gee, maybe I just may do Herman again one of these days. Enjoy!
HERMAN STARTER
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups warm water
1 pkg (1/4 oz) active dry yeast
In glass or plastic bowl, mix flour, water and yeast with wooden spoon. (DO NOT use metal container or spoon). Let stand overnight in a warm place. In the morning, feed Herman one batch of Herman Food. (You'll feed him another batch of Herman Food on the fifth day and another batch on the tenth day, when the process starts again).
HERMAN FOOD
1 cup flour
1 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
Mix flour, milk and sugar; makes one batch of Herman Food.
Mix Herman Food with Herman Starter (the mixture will be lumpy). Cover bowl loosely with plastic wrap and store mixture in refrigerator. Stir daily. On the fifth day, feed Herman again with another batch of Herman Food. On the tenth day, use two cups of the Herman mixture for cooking, give one cup to a friend, feed the remaining cup with another batch of Herman Food and return to refrigerator to start the process again.
HERMAN COFFEE CAKE
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped nuts
1/4 cup margarine, softened
2 cup plus 1 tablespoon flour, divided
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cinnamon, divided
2 cups Herman
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup raisins
1 cup drained crushed fruit (pineapple, peaches, etc)
TO MAKE TOPPING:
In medium bowl, combine brown sugar, nuts, margarine, one tablespoon of the flour and one tablespoon of the cinnamon. Mix until well blended; set aside.
TO MAKE CAKE:
In large bowl, combine the remaining two cups of flour, remaining one teaspoon cinnamon, Herman, sugar, vegetable oil, eggs, baking powder, salt and baking soda. Beat until well combined. Fold in raisins and crushed fruit. Pour into well-greased and floured Bundt pan, large ring mold or 9x13 inch baking pan. Top with reserved topping. Bake at 350 degrees 50 to 60 minutes, until cake tests done. Makes about 12 servings.
This is the recipe I always made and it is soooooooooooo good! My mother really loved this coffee cake!
HERMAN OATMEAL COOKIES
3/4 cup brown sugar
6 tablespoons butter, softened
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup Herman
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmet
1-1/2 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts
3/4 cup chopped raisins
In large bowl of electric mixer, cream together sugar, butter and shortening until fluffy. Add Herman and vanilla and beat just until combined (mixture will look curdled). In another medium bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and nutmeg. Add to Herman mixture, mixing until well combined. Fold in oats, nuts and raisins. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto lightly greased baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees about 10 mintes, until lightly browned on the edges. Makes about four dozen cookies.
HERMAN BLUEBERRY PANCAKES
2 cups Herman
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
In large bowl, combine Herman, vegetable oil, eggs, sugar, salt and baking soda. Mix thoroughly with wooden spoon. Gently fold in blueberries. Heat a lightly greased griddle until a drop of water bounces on it. Pour about one-quarter cup of the mixture per pancake on griddle and cook until browned, about three minutes per side. Handle pancakes carefully (they tend to break apart). Makes about 12 pancakes.
HERMAN CRUMPETS
1-1/2 cups Herman
1 cup warm water
1/3 cup non-fat dry milk
2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 to 4 cups flour, divided
Cornmeal
In large bowl, combine Herman, water, dry milk, salt and oil; beat well, then beat in one cup of the flour. Cover bowl loosely and let stand in warm place for three to six hours.
Stir in two cups of the remaining flour and mix well. Turn out on well floured surface andknead lightly, adding more of the remaining flour when necessary to keep dough from sticking. (Dough will be stickier than ordinary bread dough). Rinse out mixing bowl and grease with vegetable oi. Place dough in bowl; swirl dough in bowl so entire surface is oiled. Cover with plastic wrap and let risei n warm place until doubled in bulk, about two to three hours. Punch down dough and let rest, covered, 30 minutes.
Turn out dough on floured surface and roll to 1/2 inch thickness. Cut into three-inch rounds with cookie cutter or empty tuna can. Sprinkle cookie sheets lightly with cornmeal; place dough patties about an inch apart on the sheets and sprinkle with more cornmeal. Let irse in warm place until puffy and light, about 30 to 60 minutes.
Heat an ungreased skillet or griddle over medium heat. Carefully transfer patties to hot griddle with spatula. Bake until golden brown on each side, about 10 minutes. Cool on wire racks.
TO SERVE:
Tear crumpets in half by inserting a sharp fork into the middle of the crumpet all around the sides. Separate the halves and butter liberally. Toast under hot broiler until browned and butter is bubbly. Makes about 20 crumpets.
HAWAIIAN HERMAN CAKE
1-1/2 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup Herman
1 can (8-1/2 oz) crushed pineapple, well drained
1/4 cup rum
1/2 cup melted butter
In medium bowl, combine brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, walnuts, macadamia nuts and bread crumbs; mix well and set aside.
In large bowl of electric mixer, cream together sugar, butter and vegetable shortening. Add eggs and vanilla and beat until light and fluffy. Add flour, baking powder, salt and Herman; beat until smooth. Spoon half the batter into a well-greased and floured 9x13 inch baking pan. Spoon half the reserved brown sugar mixture over the batter and sprinkle with pineapple. Smooth the remaining batter over the top and sprinkle with the remaining brown sugar mixture. Sprinkile with rum and pour melted butter over all. Bake at 375 degrees 25 to 30 minutes, until cake is puffed and browned. Cool several minutes before serving, but serve warm. Makes about 12 to 15 servings.
If you have a favorite recipe you would like to share, or if you have a recipe site you would like to add to my Recipe Links page, please send me an email. Make sure you tell me whether you want your name mentioned with the recipe or not. Thank You
Please check out my other websites:
THE THIN GROUP and CJ'S PLACE
~ Email CJ ~
Close window to return to home page
