Welcome to my weekly post on Herman - a fun and delicious sourdough starter my mother used to keep when I was a child.

Here, I introduced Herman; and here, I posted an excerpt from my mother’s booklet and gave his starter recipe.

Here is a quote from “Herman’s Helpmates” regarding storing Herman.

Herman can be frozen if you tire of him and don’t want to kill him off.  Just remeber to remove him from the freezer and let him rest for 24 hours before feeding him.  (After all,  being frozen is quite a traumatic experience.)  You can also “dry Herman out” to keep him inactive.  (Do you suppose this would work with kids?)  Simply add enought flour to shape him into a ball, then place him into a bag of flour.  He will go into a spore stage which will keep him intert for a long time.  (Tell me, now, just how active would you be all rolle up in a bag of flour?)  Water and warmth will bring Herman back to life.  (Don’t we all need a little warmth in our lives?)  With a little care and love, Herman will be with you for a long time.

Herman’s Original Recipe (Coffee Cake)

• 2 eggs
• 1 C sugar
• 2/3 C oil
• 2 C Herman
• 2 C flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 2 tsp baking powder
• Optional: 1 C chopped raisins and/ or 1 C chopped nuts

Topping:  Mix together and sprinkle over un-cooked coffee cake.

• 2/3 C flour
• 4 Tbl butter
• 1/2 C brown sugar
• 1 tsp cinnamon

The cake:

• Cream together eggs and sugar.
• Add rest of ingredients.
• Pour into greased 9×13″ pan (or 2 round cake pans).
• Sprinkle with topping and bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.