Amish Friendship Dough Starter (aka Herman)

Mix the following in a NON METAL BOWL WITH NON METAL UTENSILS!!!!!!!
Mix the yeast and the first 1/2 c water together and let stand until
« yeasty ». Then sift the dry stuff together, and combine it with the
yeast/water and the other 2 c of luke warm water. Mix well with a
non-metal spoon and let stand uncovered at room temp for 3-5 days,
covering only at night, and stirring 2-3 times a day.

Remove 1 cup and start the ten day ritual, as below. With the
remaining mix, add 1/2 c water, 1/2 c flour, and 1 t sugar. Let stand
at room temp one day (until very bubbly). Store covered in fridge for
up to 10 days for in recipes or as further starter.

10-day ritual (all done at room temp in non-metal bowl)

Day 1–you receive « Herman » and do nothing Day 2–stir w/non metal
(pref. wooden) spoon Day 3–stir Day 4–stir Day 5–add 1 c each of
flour, sugar, and milk. Stir Day 6–stir Day 7–stir Day 8–stir Day
9–stir Day 10–« Herman is born! » Add 1 c each of flour, sugar, and
milk. Stir well. Pour 1 C each into 3 containers. Give to
friends/enemies with above

instructions. Reserve one cup for reprocessing for yourself.

The friend who gave me this starter recipe controls her batch by only
adding 1/3 c of each ingredient on days 5 and 10. You can do this to
prevent yourself from becoming overrun! The bread recipe below is a
good solution to the starter, but you end up 50 lbs overweight and
have a freezer full of loaves unless you learn to control the
« Herman » or pass it on to friends.

Amish Friendship Bread

To Remaining Batch of « Herman » (after you remove the 3 cups and
restart or pass them on) add the following.

Remaining Herman 2/3 c oil 3 eggs 1 c nut/fruit of choice (applesauce,
bananas, etc) 2 c flour 1 1/2 t baking powder 1 c sugar 3/4 salt 1/2
t soda 1 t cinnamon

Mix well and bake at 350 45-50 min. Makes 2 loaves.