As previously promised HERE I
would like to give one or two alternative paths to take with the Herman
Friendship cake mix that you may have been given or may have started yourself.
Ideas that will help you make the most of your gift if you have friends or perhaps bring you friends when you pass these ideas on….
Firstly, one of the things
you can do is to split the mix of bubbling dough in two and turn one half into
a bread sourdough. However, first I should, perhaps explain the concept of sourdough
itself.
Although it’s likely that
your “Herman” mix was initially started with a packet of yeast – definitely so
if you made it yourself – it will have accumulated ‘natural’ yeasts over the
days/weeks/months of its existence. These natural yeasts are all around us and
real sourdoughs are started without cultured yeast at all but just by mixing
the flour and water, with perhaps a touch of sugar, in a normal environment,
probably your kitchen. These natural yeasts then permeate your mix, react with
it and begin the fermentation process. The “sour” part of the name probably
comes from the musty smells that emanate from this natural fermentation but it
does give bread radically different properties, taste and texture.
But it is a wonderful bread
to bake.
So, split some of Herman into
another bowl and feed with Strong Bread Flour and water only – no sugar and
then cover in the normal way. This mix will need feeding every other day –
again with just bread flour and water.
When you’re ready to bake bread
– actually 12 hours before ideally – pour a ladle full of your bread Herman,
making sure that it is bubbling well, into a mixing bowl. Add half the strong bread flour you would
normally use. For example, if you were baking a 500 gram loaf of bread add 250
grams of the flour and all the liquid you would normally use – so 300 – 325
mils of water – mix well, cover and leave overnight if you can. This is called
the ‘sponge’.
The next stage is to mix in
the remainder of the flour and a teaspoonful of salt and kneed for 10 minutes
or so. If using a dough hook in a mixing bowl – 5 minutes will do. Leave it to
prove for eight hours or so, it will take this long to see a rise. Knock back the mix
and mould into a bread shaped ‘round’ on a baking tray and cover for another
few hours -overnight works well for me. The bread should rise nicely over this time, I usually turn the oven on as soon as I wake up. Just before you bake it in the usual way, slash the top with a sharp
knife in an artisan fashion and slip it into a hot oven….In fact check out this previous recipe from a my blog
and follow it from the kneading stage. Also this YouTube clip will give you a good idea.
Sourdough bread is an
excellent loaf for your repertoire. It’s a stronger flavour, but once you’ve
baked one you will find yourself longing for the next one. I think the best
‘test’ for this loaf is that once you have tried it, you’ll want to share it.
What better recommendation?
Next time I’ll try to give a
few recipes for cake recipes that differ from those generally given with your
Herman instructions.
