Herman dough

[ScaryFairy28]

This is probably a stupid question should it smell like day old beer?

Do you mean when he's growing in the kitchen or when he's been mixed with fruit etc. ready to go in the oven?

Herman does smell when he's just sitting there fermenting. When mixed with fruit and spices he should smell more of that really.

Yes. He is fermenting - assuming you mean the mix and not the finished cake.

Ah well in that case, yes, he will smell a bit odd.

I make sour dough bread too. Sourdough starters pong as well. I think you just get used to this thing, glooping and niffing on the worktop.

Yes. He definitely had a yeasty pungency about him as he aged.

Yes he doesn't smell so bad now he's in the fridge! But the bubbles have stopped now he's in the fridge have I killed him?!

No, probably not. You can keep a sourdough starter in the fridge. As I recall the instructions that come with a Herman tells you not to put him in the fridge because you will kill him.

I doubt it seriously, but you will need him to be fairly vigorous for the cake, so he needs to be in the warmth of the kitchen first.

When you have made the cake, you can turn some of what is left of him into a bread sourdough leven by just feeding flour and water.

He quickly turns into a good bread starter and will live for ever.

I'm using the all recipes recipe for the starter left him out over night but now in fridge and no bubbles?

He's just resting up. Bring him back into a warm kitchen, feed him a little and he'll be bubbling away in no time. Honest.

So do I keep him in the fridge or not?

Out of fridge. On kitchen worktop, tea towel over him.

Ok I'll take him out and hope he starts bubbling again. I fear I'll be back with more questions!

Missmartha - how long before it would make a sourdough bread starter? What would I have to do to get to that stage?

I wouldn't take that long.

Remember that Herman has sugar and milk in him normally a bread starter is just fed with flour and water.

However the dough you have left when you've made your Herman cake is very little.

Just feed that with about two tablespoons of bread flour and equal quantities of water for about a week, maybe a few days longer until you have about a mugful (yes I measure using mugs) of starter, which is enough for a loaf, with another mug left over as a starter.

I do not have a strict timetable for the feeding of the leven or starter. I treat it like a house plant, if it looks as though it needs feeding, I feed it.

I have a friend that I'm meeting on Friday who wants some of my starter, so I'm building mine up a bit at the moment.

He's looking very fit.

Alison there's a recipe on allrecipes for the starter though it says to put it in the fridge which seemed to put mine to sleep!

Tsk, I thought you meant making a starter from a Herman. I should learn to read properly. Sorry.

This youtube tutorial is simple and helpful.

Nope he's dead all separated water on top stodge at the bottom!!

Give him a good stir, he might revive. They do separate out sometimes.

Don't want to rain on your parade, but when I made a Herman I really couldn't see the point - I would expect something spectacular after all that time and nurturing, but it was just a very average cake in my opinion...

My neighbour bought me this round today. I am excited and terrified.