Herman is a sweet sourdough starter that originally was birthed by a Virginia housewife whose 2½-year-old daughter gave it a pet name. Mom Gerrity was an avid baker, constantly making sourdough coffee cakes, but as her child, Amy, added flour, milk, and sugar every five days, there was always extra Herman they needed to give away, lest it take over the refrigerator.
Those to whom they gave it cooked with it, stirred it, and fed it, and brought containers full of their own surplus Herman to friends and neighbors, along with favorite sourdough recipes. Like an edible chain letter or a scene from Disney’s The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, Herman multiplied and even took on other identities, including Amish Friendship Starter. As one fan explained, “Herman is like faith. You can’t buy it or sell it, but if you get some, you yearn to share it. And the more you share, the greater it grows.”
After Harlene Hayer Watland received a Cool Whip container full of it from her Grandma Lorna in 1980, she began publishing The Herman Sourdough Herald, a monthly newsletter of recipes that ranged from Auntie Amy’s Matrimonial Bars to Mango Peach Upside-Down Cake. “I still have my original Herman, who came to me wrapped in a baby blanket, and I feed him all the time,” she told us many years ago. In 1990, Dawn Johnson collected recipes and Herman lore in a book titled The Best of the Herman Sourdough Herald 1980–1990.