I got it wrong... someone else had george, can't remember who. My MIL had Herman, and it was some sort of yeast cake (sounds appetising, right?!) I'm trying to jog memories but it is sooo hard! DH said it was quite tasty and loads of people took a bit of herman home to make their own cakes.
My Mum (and Grandmother used to) make a traditional Slovenian cake which is yeast based, with a chocolate sauce made from cooked flour and butter, all rolled up. I hear you on the slightly unappealing sound of yeast cakes!
I should add that I'm a fan of "treat them mean, keep them keen" style of starter making. Mine developed hooch (the stinky clearish liquid), but I poured off most, stirred it back in & fed it up. Mine was ready after 3 days, but I persisted to about 6 days of chuck & feed to make sure I have some really good bacteria colonies happening.
It may interest people to know that the longer you leave your 'sponge' (which I describe as a giant starter!), the more sour your loaf will taste. Leave it for a couple of hours & you'll have a mild loaf. Leave it for 24 hours... and pucker up! That loaf will be very tangy & tasy, indeed!
Entreat, read my thread for an easy starter. I forgot about hooch. My first starter turned feral very quickly, but the second one didn't develop any hooch at all, ever. And I treated him pretty mean! None of my loaves were really really sour. An acquired taste (for me, no one else liked it, hence why I gave it away), but still yum.
I think the 'sponge' is active starter, isn't it? I always forget that word.
The way I make the sponge, you take about a cup of starter (roughly half of what I keep in the fridge) and add a cup each of flour & water, then leave it to sit until bubbles form again (I leave it over night).
I was reading a blog a few weeks ago about drying out your starter to preserve it! In case you can't look after your jar for a while (new baby/holiday/CBF). I think I need to do that!
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