Homemade granola is a wholesome part of our daily diet. It is healthy and truly delicious. Granola not only tastes great, but also looks very appetizing.
Granola is based on simple, natural ingredients – oatmeal, nuts, bran and dried fruit. It is really quick and easy to make.
Apart from the ingredients, we need a bowl, a cutting board, a wooden spoon and a baking tray.
I do recommend using teak boards and teak accessories, they make the difference, trust me. Let’s start!
Granola ingredients
Bowls
Solid ingredients to be mixed:
– 7 cups of regular oats (not instant oatmeal)
– 2 cups of coconut
– 2 cups of Grape Nut cereal (use the generic kind like Krunchy Nutties)
– 1 cup of wheat flour
– 0,5 cup of sugar
– 1 cup of firmly packed dark brown sugar
– 1 teaspoon of salt
– 0,5 cup of whole almonds
– 0,5 cup of pecans
This makes about 1 gallon of granola.
Liquid ingredients to be mixed:
– 1,5 cup of vegetable oil (not olive oil)
– 1 teaspoon of of almond extract
– 1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
– 0,33 cup of maple syrup
– 0,5 cup of water
The original recipe comes from USA. I got it from Carol – my dear friend and manager.
After trying it once I do it regularly, playing a bit with the ingredients, depending on what I have at home. I always divide the quantity by half. With bigger family of granola lovers do not hesitate to prepare the full load.
How to make granola?
Mix together dry ingredients. Then, make a depression in the center and add the liquid mixture that has been thoroughly mixed in another container.
Stir all until all the solid is coated with the liquid. Put it in a large pan and bake at 350 K (180 degrees C) until it is golden brown (about 35 min). Stir it several times.
Cool completely, then store in an airtight container.
Teak bowl with chopstics
Home made granola - practical tips
My best practice is to add sugar and firmly packed brown sugar to the liquids. I mix it with liquids until it melts. This way I can’t feel sugar grains in my granola.
You can:
– add more nuts of various kinds (I add walnuts as I like them a lot)
– exchange white sugar with brown sugar (I always do it, I use the ordinary brown sugar available in EU)
– mix wheat flour with wheat bran (I mix them half to half)
– add less salt/ less or no almond & vanilla extract (it depends on your preference, I usually reduce those)
– mix firmly packed dark brown sugar with firmly packed light brown sugar (I add the kind of firmly packed brown sugar that I currently have, sometimes mixing both kinds)
Do not:
– replace firmly packed dark brown sugar with this ordinary, loose brown sugar that can be bought in the EU. The firmly packed brown sugar contains more of molasses which helps the granola to clump.
After baking I add some raisins, cut dried plums, apricots, dates, figs or cranberry. The kind of dried fruit and the quantity is up to you. Do not add it before baking as all those burn easily and become hard and bitter.
Enjoy!
Best regards, Agata
March 2023