Granola 101

By popular demand, and to save the postal service from having to mail out hundreds of pounds of granola to friends around the country, here is my granola recipe. Guidelines really. There is nothing too exact about any of it and I’ll throw in a few recommendations for variations. It’s all about finding what you like and tossing what you don’t.

I take this granola with me when I travel: for a hearty breakfast or a small snack. It’s a great gift, yummy on ice cream and not too sweet.

Raw ingredients are best found in stores with bulk food sections

Ingredients:
*note* If you buy in bulk, taste a tiny bit of each ingredient to make sure they are fresh and don’t taste moldy or rancid. All seeds and nuts should be bought raw and unsalted.

• Rolled Oats (not instant)- make up about 1/2 of the total volume- or about 2-4 lbs
• Pumpkin seeds- about 3 cups- or roughly 3/4 lb
• Sunflower seeds- about 1-2 cups
• Black sesame seeds- about 1 cup (These are very high in calcium)
• White sesame seeds- 1/2- 1 cup
• Almonds- slivered, chopped, julienned, whatever – 2 cups
• walnuts- 2 cups
• Wide cut dried coconut strips UNSWEETENED!. – the wide cut is best for texture and flavor pop. This is actually a major player in sweetening the granola, but do not substitute a sweetened version unless you want really sugary granola – about 5 cups
• Cinnamon- 2-4 teaspoons
• Cardamom- 1-2 teaspoon
• Salt- 1-2 teaspoons
• Flaxseed ground- optional- Flax can go rancid once ground up so if you want to store the finished granola for a while best to omit flax. If you don’t grind it, you won’t digest it.) 1 cup
• Candied ginger-finely chopped- 1-2 cups, add AFTER baking, or it gets hard
• Oil- olive or canola, about 3/4 – 1 1/2cup
• Honey- local is best, liquify by putting the jar in warm water if it has crystallized, about 1 – 1 1/2 cup

Variations:

• Hazelnuts, cashews, pecans, soy nuts, or any other kind of nut
• Dried fruit -add after baking- chopped dates, raisins, cranberries, pineapple, banana chips etc.
• Wheat germ
• Barley, rye, quinoa, or other rolled/flaked grain
• Maple syrup works too, but stay away from granulated sugar. 

Method:
Mix all dry ingredients in a giant bowl. Leave out fruit and ginger to add after baking.

Dry ingredients with spices on top

Mix well and stir in all the spices and salt. (Don’t leave out the salt!)

Drizzle on oil and honey while stirring. Heating the honey first helps, so it’s runny. Mix gently and continue stirring, A LOT.

Let it sit for a few hours (optional) to let the oil soak in. Adjust for how sweet and how clumpy you want it. More honey = more clumps. Add oil if you want it more coated (it will brown faster with more oil).

Spread on cookie sheets so that all of sheet is covered (edges will brown fastest), but not too thick. I don’t stir while baking so that it keeps clumps together. Bake at 325 for about 20-25 minutes until golden, then let it cool on the pan (to keep clumps together).

Add ginger and other dried fruit when it’s completely cool and store in airtight containers or sealed bags.

Adjust all to taste. Enjoy!