Granola

Wotchers!

Who doesn’t love some crunchy granola? Crunchy oat clusters bejewelled with dried fruits and nuts.

Now I don’t know about you, but for me the most delicious part of granola is the clusters. This recipe is great in that it is designed to be very ‘cluster forward’, and whilst there is ‘rubble’, it is kept to a minimum.

The recipe I have for you all today is an attempt to make a one-size-fits-all recipe where you add stuff you like and leave out stuff you don’t care for.

You can make this recipe with whatever type of oats you like. Rolled oats tend to hold their shape more than, say, quick-cook or gluten-free oats and I really like the un-messed-with look they give. The batches in the photos are made with gluten-free oats, which still bring the oaty-ness, if in a slightly fuzzy way.

A slight irritation, if it can even be called that, is when all the garnishings of fruit and nuts fall to the bottom of whatever your storing your granola in, resulting in some frantic digging around at the bottom of the jar/box (yes, I know, first world problem, but we press onwards!). My solution suggestion is to not mix any fruit in at all during the making and storing, and only add them finishing touches when you’re ready to serve. The nuts, containing natural oils, will bring more flavour if they are toasted in the oven, which is why this granola recipe is basically nut and oat clusters which can be garnished to your personal taste later.

The photo at the top is made with coconut flakes, whole almonds and walnut halves – which offers great visual variety as well as giving maximum nuttiness. However, In developing this recipe, I discovered that coconut flakes, baked long and slow, gain an incredible crunch, that stays even when the granola is stored. Consequently, my preferred version contains only coconut flakes and oats, for the two separate types of crunch they give, and is easily adapted to serving with fresh and/or tropical fruits. Whatever you choose, I recommend that coconut flakes form at least a part of your nut mixture.

• Nuts to consider: Coconut flakes, walnuts, almonds (both in their skins or blanched), macadamias, cashews, pine nuts, pecans, pistachios, or use a ready-mixed bag of assorted nuts.

In addition to the composition of your granola, you need something to make those glorious cluster stick together. Very loosely, it is a kind of butterscotch, in that it involves both fats and sugars, but here again we can choose the types of ingredients based on your preferences or whatever you have to hand in your storecupboard.

It is comprised of three parts: a solid sugar, a liquid sugar and a fat.

• Solid sugar can be any of the following: white granulated, white/golden caster/superfine, soft light brown/muscovado, soft dark brown/muscovado, jaggery, coconut sugar. You can use Demerera, but it doesn’t dissolve/melt easily.
• Liquid sugars: golden syrup, honey, date syrup, agave nectar, maple syrup, carob fruit syrup.
• Fats: butter, ghee, coconut oil, vegetable oil.

These are use in equal quantities, but you can vary those quantities according to how much you want/value clusters. For 450g of oats, 125g of each of the above (total 375g) will bake into a solid slab, which can be broken into the clusters of your dreams. I have taken these quantities as low as 100g (so 300g total), but there are fewer clusters and much more rubble. Rolled oats would fare better than quick-cook or gluten-free oats with the lower quantities.

Granola

450g oats – rolled, quick cook or gluten-free
200g nuts of your preference, chopped if liked.
125g of a fat
125g of a solid sugar
125g of a liquid sugar
1tsp salt

• Put the oats into a mixing bowl.
• Line a large, edged baking sheet (I use my half-sheet pan of dimensions 45cm x 32cm x 3cm). You could also use the shallow shelf of your oven.
• Heat the oven to 150°C, 130°C Fan.
• Put the fat, sugars and salt into a small pan and heat gently until the fat has melted and the sugars dissolved.
• Pour the warm mixture over the oats and stir thoroughly to ensure the oats are evenly covered.
• Add in your nut mixture and toss together.
• Tip the mixture into your prepared baking pan and press down firmly to make a smooth, even layer.
• Bake in the oven for 1 hour, turning the pan around after 30 minutes.
• When baked, remove from the oven and let stand for 15 minutes. This is crucial for forming crispy clusters, as it allows the sugar/oil mixture to ‘set’.
• When the granola has cooled for 15 minutes, break it into clusters. These can be as large or as small as you like. There will be rubble, but it will be minimal.
• Spread out the clusters – use a second baking sheet if liked – and return them to the oven and switch off the heat. Cooling in the oven will set the crispness and keep your granola deliciously crunchy for days.
• When completely cold, store in an airtight container.

To Serve

Add fresh or dried fruit to your granola bowl. The top picture has yellow and green raisins, and freeze-dried cranberries. The second image just has slices of fresh banana. Served with some chilled yogurt, its a genuine taste sensation.