Making your granola a cluster event
i have been playing around recently with making my own granola, (sparked from a feature on this site) but can't make the cluster of oats happen. My end result is still good, but resembles uncooked oatmeal. Any suggestions on how to make the granola cluster? Any proven recipes?
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13 Comments:
what exactly are you putting in your granola?
sweetpotato at 3:08PM on 09/20/08
i go with oats, equal parts honey and oil, and coconut. thats all ive tried so far.
mikemcl55 at 5:38PM on 09/20/08
I like to toast oats, nuts, and dried berries in the oven, then pour over some melted brown sugar and let it harden.
michichan at 7:07PM on 09/20/08
can you bake the dried fruit with the oats or do you add them after? what are the best additions in the granola?
mikemcl55 at 10:41PM on 09/20/08
i've had great success with alton brown's recipe. look it up on food network. also helps to keep the cost down by buying the nuts and dried fruits in bulk at costco or sams club. ps if it comes out looking like uncooked oatmeal, you may not be cooking it long enough. patience grasshopper. must stir every 15 minutes.
nightmoon at 11:58PM on 09/20/08
ps add the dried fruit after its cooked an COOLED
nightmoon at 12:09AM on 09/21/08
my granola doesn't cluster either, but i'm pretty sure it's because i keep the sweetener to a minimum and don't add any oil.
cybercita at 1:26AM on 09/21/08
The best granola known to God and woman is Pam Anderson's. Just google "Pam Anderson's Granola"
She tells you how to make the clusters.
Soccermom13 at 6:57AM on 09/21/08
The more sweetener you add to granola, the more likely you are to have clusters. Short of squeezing small handfuls of it, then gently placing them on the baking sheet, using more honey or real maple syrup is probably the way to get clusters.
The "granola" (really just a facsimile of real granola) that we see with huge crunchy clusters is so loaded with fat, sugar and calories, the "health" benefit of its consumption is nearly non-existent.
therealchiffonade at 7:41AM on 09/21/08
The author here uses oat flour to make granola clusters; I've tried it and it seems to work well.
http://www.travelerslunchbox.com/journal/2007/6/9/the-lip-ladys-secret-granola.html
birdlime at 9:44AM on 09/21/08
google "orangette consider it" - her recipe is easy, fairly flexible, and clustering is dependent on how often you stir.
joyyy at 1:51PM on 09/21/08
I have a reliable recipe that I use for granola, and I have found that cooking on convection helps the oats to cluster better (though still not quite as much as the stuff in the stores). The amount of honey and oil has an effect as well - the more you use, the better the cluster.
http://postmodernfeeding.blogspot.com/2008/09/granola-girl.html
sarahbeam at 8:20PM on 09/21/08
This recipe uses the honey mixture to stick the oats together.
Apples N' Spice Granola
Ingredients
2 1/2 C. old fashioned oatmeal
1/2 C. oat bran
1/2 C. sliced almonds
1/3 C. honey
1/3 C. vegetable oil
1/3 C. apple juice concentrate
1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 C. crisp rice cereal
1/2 C. toasted wheat germ
1/2 C. chopped dried apples
1/2 C. raisins
Directions
In a large bowl, combine oats, oat bran, and almonds. Spread onto a greased, foil-lined 15x10x1-inch baking pan. Coat mixture with cooking spray. Bake, uncovered, at 300 degrees for 20 minutes, stirring once.
Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine honey, oil, and concentrate. Cook and stir over low heat until mixture is heated through. Remove from heat, stir in spices. Stir cereal, wheat germ and apples into oat mixture; drizzle with honey mixture. Stir to coat. Bake 10-15 minutes or until golden brown. Cool on wire rack. Break granola into pieces. Sprinkle with raisins. Store in an airtight container.
Hillary
Chew on That
Chew on That at 5:34PM on 09/23/08