Blessed be she who makes clumpy granola without raisins

See that picture above? Do you know what is missing? I suppose, given the title of this post, it is rather obvious. But I wanted to clearly make the point: this granola is raisin-free.

And even better? It isn't too sweet or too nutty and it is gluten-free - well, as long as you consider certified gluten-free oats gluten-free (not everyone does).

I've been on a granola bender of sorts lately. A friend dared me to develop a recipe he liked. Given that lately I've had more than a little time on my hands, I took up his challenge with gusto.

I've never made granola before. I never had reason to. I'm not much of a morning cereal eater, and on that rare, blue moon of a day when I actually did crave a bowl of breakfast, I'd just buy Bare Naked Original Granola - until they sold themselves to Kellogg's for $65 million.

But this friend wanted his own custom blend, and he was specific about ingredients. As I jotted down his requested ingredients, I realized we were very simiilar in our mutual dislike of raisins, puffed cereals, and cloying sweet or overcooked granola.

The first recipe I pulled, from a Cook's Illustrated article from 1994, was all I needed to create a baseline 'good' granola. The recipe was more formula than prescription, something that allows for improvisation of all sorts.

The results? Delicious, crunchy granola that was completely unclumpy. Hmm. Had to fix that. My friend had specifically requested 'clumpy' granola.

I ended up trying out 5 versions until we hit upon the correct method/baking time/baking process/flavor/nut-to-fruit-to-oat ratio. The below photo is from versions 3 and 4, where we varied fruit percentage. In the end we went with something right in between.

The one thing I did struggle with was making the granola clumpy. After asking the Twittersphere and getting the same response I'd read in some other recipe ('use wet hands to squeeze granola into clumps" - what? Am I going to spend hours doing this when I have a five pound batch?) I decided to take matters into my own dry hands. Using two sheets of parchment, I pressed down on the granola and placed another tray over it for the first 15 minutes of baking and absolutely NO STIRRING the granola. Results? Perfectly clumpy granola, with some loose oats in there for textural contrast.

Here's the view inside the oven:

Basic Granola Formula with instructions for clumpy granola (adapted from Cook's Illustrated, September 1994).

(Forgive the vagueness...I want to keep my version to myself)

Dry Ingredients:

• 5 parts rolled oats (do not use instant)
• 1 part seed(s) of your choice (pumpkin, sesame, sunflower etc)
• 1 part coconut, shredded unsweetened
• 2 parts nuts of your choice
• Pinch of salt
• .1 part sweet spice (cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, cardamom etc)

Wet Ingredients

• 2 parts natural invert sugar (maple, honey, agave etc in combination or alone)
• 1.5 parts sunflower oil (less if you want to omit fat. Can substitute coconut oil)
• 1.5 parts water (ONLY if you want clumpy granola)
• .5 parts (or less) Vanilla (or other flavoring such as almond, liqueur, juice etc)

Fruit

• 5 parts (equal to oat by weight) dried fruit of your choosing (including raisins, if desired. If you like a less fruity granola, reduce by half)

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 275F convection or 300 if using a conventional oven.

Weigh out all dry ingredients. Combine. Warm invert sugar until flowing. Add oil, water (if making clumpy granola), vanilla and stir (oil will float on top). Add to dry ingredients. Stir until completely mixed.

Spread out on baking sheet lined with parchment. Place another piece of parchment on top. apply pressure with your hands to granola to press down. Place baking sheet on top and repeat.

Place in oven and bake for 15 minutes.

Remove top piece of parchment and baking pan (you CAN do this without a top sheet pan, but you'll need to watch it more carefully - the edges will burn faster). Allow to bake until golden, about 30-40 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Break up and store in an airtight container. Keeps for several weeks - but I promise, it will not last that long.

Keep cool - the fats will turn rancid if temperature fluctuates too much.

To make un-clumpy granola, omit water. Stir every five minutes until golden. Labor intensive but remarkably un-clumpy!

Comments

[Deanna]

Oooooooh, I've been wanting to play with making granola myself! Maybe with molasses? Thanks for posting this!

[H.Peter]

WOW! I just bought a bag at the Calgary Farmers' market, GF, did not look even close as good as yours.

65 Mill sellout? Good for them. There is a company I am watching in germany, they do a brisk mail order biz with customized Muesli mixes. Another brilliant idea.

[Emma]

To get the clumpy granola, use a smaller pan like 9x13. Press the granola into the pan, bake until lightly browned, cool a bit and turnout onto cookie sheet breaking into the size clumps you want; return to oven to finish crisping.

[Cake and Commerce]

Thanks Emma! I use a large pan, press two pans together, and actually step on the top pan. It works beautifully. I never thought of crumbling up the clumps and returning it to the oven. Interesting idea.

[Gluten Free Guide]

Wow, you are amazing. These cookies look rediculously good.

[kcb]

When you are comparing parts in this recipe, do you mean by weight or volume? Especially in comparing the wet to dry portions? thanks

[Cake and Commerce]

The great thing about 'parts' is that they are always the same, whether they are volume or weight. So take your pick!