Apple-hazelnut granola
This year my coworkers and friends are getting homemade granola. Here's the recipe I've come up with after significantly modifying Mark Bittman's. Because the dry ingredients are so bulky and not necessarily consistently shaped, I used my scale to measure them consistently. The cup measurements are just rough estimates based on memory for those who don't have kitchen scales.
Apple-hazelnut granola
400g rolled (not quick) oats (4 cups)
200g hazelnuts or other nuts, finely chopped (about 1 to 1-1/2 cups)
40g flax seeds (1/4 cup)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c canola oil
1/2 c agave nectar
60g puffed kamut or other puffed grain (3 cups)
60g crisp-dry apples or other crisp-dry fruit, finely crumbled (3/4 cup)
Preheat the oven to 350. Chop the hazelnuts. You can do this in small batches in a food processor, but I found that this got the size of the nuts too uneven, so I toughed it out with a knife. Proceed according to your level of OCD. Combine all ingredients except for the puffed grain and fruit in a large bowl. Mix well. Spread evenly in a large baking pan with sides, and bake for 10 minutes. Add the puffed grain, mix well, and return to the oven for another 8-9 minutes. The mixture should be golden brown and smell fantastic. Remove from oven, add the apples, and mix well. Cool completely before sealing and storing, but try to avoid leaving it out overnight to cool. The apples will absorb moisture in a matter of hours, losing their crispness and starting to take it out of the grains. Store airtight.
Obviously, you can mix this up with different nuts, seeds, or fruits, changing the spices. I hear that coconut burns quickly, so you'd probably want to add that with the puffed grains. If you want to use dried fruit that's leathery rather than crisp, it's best to add it as you serve the granola so it doesn't transfer its moisture to the grains. Bittman doesn't use any added oil in his, so if you want to reduce calories/fat, you could reduce or eliminate that.
Makes about 15 cups.
Apple-hazelnut granola
400g rolled (not quick) oats (4 cups)
200g hazelnuts or other nuts, finely chopped (about 1 to 1-1/2 cups)
40g flax seeds (1/4 cup)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 c canola oil
1/2 c agave nectar
60g puffed kamut or other puffed grain (3 cups)
60g crisp-dry apples or other crisp-dry fruit, finely crumbled (3/4 cup)
Preheat the oven to 350. Chop the hazelnuts. You can do this in small batches in a food processor, but I found that this got the size of the nuts too uneven, so I toughed it out with a knife. Proceed according to your level of OCD. Combine all ingredients except for the puffed grain and fruit in a large bowl. Mix well. Spread evenly in a large baking pan with sides, and bake for 10 minutes. Add the puffed grain, mix well, and return to the oven for another 8-9 minutes. The mixture should be golden brown and smell fantastic. Remove from oven, add the apples, and mix well. Cool completely before sealing and storing, but try to avoid leaving it out overnight to cool. The apples will absorb moisture in a matter of hours, losing their crispness and starting to take it out of the grains. Store airtight.
Obviously, you can mix this up with different nuts, seeds, or fruits, changing the spices. I hear that coconut burns quickly, so you'd probably want to add that with the puffed grains. If you want to use dried fruit that's leathery rather than crisp, it's best to add it as you serve the granola so it doesn't transfer its moisture to the grains. Bittman doesn't use any added oil in his, so if you want to reduce calories/fat, you could reduce or eliminate that.
Makes about 15 cups.