Cameron's Favorite Granola
I can make a breakfast meal out of a bowl of this granola with one of the nut milks.
I can make a breakfast meal out of a bowl of this granola with one of the nut milks.
- Carbohydrate 201.013565657822 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 74.2066073128556 g
- Fiber 31.270544936893 g
- Protein 43.9175226958919 g
- Saturated Fat 8.67565585260905 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (154g)
- Sodium 24.5739333557267 mg
- Sugar 169.743020720929 g
- Trans Fat 22.050019516666 g
- Calories 1644 calories
Step-by-step
- Put oatmeal in a large bowl or pan and pour oil over the oatmeal.
- Stir until well glazed.
- Add wheat germ, coconut, sesame seed and nuts and mix well.
- Mix water, honey, salt and vanilla and pour over the mixture and stir until mixed well.
- Put in sheet cake pans or cookie sheets and bake in a slow oven, about 250 to 275 degrees for about an hour and a half.
- Some times it takes a little longer, depending on how full the pans are and what temperature the oven is.
- Stir the mixture about every 20 minutes so it can toast evenly.
- It should get a nice golden brown.
Stirring the oat mixture every twenty minutes prevents the edges from scorching while the center remains pale. Maintaining an oven temperature between 250 and 275 degrees ensures the large volume of honey dehydrates without caramelizing too quickly into bitterness. Spreading the mixture across multiple sheet pans rather than crowding a single container allows dry heat to circulate effectively around every flake.
Substitutions alter the structural integrity of the final batch significantly. Exchanging the specified honey for maple syrup introduces excess moisture that extends baking time by roughly twenty minutes. Natural wheat germ provides necessary binding starch alongside distinct nutty notes; swapping it for processed bran requires decreasing the liquid volume to prevent a soggy texture.
Maillard reactions drive the deep flavor development here as amino acids from the wheat germ and nuts interact with sugars in the honey. This chemical browning requires prolonged dry heat to fully manifest, resulting in complex savory undertones that balance the natural sweetness.
Cooling the baked oats completely on the pans before transferring them to airtight storage containers prevents condensation from softening the crisp clusters. Properly dried large batches retain optimal texture for up to one month at room temperature.
