Granola guide
A bowl of granola in your yoghurt is a great way to start your day. And it’s super easy to make yourself – in fact, every granola has the same basic foundation. Five products make granola. After that, you can vary endlessly. Fruit, coconut, chocolate, whatever you like, baby.
Basic granola consists of five ingredients that you toss together and bake in the oven until golden brown. But even with these essential ingredients, there’s plenty of room for variation, as it turns out. If you really want to stand out, the best way to do so is by dressing up your granola. More on that later.
The Big 5 in your granola
1. Grains. The very foundation of your granola. The best-known grains to eventually stir through your yoghurt are oats and spelt (we love the puffed spelt variety), but you can also throw in cornflakes and barley. Even buckwheat and quinoa work well in your grain mix (although strictly speaking, they aren’t grains); they provide a good crunch and sound deliciously healthy. So mix and match to your heart’s content.
2. Nuts. The same applies to this key ingredient: variation is allowed. Is the pecan your favourite nut? Throw it in that bowl! Walnut? Also good. Hazelnut? Hmmm. Almond? Delicious. Pistachios? Let’s go. Macadamia? You get the idea. Use raw, unsalted nuts. Kernels and seeds are also allowed, of course: go for pumpkin or sunflower seeds, or a handful of chia seeds.
3. Sugar. You can also bake your granola without sugar, but we prefer a sweet start to the day. As far as we’re concerned, a little sweetness is so essential that we count sugar as one of the big five. Use maple syrup, honey or agave syrup. You can actually use any liquid form of sugar.
4. Oil. The binding factor. Some swear by melted coconut oil, others by extra virgin olive oil, and still others by sunflower oil. Try them out and then choose your most successful version.
5. Salt. Essential. In everything. So also in granola. Without salt, your granola will be bland, and you don’t want that.
There must be a difference
In addition to the five main ingredients, you can make your granola distinctive with various flavourings. Herbs, spices and fruit are the most common additions to your bowl of yoghurt with grains. Think cinnamon, vanilla and cardamom (ground). Or dried peach, apricot, cranberries, raisins, banana and coconut. For a spicy kick, add a little ginger to your granola mixture. Chocoholic? Chocolate chips are also delicious.
Just pay attention: add (dried) fruit and chocolate only after removing the basic granola from the oven. So don’t bake them along with it. The only exception is coconut. You can bake dried, shredded coconut along with the granola.
Make it work – the recipe
The only thing you need to remember is that the ratio between ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ ingredients should be approximately 6:1. So if your grain-and-nut mixture weighs 600 grams, make sure you add approximately 100 grams of liquid sugar and oil.
Mix the grains, nuts, seeds, salt and, if desired, the herbs and spices in a bowl. Add the sugar and oil and mix again. Spread the sticky mixture over a baking tray and bake in the oven at 175 degrees for approximately 30–45 minutes. Toss your granola every 10 minutes. When your mixture is golden brown, it’s ready. Allow it to cool completely, add the dried fruit and/or chocolate chips, and store your homemade breakfast cereal in an airtight jar.
