Homemade Granola (muesli)
There are some periods where I have problems digesting bread and, like the wolf in one of the Grimm brothers fairy tales, I feel like I have a large stone in my stomach.
It seems that I’m not the only one and that my problem may come from the fact that certain breads are made from dough which has fermented too rapidly. In fact, if the fermentation is too fast, the gluten is much less digestible. But, I’m not a specialist and I must admit that I’ve only just started my investigations on the subject.
As I’m still not in the habit of making my own sourdough bread like Clotilde does and as I’m not sure that all the breads I buy in bakeries are made from dough which has fermented slowly, I simply decided to reduce the amount of bread I eat every day.
For breakfast, I went back to muesli (granola) but not shop-bought muesli, as I usually don’t really enjoy them, apart from Dorset Cereals or Eat Naturally brands.
So, I decided to go with my home made version.
Until today, I used the same basic recipe that you can find in my book “Cadeau Gourmands” with some variations, like the one on my blog.
As often in my kitchen, I like trying out new things and when I saw Clea’s recipe, I knew I had a new source of inspiration. She simply gives the best proportions between the rolled oats, the dried fruits and the nuts, which I find very practical. Her recipe, inspired by Rose Bakery’s book consists of roasting a mixture of rolled oats, nuts, apple juice and vegetable oil in an oven and then to adding some dried fruit.
Compare to my recipe, which contains honey, this one is sweetened only by the apple juice.
Verdict: this version is really very crunchy, without being dry, as it can be sometime. There is no need to add extra sugar, unless you like your muesli very sweet.
It’s one of the best I made up to now. David, who tasted it directly from my bowl, is also a fan.
Homemade Granola (muesli)
Ingredients for 1kg of granola
250 g rolled oats
150 g wheat flakes
100 g sunflower seeds
200 g almond
200 g prunes
100 g dried cranberries
12,5 cl apple juice
2 tbsp olive oil
Preheat you oven to 150°C.
In a large bowl, mix the rolled oats, wheat flakes, sunflower seeds and almonds.
Add the oil, the apple juice and mix well.
Spread onto a baking sheet and bake for 30 minutes, mixing from time to time.
In the meantime, dice the prunes.
When the granola is dry, remove from the oven, pour into a large bowl.
Add the cranberries, the diced prunes and mix.
Allow to cook and then keep in jars.
You can offer this granola to a friend, as an edible gift.
Note on the Ingredients
I buy my rolled oats, wheat flakes and sunflower seeds in an organic store which had the brilliant idea to open 2 years ago just next to Noe’s school. You can vary the flakes by adding barley flakes which can be found also in organic stores.
I love also adding dates instead of prunes, or pecans nuts instead of almonds It's up to you according to your taste and what you have in your cupboards.