Homemade granola with nuts and big clusters

Shop granola is fine. Homemade granola is a different thing: warm from the oven, thick with clusters, and as nutty or as light on sugar as you like. It also takes about ten minutes of effort and an hour of walking past the oven and sniffing. This recipe gives you big, crunchy clumps and a jar that stays crisp, with a few swaps for different tastes.

The basic ratio

Granola follows a simple formula, and once you know it you can improvise forever.

• 3 parts rolled oats
• 1 part nuts and seeds
• A little under 1/2 part sweetener and fat combined, roughly equal quantities of each
• Salt and spice to taste

The wet part binds everything together and caramelises as it bakes. Too much and the granola goes sticky, too little and it will not clump.

Ingredients

Makes about 700 g (a large jar).

• 300 g (3 cups) old-fashioned rolled oats
• 150 g (1 cup) mixed nuts, such as raw almonds, raw hazelnuts and chopped walnuts
• 2 tablespoons sesame or pumpkin seeds (optional)
• 80 ml (1/3 cup) maple syrup or honey
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) neutral oil or melted coconut oil
• 1 egg white
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 60 g (1/2 cup) dried fruit, added after baking

Prepare the nuts

Chop the almonds and hazelnuts roughly, so each piece is about the size of a chickpea or a little larger. Large whole nuts are lovely, but they fall out of clusters and are a bit hard on teeth. The walnuts are already small. If you want the hazelnuts to taste their best, our guide on toasting and skinning hazelnuts shows how, though for granola the oven does that work for you.

Method

1. Heat the oven to 150C (300F). Line a large baking tray with baking paper.
2. In a big bowl, mix the oats, nuts, seeds, cinnamon and salt.
3. In a small jug, whisk the syrup, oil and vanilla.
4. Pour the wet mixture over the dry and stir until everything is evenly coated and glistening.
5. In a clean bowl, whisk the egg white until frothy, then stir it through. This is the secret to clusters: the white dries into a crisp glue.
6. Tip onto the tray and spread in a layer about 2 cm (3/4 inch) thick. Press it down firmly with the back of a spatula.
7. Bake for 20 minutes. Rotate the tray, but do not stir.
8. Bake for another 10 to 15 minutes, until deep golden and fragrant. The granola will still feel soft. It crisps up as it cools.
9. Leave it completely undisturbed for 45 minutes, so the sheet sets as one slab.
10. Break it into chunks of whatever size you like, and stir through the dried fruit.

Getting the crunch right

Do not stir while it bakes

Stirring breaks up the forming clusters. Rotating the tray gives even colour without disturbing the layer.

Press and wait

Pressing compacts the mixture, and cooling lets the sugar harden. Break it only when it is truly cold.

Add fruit at the end

Dried fruit baked with the granola turns into rock-hard, burnt pebbles. Stir it in after.

Mind the nuts

Nuts burn long before oats do, especially smaller chopped pieces. If your oven runs hot, turn the temperature down to 140C (275F) and bake a little longer.

Variations

• Replace half the oats with puffed grains or coconut flakes.
• The granola article on Wikipedia is a good starting point for the history and variety of this breakfast staple.
• Stir in a spoonful of homemade nut butter with the wet mix for richer clusters. Our food processor nut butter recipe makes enough for that and some toast.
• Add orange zest and cardamom in autumn, or ginger and dried apricot for something sunnier.
• For a no-bake shortcut, a bag of breakfast crunch mix over yoghurt scratches the same itch.

Storage

Cool it fully, then pack into an airtight jar. It keeps well for two to three weeks at room temperature. The nuts will be the first thing to turn stale, so keep the jar out of heat and light. If you have questions about why, how to store nuts covers it.

Serving ideas

Spoon it over yoghurt with fruit, eat it dry from the jar, or crumble it over baked fruit for a quick crumble topping. As granola contains nuts and often seeds, read labels on every ingredient you add if you are cooking for someone with an allergy, and ask a qualified professional about medical concerns.

Now go and enjoy the smell. It lasts about as long as the baking does.