Of course we could just make the granola — somehow this thought hadn't worked its way into the breakfast calculus. As it turns out there is a pretty hilarious divergence in cooking times and temperatures among recipes we found scattered across the internet. Suffice it to say that some out there must have some pretty seriously dysfunctional ovens that they need crank them up to 450F to produce a batch of granola. The most important thing one can seemingly do is just stir the stuff every few minutes and stop when it's reached a nice golden brown.
Some of you may be living in some ridiculous place like Brooklyn, where local establishments carry a pretty serious comparative advantage in bagel making. I'm jealous, don't get me wrong, but the rest of us can opt for something a bit crunchier as a substitute:
Extensible Granola
Makes Four Cups
10 Minutes Prep, 30 Minutes to Cook
10 Minutes Prep, 30 Minutes to Cook
The Goods- 4 Cups oats
- 1.5 Cups nuts
- 1.5 Cups dried fruit
- 3/4 Cup honey
- 2 Tbsp. oil
- Pinch cinnamon
- Pinch salt
The Procedure- Preheat the oven to 275F
- Separately reduce the nuts and fruit to a small size either with a food processor or by other means.
- Toss the cinnamon and salt into the oats, then thoroughly mix in the honey followed by the nuts and oil.
- Spread out onto lightly oiled baking sheets and bake for 7-8 minutes at a time, stirring in between cycles. The total time will typically be around 30 minutes, but it really needs to be taken out every once in a while to avoid burnage. The oats may not seem crispy even when they reach a good color, but they will firm up as the mixture cools.
- Once cool, mix in the fruit and store in some suitable container. It seems to keep for at least a week, though we've generally exhausted the supply well in advance of such a deadline.
NB: To keep the price down, it seems like almonds and raisins/cranberries are good choices.
