First Stab at Granola: A Few Tips
I made granola for the first time a few weeks ago, made a second batch last week, and another today. Having conflated a dozen or so recipes from around the internet, I've noticed a few things:
1. About 6 cups oats to between 1 3/4 to 2 cups sweetener. The first time I tried it, I wanted to cut back on the sugar, so I went with a total of 1 cup sweetener (honey, brown sugar and agave). The granola wouldn't stick together.
2. Take out spices (cinammon, mostly) right away. My last batch, I forgot to add it in. Still delicious, and I sprinkled some on cool, but it's easy to miss.
3. I added 3 egg whites, whisked to a thickened froth (not yet soft peaks), and reduced oil to only about 1/4 cup. This was per some recipes noting it would be crunchier.
4. Most importantly, re crunch: the granola got nice and crispy after cooling off, but by the next morning, it started to soften again. Apparently, because the sweeteners are so hygroscopic, they are pulling moisture out of the air. I was able to keep the final product dry by cooling off the granola, then heating up the oven again to about 200, shut it off, and put the granola in for an hour, cool, and repeating the process.
