Homemade Granola with Soaked Oats & Sprouted Flour
Why go to the trouble of making homemade granola? In Sally Fallon-Morell’s book, Nourishing Traditions, she explains that whole grains that are not soaked, sprouted or fermented are full of phytic acid, which impairs mineral absorption (not good for building strong teeth and bones). In addition, cereals are made with extruded grains which some say are actually toxic.
I was never a big fan of cold cereal to begin with — I’d much rather have Eggs Benedict. But let’s face it — we don’t always have time to whip up a plate of Eggs Benedict with homemade Hollandaise sauce.
Which is what’s so appealing about cold breakfast cereal — it’s so easy. On those days when you’ve run out of eggs, or you just don’t feel like making pancakes — grabbing a bowl of cereal just takes a few seconds. Cereal is also a convenient, portable snack for toddlers and kids.
Nonetheless, I no longer buy breakfast cereal (with the exception of oatmeal). Ever since our “traditional foods conversion”, we now eat eggs most mornings, often with buttered toast and sometimes with bacon or sausage. We’ve also learned to love oatmeal. Especially this baked oatmeal over at Kelly the Kitchen Kop’s site. But as delicious as it is, baked oatmeal is not always appealing on a hot summer day. Nor is the idea of heating up your house by running the oven.
This homemade granola is just as healthy and delicious as the baked oatmeal (well, almost as healthy — it doesn’t have eggs in it). However it does have the same amount of coconut oil, which has wonderful health benefits. Also, this is a recipe you can make ahead in a large batch, and then keep stored in your cupboard for quick, easy meals or nutritious, portable snacks.
I use sprouted flour for this recipe, but you can use freshly ground whole grain flour instead since you are soaking the oats and the flour overnight. I like using sprouted flour because I know it is extremely fresh and the kind of sprouted flour I buy is also organic.
It’s a good idea to double or triple this recipe. I tripled it, which makes a lot. It will keep in the cupboard for a number of weeks (I don’t know exactly how long yet — I haven’t tried it). You can also freeze your homemade granola in freezer bags for long term storage.
Please note: this recipe calls for nuts and seeds that are soaked and dried ahead of time. I usually soak and dry my nuts and seeds and large batches and store them in mason jars or other airtight containers — so I have them on hand for recipes like this one (as well as pesto, peanut butter, peanut butter cookies, and other goodies that call for soaked and dried nuts and seeds). For more information on how to soak and dry seeds, pick up a copy of Sally Fallon-Morell’s book, Nourishing Traditions.
For sources of ingredients and equipment used in this recipe, please visit my resources page.
Homemade Granola with Soaked Oats and Sprouted Flour
Equipment
Dehydrator (optional; sources for dehydrators
Parchment paper or Silpat baking mats
Ingredients
3 cups oatmeal (not instant)
3 cups warm filtered water
6 tablespoons whey, yogurt, kefir or buttermilk (if you are allergic to dairy, you can also use lemon juice or vinegar)
1 cup dessicated coconut, unsweetened
1 cup raisins or other dried fruit, or a combination
2 cups any combination of soaked and dried nuts and seeds (almonds, pine nuts, pecans, walnuts, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, sesame seeds — I tend to use whatever I have on hand that is already soaked and dried)
1/2 cup sprouted wheat or spelt flour (sources for sprouted flour)
1/2 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup Rapadura, sucanat, palm sugar, or maple sugar
1/4 cup honey or maple syrup
1 teaspoon salt
1. The night before, set the oatmeal in a large bowl with the whey, kefir or buttermilk and the warm filtered water. Cover with a dishtowel and let sit on the counter or in a cupboard for anywhere from 8-24 hours.
2. The next day, set the oven to the lowest setting (150-170 degrees) or, if you have one, set your dehydrator to the highest setting — around 150 degrees. (Note: I found other recipes online that say you can bake your granola in the oven at 350 degrees or so. I tried this method but it didn’t work so well for me — since you have to constantly turn it, it’s kind of a pain. I preferred just putting it in the dehydrator and letting it go overnight. If you are in a hurry and want your granola right away, you can try it that way — just turn the granola every 15 minutes or so and bake for a shorter period of time.)
3. Add to the bowl of soaked oatmeal the coconut, raisins, soaked and dried nuts/seeds, and sprouted flour. Blend together with a wooden spoon.
5. In another bowl, add coconut oil, sugar, honey and salt. If the coconut oil is solid, melt it in a saucepan on low heat.
6. Pour the coconut oil mixture onto the bowl of oatmeal and blend together with a wooden spoon.
7. Spread the mixture onto cookie sheets lined with parchment paper or Silpat mats. Or, if you’re using a dehydrator, spread onto parchment paper-lined trays.
8. Bake or dry until crisp. Depending on how thickly you spread the mixture, it can take anywhere from a few hours to up to 24 hours. This is another reason I prefer using a dehydrator (also, it doesn’t heat up the kitchen).
9. Break into pieces with your hands and store in an airtight container.
10. Serve your homemade granola with milk, yogurt or cream, and if you like, fresh fruit.
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27/07/2009 at 2:15 pm Permalink
Yum! We will definitely try this!
27/07/2009 at 2:16 pm Permalink
I love this recipe and can’t wait to try it! (My last batch bombed, so I needed a new recipe.) I tried to retweet, but the button isn’t working.
Kel
27/07/2009 at 2:45 pm Permalink
I was just thinking on trying something like this! Thanks AnnMarie. Incidentally, I just wrote an article titled “Why I don’t eat boxed cereal — not even the healthy ones”. Helpful for those who don’t yet understand completely why boxed cereal is not as good as we are led to believe. http://sn.im/boxcereal
27/07/2009 at 3:05 pm Permalink
Going to give this a try……sounds delicious!
Your retweet is isn’t working!
27/07/2009 at 3:14 pm Permalink
Yikes, this just looks like so much work! This is why I had the hardest time giving up cold breakfast cereal way back when — the thought of having to soak oats, then dry them, then mix them with other things and bake or dry them again just seemed like so. much. work.
I’m not trying to rain on anyone’s parade. I’m just lazy.
We do have a soaked cold cereal recipe that we use from time to time, but it’s just oats soaked in yogurt overnight & mixed with all the fixin’s of granola. Basically the same idea you’ve got, minus the dehydration. It has to be stored in the refrigerator, and it’s less crunchy. But it still makes a decent cold cereal. (At least we think so.)
Of course, NOTHING compares to a good granola! Which is why your recipe is awesome.
Cheers,
~KristenM
(AKA FoodRenegade)
27/07/2009 at 4:45 pm Permalink
Anne Marie, is a dehydrator usually a good alternative to 150F in the oven? Mine doesn’t go that low and I am on a quest to figure out an alternative.
(I have bulgar to make tabouleh but the first batch won’t be soaked beforehand due to lack of proper equipment. sigh.)
27/07/2009 at 5:01 pm Permalink
Kristen –
You don’t have to soak the oats, then dry them, then mix them with other things. You just have to soak the oats then mix them and dry them. Yeah, it’s still work but it sure is nice to have cereal every once in a while! A good, nutritious food that is also convenient.
27/07/2009 at 5:08 pm Permalink
Soli –
Yes, the dehydrator works great. I think mine goes up to 155 degrees. And it doesn’t heat up my kitchen. I got the 9-tray Excalibur so I can do big batches of stuff, and I use it for drying nuts and seeds, oats, and also herbs and fruit.
27/07/2009 at 5:26 pm Permalink
I used to make this all the time until I heard Sally Fallon at the WAPF conference in 2007 (and since), say that she considers soaked granola a “compromise” food, better than regular granola, which is almost indigestible, but not as good as cooked soaked oats. She says that an “iron” digestive system is needed to process even the soaked granola, and that oats need a minimum of 5 minutes cooking time to facilitate optimum digestibility. I must admit that it is definitely missed around here and since we have digestive issues I steer clear. Maybe after we get through G.A.P.S. though!
Kristen
EdibleMissoula
27/07/2009 at 6:15 pm Permalink
Thanks Ann Marie for another great healthy breakfast idea to try – it sounds really, really wonderful and I feel because you can double or triple the recipe it won’t feel like so much work.
I love the soaked and baked oatmeal recipe by Kelly the Kitchen Kop and the stove top soaked oatmeal recipe by Jenny over at Nourished Kitchen so I can’t wait to try a nice cold cereal for summer.
27/07/2009 at 6:24 pm Permalink
Awesome. I just made a batch of coconut granola and I was wondering if I could make a soaked version. Can’t wait to try it. I love your site, btw.
27/07/2009 at 6:52 pm Permalink
Kristen,
Hmm… I think I heard a lecture like that, too by Sally. But I thought I heard her say that there are some good recipes for granola. And she has a similar granola recipe in “Eat Fat Lose Fat”.
I guess if you need to cook the oatmeal for 5 minutes, you could do the baked version — or at least bake it for 5-10 minutes at 350 degrees, then turn the oven down to 150.
Also, it’s important to note that, in “Nourishing Traditions”, she also says that ALL of the following foods “compromise foods”:
Pork
Traditionally made, additive-free sausage
Additive-free bacon
Pasteurized cheeses
Unbleached white flour
Thinned skinned fruits imported from long distances
Natural sweeteners – including honey, maple syrup and Rapadura
Wine
Herb teas
I eat all of those things pretty regularly — many of them daily.
She also calls the following foods “new-fangled” (meaning we should avoid them completely):
Chocolate
Coffee
Tea
Cocoa
Commercial baking powder
Again, guilty.
I honestly don’t think I’ll ever give up chocolate.
If I tried to comply exactly with NT, I don’t think I could do it. I do the best I can. Still, I feel like I’m doing pretty well compared to how I used to eat.
27/07/2009 at 7:17 pm Permalink
By the way, I’m never giving up wine either.
27/07/2009 at 8:32 pm Permalink
I certainly don’t plan on ever giving up chocolate and wine.
27/07/2009 at 9:15 pm Permalink
Can’t wait to try this recipe! And hoping it turns out way better than my first soaked granola experiment
I’m lazy, too, therefore a big fan of HUGE (whenever possible) batches.
Wondering if I should try this in the oven or in the dehydrator, which doesn’t have a working temp gadge…
As always, appreciate your great blogging, Cheeseslave!
Blessings…
28/07/2009 at 3:35 am Permalink
Thanks for this. The only problem I see with this is that the finished product will only last a few hours !
Off to get the oatmeal soaking right now!
28/07/2009 at 5:56 am Permalink
You’ve got some great stuff on this blog. I was wondering what you thought about a modification to the soaked granola sprouted flour granola recipe. In using what I have in the cupboard, do you think I could use regular whole wheat flour and soak it along with the oats? What would be the advantages/disadvantages of using sprouted vs. soaked flour since I’d already be soaking the oats? Thanks for any help to a “real food” newbie ;o)
28/07/2009 at 6:00 am Permalink
Haha FoodRenegade – good to know I’m not alone in that!
28/07/2009 at 6:08 am Permalink
Hi, Ann,
I made an absolutely ENORMOUS batch by tripling it. I’ll have to take a picture and show you guys how much it made — you won’t believe it!
If you have an Excalibur dehydrator, just turn it up all the way to the highest setting, which I believe is 155 degrees. I could get up and go look but I just woke up and am having my coffee.
It’s either 150 or 155.
If you have another brand of dehydrator, look up their website or find their user manual online and see how high it goes.
You could also just mark the numbers on there with a magic marker.
28/07/2009 at 6:09 am Permalink
Julie –
The batch I made was gigantic. Seriously, I made so much that I had to mix it in 2 bowls — the 2 biggest bowls I had. And I used all 9 trays of my 9-tray dehydrator.
I will take a pic and post it so you guys can see how much a triple batch makes. My family will be in granola for a looong time.
28/07/2009 at 6:10 am Permalink
Amy – I don’t see why that wouldn’t work. I made baked oatmeal once that was more like a bread pudding. I added whole wheat flour and soaked it overnight with the oats. Came out fine. Try it and please let us know how it works!
28/07/2009 at 6:35 am Permalink
It was your baked oatmeal recipe. Mine is like a giant pan of oatmeal cookie bars. Pour some raw milk over and yum.
28/07/2009 at 7:28 am Permalink
YUM! What kind of oats do you buy?
28/07/2009 at 7:49 am Permalink
I used to buy organic oats at the HFS but now I just buy Quaker Oats because I can get it in giant bulk boxes at Costco — very cheap!
28/07/2009 at 4:49 pm Permalink
For a busy family with very little time, how realistic would it be to make, 2 weeks worth of this? Is that possible? Is it realistic? I am not a fan of cold boxed cereal, but the time crunch is where I am having issues. I am trying to figure out how to make something easy enough to prepare a week at a time, and easy enough to pour out of a box in the AM. Am I being unrealistic?
30/07/2009 at 7:49 pm Permalink
Your photo looks too good! Almost looks like you have the granola on top of really thick cream. You’re becoming quite a pro at food photography……which I know is quite tricky.
Thanks for the recipe.
31/07/2009 at 7:19 pm Permalink
Thanks. How do you feel about the regular oats vs organic (i am asking because i learn so much from you!)?
01/08/2009 at 2:33 am Permalink
Will lime juice or apple cider vinegar do the same job as the whey/buttermilk/yoghurt?
Should apple cider vinegar be refrigerated once opened?
Tks!
01/08/2009 at 2:11 pm Permalink
JK – Yes and I think so – I refrigerate mine.
01/08/2009 at 2:15 pm Permalink
Kim –
I was just reading Rami Nagel’s new book and he said most storebought oats are heat-treated and rancid. I don’t know if that’s true. I mean, ideally we would eat fresh organic oats like the people Dr. Weston Price met in Scotland — but I guess we have to do the best we can.
I buy Quaker oats at Costo because they are CHEAP. This is one way I justify buying so much expensive raw milk and cream and good triple cream cheeses and wild salmon roe — and all the other pricey stuff.
Save on the less important things like oatmeal and spend more on the “sacred foods”. That’s what I try to do anyway!
08/08/2009 at 9:52 pm Permalink
I love the soaked and baked oatmeal recipe by Kelly the Kitchen Kop and the stove top soaked oatmeal recipe by Jenny over at Nourished Kitchen so I can’t wait to try a nice cold cereal for summer.
07/09/2009 at 12:23 pm Permalink
Awesome recipe- looking for something to make grains-wise while I’m waiting for my sourdough starter to work. This looks great- easy for us beginners, and I love granola. Also, the comments were helpful- I’ve been feeling a little overwhelmed and it’s good to see the regulars won’t be giving up chocolate and wine either!
14/10/2009 at 7:51 pm Permalink
Made a quarter-recipe of this today, leaving out the sprouted flour, since i didn’t have any, and using chopped dried apricots and sliced almonds – delicious! The mild coconut flavor complemented the other ingredients, and it all crisped up nicely with an hour of moderate heat and a day of resting in the dry, 90 degree environment of a “cold” gas oven. Great recipe – thanks!
26/10/2009 at 8:40 pm Permalink
Hello! I googled for a granola recipe using soaked oats and found your page first. It sounds delicious. I am wondering, however, if you drain the oats after soaking them. It seems to me that soaking 3 cups of rolled oats in 3 cups of water would still have them be really wet in the morning. Also, if you use 6 or 9 cups of oats, would you also use 6 or 9 cups of water?
I soak all of the whole grains I cook on the stove with water. But i haven’t figured out how to soak flour to use for baking or pancakes.
Thanks so much!
27/10/2009 at 5:05 am Permalink
Hi, Amanda!
Are you using an acidic medium — something like whey or kefir or lemon juice? If you add that with the water (and make sure the water is filtered and warm), the oatmeal the next morning will not be as wet. It will be closer to oatmeal than watery. I recommend soaking for at least 10-12 hours if possible.
And yes, if you use 6 cups of oats, use 6 cups of water. Just double everything in the recipe. It works fine.
Soaking flour is easy. You can soak it overnight with kefir. I recommend picking up a copy of Sally Fallon’s book, Nourishing Tradtions. She outlines all the ways to soak/sprout and ferment flour, oats, rice, corn, and other whole grains, as well as nuts, seeds and beans.
You can find her book on my resources page: http://www.cheeseslave.com/resources/#books
25/02/2010 at 3:28 am Permalink
I was wondering if you had a local source for sprouted flours? I’ve orderd on-line but the shipping fees are so high. thx for this granola recipe. Its a good one.
27/02/2010 at 6:54 pm Permalink
If I’m going to soak the whole grain flour overnight, do I mix it with the oats and soak them together? Or, do I soak them separately and mix the wet oats with wet flour the next day?