Fermentation process makes granola more nutritious, easier to digest
I know a lot of you are familiar with fermenting. Think pickles, kimchee, sauerkraut, yogurt, kefir, kombucha and sourdough starter.
But have you heard of fermented granola? Until several weeks ago, it wasn’t even on my radar. That all changed when neighbor and friend, Erin Phillips, made a batch and gave me a jar.
The recipe I came up with is versatile, so I’m hoping you’ll make some fermented granola to suit yourself.
The twist here is that the oats, nuts and sometimes seeds are fermented prior to baking. What this process does is make the granola more nutritious and easier to digest.
I used whole milk yogurt for the ferment in this recipe. There are lots of options, including kefir and kombucha. Just swap those out for the yogurt. Each ferment lends its own flavor profile. FYI: the yogurt didn’t change the flavor enough to detect.
My decision to ferment just the oats and nuts was a good one. Next time I’ll include the seeds and will let you know how it turns out.
Fermented granola
Recipe can be doubled or tripled.
Ingredients base
4 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup or so coarsely chopped nuts, your choice
1/4 cup mixed seeds, your choice (hemp hearts, flax, chia, pumpkin, sunflower seeds are all good)
3 tablespoons or so dried coconut (optional but good)
Ingredients ferment
2/3 cup water
1/3 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Ingredients coating
1/3 cup brown sugar, packed, honey, maple syrup or your choice of sweetener
1/3 cup oil – I used melted coconut oil but any oil works
2-3 teaspoons vanilla extract
Ingredients fruit
Up to 2 cups dried fruit, chopped coarsely if necessary
Instructions
In large bowl, mix oats and nuts together.
Whisk water, yogurt and vanilla together and pour over oat mixture, stirring well to coat.
Let ferment for 1 hour to 12 hours, stirring occasionally to keep mixture from clumping at bottom of bowl.
Mix in seeds and coconut.
Whisk brown sugar, oil and extract together in small pan or microwavable container.
Cook on low just until sugar melts, cool a bit, then pour over oat mixture and combine.
Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
Spread granola in single layers on sprayed sheet pans.
Bake, stirring about every 15 minutes, until granola is fairly crisp and golden. Depending upon the nuts and seeds you use, count on about 1 hour or more, but start checking after 45 minutes. Be patient.
Remove granola from pans, let cool, then stir in fruit. Granola will crisp up more after cooling.
Store, covered in pantry or refrigerator for a month or so.
Tips
Granola can be made without sweetener.
Fruit is optional.
An energy boosting treat for kids and adults.
Spread nut butter on a toasted bagel or English muffin, then sprinkle with granola.
Eat as a breakfast cereal or topping for yogurt.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Rita Nader Heikenfeld: Nutritious granola more recipe
