Crispy Granola
Golden brown baked oat clusters with nuts and maple syrup, keeps for weeks.
- Preparation
- 15 min
- Cook/bake time
- 35 min
- Total
- 50 min
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 370 kcal
- Servings
- 12
- Prep
- 15 min
- Cooking & baking
- 35 min
Golden brown baked oat clusters with nuts and maple syrup, keeps for weeks. The secret to large clusters is a whisked egg white that glues the flakes together during baking, and the rule to let the granola cool completely on the baking sheet without stirring it. Significantly cheaper and less sweet than store-bought.
Why this works
The egg white is the glue. During baking it coagulates and binds the flakes into solid chunks. The second part happens only during cooling. The melted sugar from the maple syrup goes through the glass transition and solidifies into a brittle, glass-like layer that holds the clusters together. As long as the baking sheet is warm, this sugar is still viscous. If you stir now, you dismantle the clusters exactly at the moment they are forming.
Step-by-step instructions
- 1
Mix the dry ingredients
Combine the rolled oats, chopped nuts, coconut chips, seeds, cinnamon and salt in a large bowl. Use rolled oats, because quick oats crumble in the oven and do not form clusters. The salt is not a minor detail here. It enhances the sweetness and rounds out the flavor of the granola.
- 2
Incorporate the wet ingredients
Stir together the maple syrup, oil and vanilla extract and pour the mixture over the dry ingredients. Mix everything thoroughly until every single flake is shiny and moist. Dry spots will remain pale and soft in the oven, while the rest is already browning.
- 3
Fold in the egg white
Whisk the egg white until lightly frothy and fold it into the mixture. It acts like a glue during baking and is the reason why you get large crispy clusters at the end instead of loose flakes. If you are baking vegan, leave it out and press the mixture more firmly instead.
- 4
Bake flat
Spread the mixture on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and press it down firmly with a spatula or the palm of your hand into an even layer. Bake the granola at 150 °C top and bottom heat for 35 minutes. Rotate the baking sheet once after twenty minutes, but do not stir under any circumstances.
- 5
Let cool
Remove the baking sheet from the oven and let the granola cool completely on it without touching it. It will still seem soft when you take it out and only becomes crispy as it cools. Then break it into pieces and fold in the dried fruit, which would burn in the oven.
Our best tips
- Do not stir during baking and do not touch during cooling. This is exactly what creates the large clusters.
- Low temperature of 150 °C. Higher temperatures brown it on the outside before the moisture is out, and it will not get crispy.
- Always fold in dried fruit after baking, otherwise they will become hard and bitter.
Tasty variations
Chocolate Granola
Mix 2 tablespoons of baking cocoa into the dry ingredients and add chocolate chips after cooling.
Vegan
Omit the egg white, mix in 2 tablespoons of applesauce instead and press the mixture down particularly firmly.
What is left over?
This recipe only uses the whites. There are better places for the yolks than the bin.
Nutrition facts
| Calories | 370 kcal |
|---|---|
| Protein | 8 g |
| Carbohydrates | 39 g |
| – of which sugar | 14 g |
| Fat | 21 g |
| Fiber | 6 g |
Where the 370 kcal come from
per serving
Calculated from the ingredients – how we do it
We add up reference values for every ingredient and divide by the number of servings. These assumptions are baked in:
- Reference values per 100 g – for the raw ingredient, exactly as listed.
- Tinned goods count at drained weight, bone-in meat at purchase weight: you eat about 70 per cent of a chicken thigh and leave the rest.
- Water evaporates as you cook. The energy stays in the pot, the weight does not – so the figure is per serving, not per 100 g of finished dish.
- Anything listed without a quantity – “salt and pepper” – is not counted.
A guide value, not a lab measurement: no two onions weigh the same, and fat content varies from pack to pack.
Frequently asked questions
How long does granola keep?
In an airtight jar for four weeks. It is important that it has cooled completely before you fill it in, otherwise it will become soft from residual moisture.
Why is my granola not getting crispy?
Usually it was stirred during baking or taken off the baking sheet too early. The crispiness develops during cooling, not in the oven.
Can I use less sweetener?
Yes, you can reduce the syrup down to about 80 ml. Less is difficult, because the syrup is responsible for gluing the clusters together in addition to providing sweetness.
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