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Shop granola is usually sweeter than you would make it and more expensive than it should be. This version takes ten minutes of actual work, keeps for weeks, and lets you decide how much sugar goes in.
The cluster trick
Everyone wants clusters and most homemade granola comes out as loose toasted oats. The reason is stirring at the end.
Stir twice during baking so the edges don’t catch — then do not touch it once it comes out of the oven. Let the whole tray cool completely, undisturbed. The syrup sets as it cools and glues everything together, and you break it into clusters afterwards. Stir it while warm and you have breakfast dust.
Pressing the mixture down firmly with the back of a spoon before baking helps too.
Dried fruit goes in after
Raisins and other dried fruit burn and turn to gravel at baking temperature. Stir them through once the granola is cool.
Keeping it crisp
Granola goes soft because of moisture, and the usual culprit is bagging it before it is properly cold. Cool it completely on the tray, then store airtight at room temperature for three to four weeks. It also freezes well for a couple of months and needs no defrosting — take it straight from the freezer.
Using it
Beyond a bowl with milk, it is the crunchy layer in berry yoghurt breakfast pots, and a good lunchbox item in a small pot alongside yoghurt — keep them separate until eating, or the granola softens. That principle is covered in our school lunch guide.
Where to go next
- Berry yoghurt breakfast pots
- Fluffy banana pancakes
- Pantry organisation — where to keep the jar
