Crunchy Sourdough Granola
In this super Crunchy Sourdough Granola, made with oats, pecans, and cranberries, the sourdough starter binds all of the ingredients and forms super crunchy granola clusters.
Servings: 6
Calories: 458kcal
Ingredients
- 2½ cups rolled oats
- 2 cups pecans chopped
- ½ cup dried cranberries or dried cherries
- ⅓ cup pure maple syrup
- ½ cup sourdough starter or discard 115g
- 1 tablespoon cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Spread the oats out onto a baking sheet, ensuring that the layer of oats is not so thin that you can see the bottom of the baking sheet – i.e. don’t spread out the oats all the way to the edges of the pan.Bake for 10 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine the toasted oats, chopped pecans, dried cranberries, maple syrup, sourdough discard, and cinnamon, and toss to combine.
- Line the baking sheet with parchment paper. Spread the oats mixture out on top of the parchment paper on the baking sheet.Bake for 20-22 minutes. Allow to cool slightly before breaking up into clusters. Once fully cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature for 1-2 weeks.
Notes
- Toast the Oats: I’ve made this recipe with and without toasting the oats in advance, and it's better when toasting the oats first. It enhances the flavor of the oats without overbaking or burning any of the other ingredients.
- Dried Cranberries: In a typical granola, it's best to leave the cranberries or dried fruit out of the mix until everything is done baking in the oven. The cranberries are already dried, so putting them in the oven dries them out further. However, if you want to incorporate the cranberries into the sourdough granola clusters this is unavoidable. You’ll need to incorporate them into the mixture and bake them.
- Limit the amount of Sourdough: Too much sourdough starter actually makes the granola a bit gummy or chewy rather than crispy. This recipe calls for ½ cup sourdough starter which is the right proportion for 2 ½ cups of oats and 2 cups of chopped pecans.
- Parchment Paper: Because the granola is super crispy, it will stick easily to the baking sheet and be difficult to remove. To prevent this, line the baking sheet with parchment paper (not wax paper).
- Space on the Baking Sheet: It’s important to leave some space on the baking sheet. Overcrowding prevents even toasting, which will prevent the granola from getting crunchy.
- Baking Temperature (keep it lower): I often bake granola at 375°F. It’s a little higher but it helps when toasting oats and nuts and helps to get everything crispy. However, when baking granola with sourdough, you need to keep the temperature lower at 350°F to prevent the sourdough starter which is incorporated with the other ingredients from burning. This is also true when toasting the oats, since they don’t cover the whole pan, they’ll burn more easily at a higher temperature.
Nutrition
Calories: 458kcal | Carbohydrates: 53g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 26g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 8g | Monounsaturated Fat: 14g | Sodium: 5mg | Potassium: 309mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 20g | Vitamin A: 22IU | Vitamin C: 0.4mg | Calcium: 74mg | Iron: 2mg
