Magic Granola

As you know, I love to clone and “crack” recipes! These little grain and seed bars gave me a hard time. I tasted them for the first time in the USA. The “two moms in the raw” brand offers indeed these very particular bars. As always, I analyzed them very closely, almost taking out my magnifying glass to observe what I was tasting… All these different seeds seemed to hold each other without anything, as if an invisible glue was holding the whole thing together. Barely sweetened, these bars are soft in consistency then crackle thanks to all their elements: oatmeal, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, millet, buckwheat etc… But also your choice of: raisins, goji berries, blueberries or dried cherries. I started trying to develop this recipe a year ago, but after two failures, I gave up. As time went on, I got interested in a lot of other recipes and one day I finally had the revelation: all I had to do was dehydrate the whole thing so that it could stick together… This may seem obvious to many of you, but I had not thought about it. And there: magic! From the first try, it was almost conclusive. I had to refine it a bit and this time I got the recipe exactly the same as the one I had been nibbling on. It really is to the gram. All of the ingredients I use can be found in organic stores. I used a small size frame for these bars, but I’ll give you the method of calculation so that I can make my recipe in the same proportions in any size.
Ultra healthy, these magical little granola bars keep for a very long time. That’s the advantage: on a picnic, on a hike, for a snack, you can bring them everywhere with you!
So for some it looks a bit like bird food, but I guarantee you that these bars are really delicious and that you have a very good conscience while eating them…

These bars are totally different from my “granola bars” which are the clone of the Whole Foods ones. You will find the recipe in my book (the recipe was on the blog but totally changed in the method for a perfect result this time in the book).

To adapt the recipe to your frame (whether square or rectangular):
I used a 9cm by 14cm frame. So a surface of 126 (9×14). This is my reference surface.
If you have a frame of 18 by 18 for example, calculate its surface: 18×18=324
Now divide your area by mine: 324/126=2.57…
2.57 is your revenue multiplier. All quantities must be multiplied by this number:
50g of oatmeal for my frame, you need 128,5g for yours. Of course you can round it up to 128 or 129, it won’t make much difference!
A little exercise:
I have a 15 out of 20… What is my coefficient?
15×20=300
Coefficient: 300/126=2,38 ! Bravo ! To your calculators…

For this recipe, I made EXACTLY like the one from “two moms in the raw”. I don’t know why, I can’t help it. When I eat something I like, I MUST be able to make it again at home, even if it takes me days to do so. The famous recipe cracking! It is finally on the dehydration, which I had not thought of, that I stumbled. Once I understood this information, I tried again, but without the dehydrator, but with my oven. I now know for a fact that the company dries them at 46°C for hours. For my part, I dry them at 75°C for 2h45, which gives an identical result. Sure, it’s not officially “raw” anymore, but the texture, the taste, the appearance, everything is there! And I don’t think you lose that many vitamins because my almonds are always raw, even at 75°C. So if you have a dehydrator, it will work of course. You know it’s 46°C, but for the weather, no idea ! At least 4 hours or even 5.

Magic granola recipe (for a 9cmX14cm frame)

-50g of oatmeal
-30g of sunflower seeds
-15g of pumpkin seeds
-5g of millet
-5g of buckwheat
-5g of raw sesame seeds
-5g of flaxseed
-10g of almonds
-10g of pecans
-10g of raisins, goji berries, dried blueberries or dried cherries…
-20g of agave syrup
-3/4 teaspoon cinnamon powder
-a good pinch of salt

Place in a container, squash seeds, sunflower seeds, oatmeal, millet, buckwheat, sesame, flax.

You can see here these ingredients that are a bit out of the ordinary: buckwheat on the top right and oatmeal, on the bottom left, millet on the top left.

Add the dried fruits: almonds, raisins and pecans, as well as the cinnamon powder and salt.

Pour in the agave syrup.

Mix carefully with a spoon to spread the syrup in all the corners…

In a greased frame (I always use my mold release spray) pour the ingredients and spread evenly.

Same thing with other fruits. Instead of raisins, you can use goji berries.

They bring a subtle taste as well as a beautiful color which will not go away during cooking.

Same thing, we mix.

We pour the agave syrup. The advantage of this syrup is that it is very liquid and therefore it really coats each little seed.

Pour into the greased frame.

Now in any case, let dry in the oven at 75°C for 2h45. The magic happens: the agave syrup dries, the water it contains evaporates and each little seed sticks to its neighbor without us seeing anything.
To know: when the bar comes out of the oven, it is still very soft, the agave syrup is present. You think it’s not ready, but let it cool for 10 minutes. The bar is actually perfect!