Granola for President

Blueberry Toasted Coconut Granola with Candied Ginger and Puffed Kamut

I have made a lot of granola in my life. I send it to friends and bake it weekly for my family. I never follow a recipe, but think of it instead as a compost pile for the pantry items that need to be cached. In all my years making granola, I have identified the pain points and addressed them strategically. First, there is “clumpage.” I am not impressed by a loose, untethered mixture of sweetened oats. I want structural change to occur in the baking process, for two dimensions to become three. I have a two-pronged approach. The technique first involves a flax meal “glue” (I often add ground chia too, but simplified the recipe for you here) that’s added to the wet ingredients. This increases fiber and scaffolding to the mix. At the end, I fold in egg white, an additional adhesive, but also, a shellac that creates a light, shattering effect. The egg white combined with the light, puffed kamut cereal* makes an addictive, snackable granola, without the density of your average recipe.

The other sticking point comes with the problematic, but essential, dried fruit. If you add the fruit in the beginning and bake, it is likely to burn, leaving you to hunt and peck your most expensive ingredient out, instead of selfishly cherry picking bit-by-bit. The solution? Soak the dried fruit to rehydrate, and add it halfway through your bake time. The result is chewy, dense fruit in lieu of charcoal puffs.

An additional note on my specific ingredients — there is a world of difference between your average pepita, and Styrian pumpkin seeds. The latter are larger, hunter green, and rich with flavor. I buy them from Terrasoul, where I also get my toasted coconut chips (much larger pieces than I have found elsewhere).

* experiment with the world of puffed hippy cereals here. I use Arrowhead Mills brand, available at Whole Foods, and they offer a range of grains from kamut to wheat berries to millet.

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Blueberry Toasted Coconut Granola with Candied Ginger and Puffed Kamut