Making Crunchy vs. Chewy Granola

[Smoke]

I want to bake my own granola. What I find in local stores either has ingredients I don't want or is not crunchy.

I've had some success with this simple recipe:

3 1/2 cu oats
1/2 cu sweetened condensed milk
1 tbs vanilla
1/4 cu oil
Bake at 325 for 15 min & stir, 12 min & stir, 8 min and cool.
This comes out mostly crunchy but not entirely.

I want to start turning out batches that use the entire package of oats - 7 1/2 cu.
The can of milk holds 1 1/3 cu.

I tried a batch using one pkg of oats and a can of milk, along with 2/3 cu oil and 3 tbs vanilla. The bake times were 20/15/10/10 and cool, stiring between sessions in the oven.

The granola never got dried out or the least bit crunchy.

I tried a second batch with the same ingredients but 12/10/10/10/10 bake times and it was more chewy.

I used the same size cookie sheet for all the batches, so the large batch is twice as deep in the pan.

What should I experiement with changing? The amount of oil or milk? Baking times? Two pans so the mix is more shallow?

I know I would figure this out eventually, but would like to have some idea where to change the experiment.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

 

[Norcalbaker59]

I want to bake my own granola. What I find in local stores either has ingredients I don't want or is not crunchy.

I've had some success with this simple recipe:

3 1/2 cu oats
1/2 cu sweetened condensed milk
1 tbs vanilla
1/4 cu oil
Bake at 325 for 15 min & stir, 12 min & stir, 8 min and cool.
This comes out mostly crunchy but not entirely.

I want to start turning out batches that use the entire package of oats - 7 1/2 cu.
The can of milk holds 1 1/3 cu.

I tried a batch using one pkg of oats and a can of milk, along with 2/3 cu oil and 3 tbs vanilla. The bake times were 20/15/10/10 and cool, stiring between sessions in the oven.

The granola never got dried out or the least bit crunchy.

I tried a second batch with the same ingredients but 12/10/10/10/10 bake times and it was more chewy.

I used the same size cookie sheet for all the batches, so the large batch is twice as deep in the pan.

What should I experiement with changing? The amount of oil or milk? Baking times? Two pans so the mix is more shallow?

I know I would figure this out eventually, but would like to have some idea where to change the experiment.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks

Hello and welcome.

I'm not sure what "cu" stands for, but if it stands for cup, then I would say using volume measurement is probably part of the problem.

For consistency of product when increase quantity, you have to use weight measurements. Its a matter of keeping the ratios of each ingredient the same as you scale up or down. The only way to maintain those ratios is to use weight measurements.

Also,when scaling a recipe, you need to adjust your pan size accordingly. You have to think of oven temperature as an ingredient. Baking is a chemical reaction. Heat is a critical part of that chemical reaction. When adding more ingredients to the same size pan, you dramatically change how much heat and the rate of heat dispersement through the mixture in the pan. That changes evaporation rates of the moisture in the milk, and the absorption rates of the oats. What's happening is greater density of the granola is slowing the evaporation rate of the moisture in the milk. That in turn leaves the oats soaking in the moisture a lot longer. So everything stays moist, creating a soft chewy texture. And too, moisture turns to steam. Home ovens do not have vents to release steam. By increasing the amount of granola mixture, you are increasing the amount of potential steam. If the oven can vent out the steam and create equilibrium, that excess steam will make whatever is baking soggy.

So you need to scale your recipe by weight, then scale your pan accordingly, and be sure there isn't too much granola to allow the steam to dissipate.

 

[Smoke]

I can do this.

Thank you!

 

[Becky]

I have the perfect recipe for you

https://www.nigella.com/recipes/andys-fairfield-granola

It is crunchy and delicious, I make it all the time. I use apple puree (ie just plain cooked apple) but sometimes I have left it out completely and it has been fine. Let me know if you try it!

Here's a photo of a batch I made recently: https://www.baking-forums.com/threads/showcase-your-work.4929/page-2#post-36489