Metropolitan Bakery's Granola

Here is installment 2 of the Pandora box of granola recipes that I have unleashed upon myself! 

I don't remember what I was searching for, but I found online that the Metropolitan Bakery granola won a blind taste test at Epicurious.com. Looking at their ingredient list online, I discovered that the famed granola bore a strong resemblance to the contents "Almond Oat Cereal" recipe that is in their cookbook, so I decided to see what the fuss was all about.

This granola, after eating the Bedford Springs Granola for a few weeks, felt sort of pedestrian due to the lack of fragrant coconut, but as I ate more of it, I grew to enjoy and appreciate the pure oat and nut flavor. The milk powder also lent a nice sweetness to the clusters. Also, the wheat germ was deeply nutty and fragrant.

One thing that was not in the original recipe that I ended up adding was salt. Just a pinch of salt made a huge difference in the flavor and tastiness of the granola, so definitely don't skip that!

All in all, I think this was a really yummy granola, and if you go by the can't-stop-eating-it-out-of-the-jar indicator, this one was a winner.


Metropolitan Bakery Almond Oat Cereal (Adapted from the Metropolitan Bakery Cookbook)

Ingredients:
3/4 cup canola (or other light flavored) oil
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 & 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 & 1/2 cups chopped or sliced almonds
1 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup dry milk powder (I used non-fat)
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
generous pinch of salt

1 cup dried cranberries or other dried fruit (optional)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 275 degrees F. Line or grease two medium baking pans and set aside.

In a medium saucepan over low heat, stir together the oil, honey, and maple syrup. Bring to just a simmer, then remove from heat and add the vanilla and almond extracts.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, almonds, wheat germ, milk powder, cinnamon, cloves, and salt. Pour the wet ingredients on top and stir to coat everything evenly. Divide the moist mixture evenly between the two baking trays and spread the granola out into an even layer, packing it down into a block if you wish for large clumps.

Bake the granola for 20 minutes at 275 degrees F. Remove the pans and stir the granola, making sure to evenly distribute the browned granola on the bottom of the pan and the edges with the less browned before pressing down again into an even layer. Bake another 15 minutes and stir again. If necessary, bake another 15 minutes. The granola should still be soft and pliable due to its temperature but should have lost its moist and wet sheen. Cool completely on the pans until crisp (if it isn't crunchy enough for you when completely cool, you can return the pan to the oven for another 15-20 minutes). If you want smaller clusters, keep stirring as it cools. If you like bigger clusters, let it cool undisturbed.

Once cooled, stir in dried fruit. Store in airtight container.