Crunchy Soaked Granola Bar recipe, please!

[LauraLoo]

I have had 3 failed attempts at making a soaked oat granola bar that isn't gummy. I'd love some crunch. I can't use any nuts or seeds (allergies) - not even sure if that makes a difference or not. I don't own a dehydrator, so I'm using an oven.

Does anyone have a good recipe that they'd share or some tricks to make them crunchy?

[Magelet]

With making regular granola, the way I do it is coat the oats in melted butter and coconut oil, let it cool a bit, then coat in yogurt, let it sit overnight, and the next day, add maple syrup and brown rice syrup and spices, and dehydrate. I'm sure you could do something similar, pack it tight, and bake at low temp. (I don't have a dehydrator atm, so I only make granola at work)

[LauraLoo]

Will coating the oats with butter and CO first still allow the phytic acid to be broken down by soaking?

[425lisamarie]

If you SLOW bake or dehydrate you can make ANYTHING crispy.

can you have chia seeds? I thought those were fine for people with nut/seed allergies. My DD can't have any seeds and she can eat them. This is how I've made them and though it's a process it's minimal hands on time. Soak your oats in yogurt overnight (or buttermilk, wahtever you soak with). Just enough liquid to make them thick and pasty. Next day spread thin on oiled sheet and dehydrate or slowly bake to dry them out . If you dry them out all the way they will be totally crispy and then just chop them all up and proceed with your recipe. I like to puree dates, coconut oil, honey, cocoa if i'm going for chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla in a a food processor. Then add the dried chopped up oats with any other things you want like dried fruits or I use chia seeds, pulse a few times. Press in to a pan and slow bake again.

I like to use steel cut oats and i only soak then combine and dehydrate/slow bake.

[Magelet]

I'm pretty sure soaking them in fat and yogurt is good for reducing phytic acid. Its what we do at Three Stone Hearth, and they are really good about researching things themselves. I think the same recipe is in Jessica Prentice's book (Full Moon Feast), though not 100% positive. Its definitely still just enough fat to coat them and yogurt to make them pasty.

[LauraLoo]

Originally Posted by Magelet

Its definitely still just enough fat to coat them and yogurt to make them pasty.

I think I may have been getting the oats way too wet.

I'm making some yogurt right now and I'm going to give it another shot this weekend.

[LauraLoo]

Originally Posted by 425lisamarie

I I like to puree dates, coconut oil, honey, cocoa if i'm going for chocolate, cinnamon, vanilla in a a food processor. Then add the dried chopped up oats with any other things you want like dried fruits or I use chia seeds, pulse a few times. Press in to a pan and slow bake again.

I like to use steel cut oats and i only soak then combine and dehydrate/slow bake.

That sounds really yummy! Thanks!

[LauraLoo]

I have crispy granola! The butter, CO and yogurt soak worked great!

I think trying to do the bars all at once was too much and that's why it wasn't drying out and getting gummy. Now I can go ahead and make the bars and I made enough to have granola for breakfast, too!

[SuburbanHippie]

Could you list your whole recipe/instructions? I'm a baking-challenged individual.

[LauraLoo]

If you're asking about how I prepared the oats, here's what I did when it worked - lol!

5 1/2 cups oats in a bowl
I melted roughly 4 tbs butter and roughly an equal amount of coconut oil -- (I did a smaller amount first and then thought I needed to add more, so this is approximate and my best guess.) Add to oats and stir until coated.

Added yogurt and stirred until it was pasty but not runny. I couldn't even tell you how much yogurt I added -- just go a 1/2 cup at a time until you get the right consistency.

Covered bowl and let sit overnight (next time I'll go for more like 18 - 24 hours.)

In the morning, I lightly greased 2 baking sheets with butter and spread out the oats on each pan. Placed in oven at my lowest heat (170) and then monitored through out the day, breaking up pieces when needed.

Now I'm figuring out which granola bar recipe I want to try! Probably something like 425lisamarie suggested.

[SuburbanHippie]

Thanks Laura! I have my oats soaking now.

[nerdymom]

yayayayay I knew if I came to this forum and searched I would find what I was looking for. Granola bars here I come!