Make your own toasted muesli
Why am I writing about muesli on my writing blog? Why not? It’s my blog… deal with it!
In addition to baking my own bread, I make my own muesli. It’s cheaper than buying the fancy brands in the supermarket… and tastes a lot better. I recently posted a photo of some freshly made muesli (and bread) on FaceBook and was promptly asked by several people for the recipe. I don’t use a written recipe… it’s all in my head and I vary it slightly from batch to batch. So… as I was going to write it down for these people, I figured I might as well turn it into a blog post and share it with the world (because I know you’re all dying to know what I put in my breakfast cereal).
I start off by mixing together a few base ingredients in a really BIG bowl. While I often change what I put into the muesli, these are the elements that always remain the same.
- 5 cups of rolled oats
- 1 cup of processed bran (it’s better for you to use unprocessed bran, but I like the texture of the processed bran)
- a 200g packet of mixed seeds (I use the Lucky brand that also has pine nuts in it)
I then add another 2 to 3 cups of other ingredients. These depend on what I have in the cupboard at the time and what I feel like adding. They include:
- Shredded coconut (I avoid the coconut if I know my mother-in-law is coming to visit, as she is fatally allergic to the stuff. Yeah I know… most people would happily bump off their mother-in-laws, but I actually like mine. A big HELLO to Jan if she’s reading this. 🙂 )
- Wheatgerm
- Psyllium husks
- Linseeds (or linseed meal)
- Almond meal
- Anything else that seems appropriate
And then I add 1 cup of nuts. Walnuts, pecans, macadamias, cashews or almonds work well. You can also add some dried fruit into the mix. I don’t do this because the fruit always ends up going hard and chewy when baked. I prefer to add my fruit to my individual serve as I eat it.
Next, I put half a cup of oil (I’ve always used extra virgin olive oil, but apparently you’re supposed to use a vegetable oil that’s got less flavour… up to you) and half a cup of honey (I usually use orange blossom honey) into a saucepan. Heat, stirring regularly, until it starts to simmer. Then pour it into your muesli and mix it all together (it takes a bit of work to get it mixed through properly).
Finally, you need to toast the muesli in an oven. I use a big metal roasting dish, but you could use any sort of oven dish or tray.
Preheat your oven to 200 degrees, with your pan inside so that it also heats up. Spread a layer of muesli onto the pan (no more than 1cm thick) and place into the oven for 8 minutes. Empty the muesli onto a large plate or platter to cool. Repeat these last steps until all your muesli has been toasted. Be careful not to let it get over browned… ‘cause then it just tastes burnt (Yuk!).
Store in an airtight container to maintain its crunch.
Voila! Now u haz muesli! 🙂