Várables

- with wholemeal floor, seesam and flaxseeds 

With cinnamon, banana and coconut 

I tend to go through faces of breakfasts. The past three months I’ve been craving yogurt with granola and fruit for breakfast almost every morning -oh so simple, but oh so good. Occasionally I Enjoy making my own granola. It is crunchy, easy and does not take long to through together. It is also great (and rather addictive) as an alternative trail mix.

You can use this recipe as a guideline. Experiment with different combinations of dried fruit and nuts or even mix it up by adding cacao powder instead of cinnamon and some chocolate chips.

This recipe is for one tray and makes for 3-4 portions. You could always double the recipe, however, then I would recommend putting the mixture on two baking trays as it will not get crunchy if the layer is too thick.

Dry ingredients

4 dl oats

1 dl shredded coconut

1 dl nuts//seeds*

1 pinch of salt

Optional: 1 tbsp cinnamon

Dried fruit*

Wet ingredients

1 ripe banana

1-2 tbsp oil

1-2 tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla extract

*In the batch showed in the photos I’ve used a mix of flaked almonds, sunflower and sesame seeds. And for the dried fruit I chose raisins and banana chips.

Method

Preheat your oven to 180°C.

In a big bowl, combine all the dry ingredients except the dried fruit.

In a smaller bowl, mash the banana and mix in the rest of the wet ingredients.

With your hands mix together the wet and dry ingredients.

Lay the mixture out on a lined baking tray in an even layer and put it in the oven for about 30 min. Flipping it every 10 min so it bakes evenly.  

When it looks golden and is rather crunchy take it out of the oven. Let it cool completely before adding the dried fruit. Then transfer it to an airtight container.

Enjoy your homemade granola.

Versatile everyday bread with oats and wholemeal flour

There is nothing like a good slice of freshly baked bread and a cup of coffee on a lazy sunday. 

The great thing with this recipe is that it is cheap, accessible and actually quite delicious. Also it is a great base for experimentation; adding some seeds and/or nuts is a great way to mix it up a bit. Sometimes I add one or two spoons of yogurt if I have it in the fridge because I have found that this way the bread keeps its moisture for longer. However, it works just as well without.

I would suggest freezing some slices of the loaf it if you are not planning on eating all of it within 3-4 days. 

Ingredients

3 dl luke water

25 g of yeast // 7 g of dry yeast  

1 tsp salt

1 tbsp oil (neutral tasting fx. sunflower or vegetable oil)

1 tbsp honey -or other sweetener

2 dl oats

2 dl wholemeal flour (I used 1 dl dark rye and 1 dl regular wholemeal)

5+ dl wheat flour

Method

Dissolve the yeast in the water in a big bowl or pot.

Add salt, oil and honey and stir.

Add the oats and the wholemeal flour, then gradually add the white flour. Begin to stir the mixture and when it starts to form a dough start kneading it as you add the remaining flour. Continue kneading for 5-10 min. The dough should not stick too much to you hands and therefore should be easy to kneed.

Set it aside in a warm place to rise for 1-1,5 hours under a damp kitchen cloth.          

Transfer to a loaf tin or form it into a loaf and let it rise for 30 min. 

Optional: For a more rustic look, draw diagonal lines across the bread with a knife.

Put it into the preheated oven for 5 min on 250 °C. Then turn down the oven to 180°C and let it bake for a further 20-25 min. 

Let it cool slightly in the loaf tin. Then transfer to a cooling rack. 

With my ‘whiter’ breads I usually go with the nordic morning classic - a slice of cheese (Danbo, Havarti or Dutch cheese) and some jam or pesto. However, you could always be a bit fancy and have some avo-on-toast with poached egg. It also works great as sandwich bread or served with butter and dipped in to soup.

Enjoy