Sourdough Discard Granola Bars

Sourdough Discard Granola Bars

The original recipe for the 'Chewy Sourdough Granola Bars' comes from Susan at the Wild Yeast Blog.

That was my starting point, at least.  I just began tossing together ingredients.  She calls for 200g of sourdough discard, and I only had 115g.  I added some whole wheat flour to that, to bring it up to 200g, and then I had to add 50g of water to make it all stick together.  Then I added the 100g of oats, 50g of almonds, another 50g of pepitas, 100g of prunes that I cut into chunks (instead of raisins), and I added some chia seeds, pine nuts.  By that time I was through with measuring, so I just palmed a bit of salt, then I put on a blob of honey, about 1 1/2 TBSP, and a similar sized blob of almond butter (rather than peanut butter), a splash of vanilla and a sprinkling of cinnamon.

I pressed this down into a buttered pan prepared with a buttered parchment paper, and thought it still looked a bit unfinished.

I thought of sesame seeds.   I took 1 TBSP each of sesame seeds, chia seeds, semolina flour and turbinado sugar, and mixed it all together.

Then I drizzled approximately 1 TBSP of olive oil on top and smoothed it around with my fingers, and sprinkled on this mixture of sesame seeds.

I would have tossed an egg in too, but my wife has been successfully giving away our eggs recently and took the six that were laid today to her mom when visiting.  So this is an egg-free version, just like Susan's.

This was baked as Susan suggested, at 350 degrees F for 20 minutes.  It came out singing.

I let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before I used a flat object to press it down even further.  Then I transferred it to a board to cut into bars.  The bars were then frozen between parchment/wax paper, and I can pull these out for work as needed.

Results:
I was surprised that it stuck together as well as it did, without an egg.  Unfortunately, this particular combination of seeds and fruit and nuts (my own, not Susan's) tastes a little bland.  Maybe the prunes aren't sweet enough, or the almond butter doesn't have as much sugar as peanut butter.  At any rate, I have not improved on the original.  Probably needs more fruit than what I put in.

Notes to Myself

• These granola bars go together quickly with what you have on hand. Change up the ingredients to use what you have:
• Original Recipe 
• 200g sourdough discard
• 100g honey
• 8g salt
• 100g nuts: walnuts, almonds
• 150g dried fruit: raisins, craisins
• 75g seeds: pumpkin, sunflower
• 100g peanut butter
  
• What I used, more or less:
• 115g sourdough discard
• 85g whole wheat flour
• 50g water
• 100g oats
• 100g chopped prunes
• 50g almonds
• 50g pepitas
• ~8g salt
• ~75g honey
• ~75g almond butter
• ~50g chia seeds
• ~40g pine nuts
• ~40g sesame seeds
• ~20g semolina flour
• ~40g turbinado sugar
• ~20g vanilla
• ~40g olive oil
  
  
  
• Try more fruit next time.  Or different fruit, for a sweeter taste.
• Use an egg if you have it.

WholegrainGourmet's Multigrain Energy Bars

Multigrain Energy Bars

I found an interesting web site, where the users are trying to eat more whole grains, like me: WholeGrainGourmet.  This is a web site for recipes, yes, but they also have a forum where they discuss whole grain lifestyle things.  I'll monitor it awhile and see if it is worth joining.

Today I tried one of their recipes, the one that brought me to the site in the first place.  I was trying to find a recipe for a granola bar, something new to try, besides my favourite so far, Girli's Groovy Granola Bar.  This one, a Multigrain Energy Bar, looked promising.

I didn't have all the ingredients that the recipe required.  Some of the dried fruit I switched for dried fruit that I had on hand, most of it was fruit that I had dehydrated myself: so, instead of using dried cherries, dried blueberries, and dried apricots, I used dried papaya, dried pears, and dried mangos.  I also used an 8 grain cereal that I bought at Arva Flour Mills, instead of the 7 grain cereal that the recipe calls for.

The recipe is a good one, but the taste is mostly peanut butter and honey, rather than grains: a little too sweet and gummy for my taste.  So I still prefer Girli's Granola Bar recipe.  I will admit though, that this one holds together very nicely, and without using the oven much.

 I gather the ingredients: all here except for vanilla and the boiling water

 Broiled the oats and almonds for about 6-7 minutes

 I cut the dried fruit, and the pulsing food processor did nothing more to them

 Dry ingredients are mixed together

 The water is boiled, and the 8 grain cereal is added

 I boiled it for about 2-3 minutes

 Then I added the peanut butter and honey

 I put it back on the heat

 And stirred it on medium heat for 7 minutes

 Add it to the granola mix

It is fairly hot and they want you to mix it by hand: I think a spatula works just fine

 Press it down in a pan, and let it sit for 2 hours before cutting

Notes to Myself

• What else besides peanut butter can be used to put together grains in this way?  You need something that can be a bit liquid and gluey when warmed, and yet congeals and hardens when at room temperature.  This is why corn syrup is used, I bet; and marshmallows, as in rice krispie squares -- but there are reasons why I don't like to use either of those.  It is not that I don't like peanut butter, but here it dominates too much of the taste.  What else, what else?
• Here is the recipe of the above bar, for those who don't like to follow links:
• Ingredients:
• 1/4 c each almonds, sesame seeds, dried cherries, dried currants, dried blueberries, dried apricots (see notes above for my alternatives)
• 1/2 c 7 grain cereal (or 8 grain cereal)
• 2 c rolled oats
• 1/2 c honey
• 1/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1 c organic peanut butter
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Method:
• toast oats, almonds, under low broiler (at 500 degrees F, about 5-6 min.)
• chop dried fruits to small diced pieces (I found the food processor didn't mince them)
• Mix dry ingredients in large bowl by hand
• boil 1/2 c water, add 7 or 8 grain cereal, stir and remove, rest 2 min.
• Add peanut butter, honey, salt, vanilla to the pan and stir on med heat 7 min.
• Add to dry ingredients, mixing thoroughly with spatula (this might be too hot to combine by hand)
• Press hard into 8x8 pan (no need to butter pan); press down with spatula
• Rest 2 hours, cut into bars and freeze until use.

Granola Bar with Chocolate Cranberries

 Granola Bar with Chocolate Cranberries

Of all the granola bar recipes I've tried (and there haven't been many others, yet, because I keep coming back to this one), this recipe is by far the best.  I've made these granola bars before and every time they are different and every time they are a success.  Girli Chef's original recipe allows for variation.  I've made:

• My first attempt
• An Egg free version
• A version with dried fruit
• Granola bar with nutella

This version uses chocolate cranberries.  There are not too many, but I will call the choc-cranberries the defining feature of this particular instance of the recipe.

I found these chocolate cranberries at the bulk section of a local store, and bought them intending to put them into a granola bar.  But they have been inexplicably dwindling, they are so snackable.  By the time I got around to putting them in a recipe, they only amounted to just over 1/4 cup.

There are other variations here to the original recipe.  To quickly tell the story: I've used only 1/2 c of whole wheat flour, but I added 1/4 c of whole spelt flour.  I didn't find any nutmeg, but I used some ginger instead.  Instead of almond extract, I've used vanilla extract.  I used two eggs instead of one.  And my 2 cups of assorted 'goodies' were:

• Coconut
• Sunflower seeds
• Pine nuts
• Chocolate cranberries
• Millet
• Poppy Seed
• Hazelnuts

There was 1/4 cup of each, except there was 1/2 cup of the hazelnuts.

Finally, perhaps the biggest difference was methodological: I poured it into a 9x9 pan, which made for a thicker bar.  I pressed it down with a spatula, and with 2 eggs it really seemed to hold together better.

I like to flash freeze these things after they are cut, so I will have them available to take to work.

No word on how it tastes yet.  I didn't have to nibble one right away.  After all, I had a few left-over chocolate cranberries.

Notes to Myself

• Here is the entire recipe for today's version. I didn't weigh anything, and sometimes I didn't even measure anything. I like that about this recipe, it goes together quickly, and you don't have to guess whether you're doing it right. There are no hard and fast rules. If you like a certain grain, put it in.  Everything gets mixed together by hand, first the dry then the wet ingredients.  Then it is pressed down in a 9x9 pan, that has been greased, then papered, then greased again, and baked at 350 degrees F for 35 minutes (I figured that with the extra thickness of this particular bar, it would need the longest time for the bake):
• Rolled oats 2 c
• Whole wheat flour 1/2 c
• Spelt flour 1/4 c
• Brown Sugar 3/4 c
• Wheat germ 1/2 c
• Flaxseed Meal 1/4 c
• Kosher Salt ~2 tsp
• Ginger ~ 2 tsp
• Coconut oil 1/2 c
• Honey 1/4 c
• Eggs 2
• Vanilla extract ~1 tsp
• Goodies: total 2 c:
• Coconut 1/4 c
• Sunflower seeds 1/4 c
• Pine nuts 1/4 c
• Chocolate cranberries 1/4 c
• Millet 1/4 c
• Poppy Seed 1/4 c
• Hazelnuts 1/2 c
• For the next variation: try using wheat flakes, rye flakes, spelt flakes or kamut flakes in place of some of the rolled oats.  These are available at the nearby Arva Flour Mill and are quite reasonable, I think.
• I was worried that the chocolate from the cranberries would melt and make this bar overly sticky, but they seem to have held their shape fairly well.
• What other herbs and spices could you use?  I was thinking of Turmeric for its healthful benefits, but really, the sky is the limit.  Check out a list of culinary herbs and spices at Wikipedia, and root through your herb cupboard and start using what is available.  It is nearing Hallowe'en, so why not try a bar with real pumpkin and allspice and nutmeg?
• Can you cut back on the brown sugar and still have a bar that holds together?

Stone-Buhr Bars

Whole Wheat Bars

This recipe comes from the Stone-Buhr Milling Company of Seattle Washington.  It is frequently referred to as the "Stone Buhr Bar" or "Stone Buhr Energy Bar".  This is the official page where the recipe can be found (although many others have duplicated it).

I was hoping that this would be a great whole wheat granola bar.  Unfortunately, the way I made it, it is simply a dessert bar, similar in consistency to a date bar, although perhaps not so sweet.  To become a granola bar, it probably could have used a lot more seeds, and nuts, and grains, and maybe an egg to hold it all together.  And I really think that it should have been cooked longer.

I should hasten to add that I've made something a little bit different, so I can't really comment on the actual bars as they would have been had I followed the recipe to a T. 



What's Different?
Not having access to the Stone-Buhr whole wheat, I have used some whole wheat from our local Arva Flour Mill.  And I have made other substitutions as well.  The original calls for whole uncooked oats, and I couldn't find any; so I have used rolled oats.  And the actual recipe asks for apple juice, and I didn't have any of that, either.  So what I used was some apple jelly that we made recently that for some reason never set properly, and was mostly liquid.  Instead of chocolate chips, here I am using up some peanut butter chips that were in our cupboard (rather than open a new package of chocolate chips).  I think I got all the other ingredients right; although I should add that the coconut I used was some coconut that we had shredded ourselves recently.  It probably has a slightly different texture than the stuff you buy in the stores.

I weighed my ingredients as I went; as usual, your mileage may vary:

• Peanut butter 164g
• Whole Wheat Flour 157g
• Wheat Germ 24g
• Shredded Coconut 44g
• Sesame Seeds 32g
• Rolled Oats 98g
• 2 Ripe Bananas - 435g with skins on, 297g with skins off
• Too Wet Apple Jelly - 139g
• Peanut Butter Chips -- 80g
• Raisins - 33g

The dry ingredients are combined, and the wet ingredients are combined separately.  The wet ingredients are mixed until smooth, and then the dry ingredients (except raisins and chips) are added until the mixture is all mixed together.  I used beaters.

The raisins and the chips are folded in right at the end.

Then it is put in a 9x9 dish and baked in a preheated 350 degree F oven for 25 minutes (though as I said, it should have been longer).

It was far too gooey to cut into granola-bar sized pieces so I opted to cut it into brownie-sized pieces.

As my wife said, "It's just a bar.  And there are a million and one recipes for bars."

This one was nothing special.  But it will give me something to take for lunches, if I remember.

Notes to Myself

• Try baking for 35-40 minutes.
• This would definitely taste better if you had chocolate chips. And some nuts.
• What if you, like, made a bread dough that would encase this goo?
• Next time you try this, try these quantities: 
• 3/4 c Peanut Butter
• 1 c Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/4 c Wheat Germ
• 1 c Unsweetened Coconut
• 1/4 c Sesame Seeds
• 1 c Rolled Oats
• 2 Ripe Bananas
• 1/2 c Too-wet Apple Jelly
• 1/2 c Chocolate Chips
• 1/4 c Raisins
  
• And what else?
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c crushed almonds
• 1/4 c cracked wheat
  After making the recipe as it was before, try combining an egg, and the almonds and cracked wheat and maybe some more whole wheat and some more apple juice and make a pasty dough. Spread this over the top of the bar mixture and press it down.

A Granola Bar made without baking

Granola Bar Made without Baking

This recipe follows the one given by the blogger of Joyful Abode.  She seems to have more recently gone grain-free, but this granola bar of hers remains popular to readers and googlers, and I decided to try it out.  Of course, I have changed some things, but the basic ideas remain the same.

My Ingredients

Ingredients

• 2 c Oats 200g
• 3/4 c Wheat Germ 71g
• 3/4 c Pepitas 94g
• 1/2 c Almonds 73g
• 1/2 c Hazelnuts 67g
• 4 Tbsp Unsalted Butter 56g
• 2/3 c Brown Sugar 155g
• 1/2 c Honey 168g
• 2 tsp Vanilla 12g
• 1/2 tsp Kosher Salt <1g
• 1/2 c Flaxseeds 76g
• 2 eggs
• 8oz Dried Fruit: 227g
• Dried Apples 50g
• Dried Pears 27g
• Dried Papaya 25g
• Raisins 50g
• Dates 25g
• Missing: 50g

Method

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.
• Toast the oats, seeds, wheat germ for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally (this is mostly to get them warm rather than roast them). Don't roast the nuts.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Grains to Roast
  
• Chop the nuts to a coarse consistency.  I put them in a plastic bag and hit them with the side of a meat tenderizer to break them into chunks.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   Nuts coarsely chopped
  
• Line a glass baking dish with oven spray and waxed paper.  I sprayed the paper too, but I probably didn't need to.
• Chop your dried fruit into manageable sized pieces, if necessary (raisin sized pieces are okay)
  
  
  
  
  
  Dried Fruits
  
  
• In a pot on the stovetop, bring to a simmer the sugar, honey, butter, vanilla and egg.  Don't get this boiling, but stir frequently until everything is smooth.
  
  
  
  
  
  
   Liquid Simmered
  
  
• Turn off the oven, and dump the oat-seed mixture into a large bowl and pour the warm liquid over it, mixing everything thoroughly.
• Pour this into the prepared glass baking dish, sprinkle the crushed nuts on top and press down hard with some more wax paper.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Mix it all up and pour it into a flat glass pan
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  Press it all down really really hard while warm
  
  
• Let cool 2-3 hours and cut into granola sized pieces.  Put into a container and put into the freezer, taking some out as required for work-lunches.
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
   Sorry but you have to eat the crumbs

What's different in my version.

I have eggs.
I added flax seeds and took out 50g of dried fruit
I took her advice and added the nuts to the top later, and didn't roast them.

Results
The one thing I really like about this recipe is the way it gets pressed down.  That seems to be an excellent idea.  I wonder if it might help to put some weight on it, too, while it is cooling?  Like another stackable glass bowl, with something heavy in it?

I cut this after 2 hours.  It was still very very gooey.  And it did not stick together very well.  I immediately put it in the freezer, as I have been doing.  But I ate the crumbs, and one tiny slice.

So how did it taste?

Awful.

To be fair to the blogger who originated this recipe, I changed a lot.  For one thing, I used buckwheat honey, which is far too overpowering for this granola bar.  But the main trouble was the amount of honey, not the type of honey.  It was far too sweet and sticky.  It was so sweet, I would say the honey should be cut not in half, but in 1/4 or even less.  Yes, it was that bad.

What else I'd change next:

I'd include more grains, like

• sesame seeds
• millet
• amaranth
• quinoa
• rye berries
• wheat berries

I'd also try

• sunflower seeds (she had this one, but I had run out, so I used pumpkin seeds)
• pistachio nuts instead of hazelnuts
• coconut on top with or in place of the nuts
• less fruit, especially no raisins (they are too sweet for this)

I wonder if a ten-minute stirring of some of these seeds and grains atop the stove in a bit of water until they release their starches and gums and became somewhat gluey might go well with her technique, instead of using so much honey, which is too sweet for my taste.

But most importantly, I'd try

• 1/8 c honey
• 1/3 c brown sugar

Notes to Myself

• Try these changes to this recipe if you ever try this again.  Amounts, I am just guessing at.
  
• Seeds & Grains to roast 10-12 minutes in the oven @ 400 F:
• 2 c Oats
• 3/4 c Wheat Germ
• 3/4 c Sunflower Seeds
• 3/4 c Pumpkin Seeds
• 1/2 c Amaranth
• 1/2 c Sesame Seeds
  
• Seeds & Grains to boil on stovetop 10-12 minutes:
• 1/2 c Wheat Berries
• 1/2 c Rye Berries
• 1/2 c Quinoa
• 1/2 c Millet
• 1 1/2 c Water to boil away and/or swell the seeds & grains
  
• Other Liquid to simmer on stovetop 10-12 minutes:
• 2 eggs
• 1/8 c honey
• 1/3 c brown sugar
• 4 T butter
• Fruits to stir into Seeds, Grains, and Liquid before pouring into glass container:
• 25g Dried Apples
• 25g Dried Papaya
• 25g Dried Currants
• 25g Dried Apricots
• 25g Dried Cranberries
• Nuts to press into the top:
• 1 1/2 c Pistachio nuts