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Several readers have emailed me recently inquiring about how to best go about making homemade granola.
One person carefully soaked oats for 24 hours in water with an acidic medium and then dehydrated before mixing with the other ingredients and toasting in the oven.
Another used sprouted, organic rolled oats and baked in a 200F oven with various other ingredients to make her favorite version of homemade granola.
While both of these approaches to making granola are certainly a huge improvement over any of the granolas to be had at the store, the fact is that even organic granola made with rolled oats that have been sprouted or soaked is not an easily digestible food.
The proteins in grains are extremely difficult to digest. They have the potential to cause health problems over the long term, which is why traditional societies took such great pains to soak, sprout, or sour leaven them before consuming.
Not only did traditional peoples soak, sprout, or sour leaven their grains, they also thoroughly cooked them as the final preparation step before eating.
Why Granola is SO Difficult to DigestÂ
The dry heat of an oven at the proper toasting temperature is simply not hot enough to complete the breakdown of anti-nutrients in oats or other grains. Thus, even homemade granola is extremely difficult to digest. Eaten often, it can damage the gut over time.
Perhaps if a person has an iron gut, then homemade granola that is soaked or sprouted might work on occasion. The reality is that most people have sensitive guts anymore due to several generations of children raised on antibiotics and processed foods. Most people have some sort of digestive sensitivity to grains even if there are no grain allergy symptoms present.
I know for me, I bloat terribly if I eat homemade granola that has been soaked or sprouted and then toasted. I have no grain allergies and my digestion is in pretty decent shape. Interestingly, thoroughly cooked unsoaked oatmeal digests far better. The lesson at least to me is that the final cooking step is very important!
I have only made granola for my family once or twice. However, I stopped after observing the undigestibility of consuming this non-traditional food even when seemingly prepared in a traditional fashion.
Do your digestion a favor and opt out of any grain based granola entirely. Even homemade, organic, and soaked and/or sprouted versions aren’t good for your long term gut health.
Healthy Alternatives to Granola
Don’t hesitate to use soaked or sprouted grains that are fully cooked for all your other dishes and baked goods!  This article plus video tutorial for a healthy cold breakfast cereal recipe is a very digestible alternative to granola.
Another alternative is to make grain free Paleo granola using the linked recipe.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
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Sources and More Information
Nourishing Traditions, p. 454
Soaked Oatmeal Benefits Without the Soaking?
I am having trouble not turning to easy things like cereal. I have four kids five years and younger. Two of which are under a year and don’t have a lot of time to do breakfast. One of the babies has bad ezcema and I suspected food allergies so we are avoiding dairy, eggs, and gluten. I need some easy breakfast ideas. We do oats, bacon or sausage with fruit, sometimes gluten, dairy, egg free muffins. Anybody have any ideas or anything that healed up horrible ezcema. HELP!
What are you thoughts on drying out soaked rolled oats after they have been baked like your cereal recipe, which is FANTASTIC by the way!
here are a bunch…http://pinterest.com/lady7aylor/sane-paleo-cereal/
i also make my granola with quick oats soaked in hot water and pureed apple, coconut oil and all sort of nuts and seeds. i dehydrate it overnight and i eat it with homemade almond milk.
Granola is usually loaded with sweeter too. Even if it’s sucanat or honey, we find it too sweet for our taste and are trying to avoid foods that spike the blood sugar. Haven’t made it for years for that reason.
I actually use the dried leftovers from my cooked oats, (And coconut flour quick breads… and sometimes even bread crumbs) which would have been eaten cold anyway. I can not think of any reason that wouldn’t work. I’d be interested to hear if others know of a reason it’s unhealthy.
Bummer.
Sara, I follow a “paleo” type of “diet” with emphasis on local eats as much as possible and proper food prep, fat with veggies, etc. I just don’t enjoy dairy but get raw milk, cheese, ect for my family. Do you have any good resources on paleo?
Oatmeal was traditionally cooked overnight in Scotland. I make mine in the bottom of the AGA but you could use a slowcooker. It was done on a woodstove which might have been warm, not hot at night? Take one part oats to three parts water. Combine in a pot with sea salt. Pop in low oven and just eat it in the morning. BUT this is not fermented. I tried it with some cider vinegar the other day and it tasted a bit funny. (I do add some toppings such as dried fruit or honey or something). And at such a temperature I imagine it was too hot to ever ferment anyway.
On a side note, occasionally you see the tv chefs here in the UK tell you to make pancake batter and Yorkshire pudding batter the day before or at least in the morning for your evening meal. And sometimes they say their grannies always put vinegar in the mix!