I have always given homemade granola to friends as gifts and special treats. Occasionally fancy recipes and earnest advice seduced me with suggestions for exotic ingredients, such as cardamom, ginger, almond extract and candied orange peels. All yielded superb granola, but in the end, I felt that pungent ingredients hid the natural appeal of oats, honey, wheat germ, nuts and fruit.
As a curious cook, I never stopped trying new ingredients but believed that my simple mix was already the best.
But a few weeks ago, a humble ingredient, rolled rye, overturned my arrogant assumption. Rolled rye is roughly the same shape as rolled oats but is thicker with a crinkly exterior (see below). While rolled rye appears sporadically in granola recipes, stores do not typically offer it.
I had given up looking until one day I mentioned my curiosity about rolled rye to Jill who is a granola enthusiast herself. She suggested that I try Integral Yoga Natural Foods in the West Village. There, I found my elusive ingredient in their extensive organic bulk food section.
A week later, my half rye and half oat granola was baking in the oven. Usually, the aroma of roasting granola reminds me of fresh cookies, but this batch smelled like fresh bread. The rye imparted a heartier and nuttier flavor and in comparison, my usual granola might as well have been a frosted commercial cereal. I was smitten and have altered my perfect recipe.
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