by Amy Crouch
Sunday breakfast at Laity Lodge is a simple meal: pastries, eggs, fresh fruit, yogurt, and granola. But despite its modesty, guests frequently come back for another bowl. They often ask the secret to the granola. Can they buy it from H-E-B? Can they make it at home?
With the recipe we’re about to share, you can—and should!—make Laity Lodge’s granola at home. But you should know that we didn’t invent the recipe. In fact, we found our granola by way of a priest visiting from Canada. When the Reverend Dean Pinter was staying at Laity Lodge, all the way from his parish in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, he struck up a conversation with Chef Ryan about cooking. Dean was modest about his cooking abilities; luckily for all of us, his wife Darlene let slip that he loved to make his own granola. A few mornings later, Ryan’s kitchen ran out of granola and decided to give Dean’s recipe a try. They haven’t stopped making it since.
Dean is self-effacing about his granola: “I really don’t think there’s anything special about it.” (The kitchen team rolls their eyes when I pass this along.) He got the recipe long ago from a friend, and he started making a regular supply for himself and his wife. “It’s so convenient, so simple, and it tastes good every time.”
For Chef Ryan, its simplicity is what makes it special. “It’s a well-balanced granola.” Sesame and sunflower seeds add a slightly savory element, while the maple syrup brings sweetness (and a taste of Dean’s native Canada). You can snack on it plain; you can add it to a bowl of yogurt and fresh fruit for breakfast. (If you’re like me, you’ll love it sprinkled over vanilla ice cream and extra maple syrup.)
“When you’re making simple things by hand, when you love the ingredients and pay attention—you get something special,” says Dean. We hope you’ll try it yourself.
Dean Pinter’s Granola
Makes 8 cups of granola
5 cups rolled oats
½ cup almonds, whole
½ cup pumpkin seeds
½ cup pecans
¼ cup sesame seeds
¼ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup ground flaxseed
¾ cups maple syrup
¾ cups grapeseed oil
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
+ Spread on an oiled sheet pan in a layer up to ½ inch thick. Bake at 300 degrees Fahrenheit for 28 minutes, turning every seven minutes.
+ Let cool and break up. Granola can be stored in an airtight container for up to a month.
