A week or two back when I posted my recipe for Grape Nuts Bread on my Facebook page, it was brought to my attention that Grape Nuts Cereal is not something that you can really find here in Canada any longer. In the UK it was readily available in the cereal aisle.
My sister had made her own a few weeks back and was very impressed with what she had made. I tasted it at her place and enjoyed it also, so I asked her to share the recipe with me so that I could share it here with you. It is a recipe that she adapted from Food 52.
I am actually surprised that it is not available in Canada these days. It used to be. Grape Nut Ice Cream was always my mother's favorite ice cream.
I tried to find out online if there was a reason for it not being available here in Canada and all I could find out was that during the Covid Pandemic there was a shortage of it and that they had hoped it to be back on the shelves in Spring 2021.
Well, here it is, almost Spring 2024 and still no Grape Nuts. So I don't know what is up with that, but no worries because we can now make our own, and it is every bit as delicious as the original, if not more so! I am so impressed with this copycat grape nuts cereal recipe that I may never buy a box again!
At least I can pronounce the names of all of the ingredients!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE HOMEMADE GRAPE NUTS CEREAL
A few simple ingredients. That's all. A stove. Baking sheets. A food processor. Simple. I can tell you where to source the ingredients that are not that easy to find.
- 3 cups (420g) coarse grind whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup (31g) barley or wheat bran
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups (360ml) buttermilk
- 12 cup (145g) barley malt syrup
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
You can find the coarse grind whole wheat flour at any health food store or on line via someplace like Amazon. If all else fails I am sure you could use regular all purpose whole wheat flour.
The Malt Syrup can also be bought at health food stores and online. During the War they used to give a spoonful of malt extract to children every day to keep up their health. Its filled with vitamins.
I purchased mine at my local health food store and it cost me $12.99 for the bottle. You can also use it to make Malt Loaf, which is a favorite British loaf that is enjoyed often with cup of hot tea.
You can purchase the exact brand I used online in Canada here. Or here in the USA. In the U.K. it is found in most grocery stores or health food purveyors.
Barley or wheat bran is also very available at health food shops or online.
Buttermilk is found in the diary aisle of most shops. If you cannot find any, you can make a simple substitute by combining equal amounts of plain full fat yogurt and full fat milk.
HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE GRAPE NUTS CEREAL
This really isn't difficult to make at all. You do need a food processor to cut the time down a bit. You can crumble the cereal by hand, but a food processor really makes short work of it.
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a sheet pan with some baking parchment. Set aside.Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a beaker. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir well together until thoroughly combined.
Spread this mixture out evenly on the baking sheet. (I found that using damp hands helped with this. I had a large baking sheet. 18 inches by 26 inches.)
Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set the sheet pan on a wire rack to cool for 35 to 40 minutes.Lower the oven temperature to 275*F/135*C.Once cold, break into chunks. Working in batches, pulse the chunks in a food processor, a bit at a time, into coarse crumbs, about the size of small peas and grains of rice.
Line two baking sheets (again 18 inches by 26 inches) with baking parchment. Divide the crumbs amongst the two sheets, spreading them out evenly.
Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Stir every fifteen minutes and rotate the placement of the sheets. At the end of that time the cereal should be lovely and crunchy.Allow to cool completely and then store in an airtight container.
This was excellent. I enjoyed a small bowl of it along with some milk and lightly sweetened strawberries. It was easily one of my favorite breakfasts I have ever had. I will be making this regularly!
If you want an extra way to use up some of the cereal, I can highly recommend my recipe for Grape Nuts Bread. Its excellent!
They say that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. Here are a few other delicious options for you to choose from when deciding what to prepare for your family:
BIG BRAN BREAKFAST COOKIES - Cookies for breakfast? Yes please! These are loaded with fiber and raisins and go down very well with a glass of cold milk, juice or a hot drink. The recipe makes 16 lovely, breakfast sized cookies. They also freeze well, so you can bake them up, wrap and freeze, ready to take out when you are ready to eat.
BRAN AND FRUIT BREAKFAST BREAD - This is one of my favorite breakfast breads. It is loaded with dried apricots and prunes. She is not much to look at but toasts beautifully and is delicious toasted and spread with butter. Yummy!
Yield: 14 servingsAuthor: Marie Rayner
Homemade Grape Nuts Cereal
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 1 H & 25 MInactive time: 40 MinTotal time: 2 H & 15 MNo longer available where I live, this homemade copycat version of Grape Nuts Cereal is every bit as delicious as the original boxed one. Well flavored, not too sweet, nice and crisp.Ingredients
- 3 cups (420g) coarse grind whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup (31g) barley or wheat bran
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 1/2 cups (360ml) buttermilk
- 12 cup (145g) barley malt syrup
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/ gas mark 4. Line a sheet pan with some baking parchment. Set aside.
- Whisk all of the dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Whisk the wet ingredients together in a beaker. Make a well in the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Stir well together until thoroughly combined.
- Spread this mixture out evenly on the baking sheet. (I found that using damp hands helped with this. I had a large baking sheet. 18 inches by 26 inches.)
- Bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes. Remove from the oven and set the sheet pan on a wire rack to cool for 35 to 40 minutes.
- Lower the oven temperature to 275*F/135*C.
- Once cold, break into chunks. Working in batches, pulse the chunks in a food processor, a bit at a time, into coarse crumbs, about the size of small peas and grains of rice.
- Line two baking sheets (again 18 inches by 26 inches) with baking parchment. Divide the crumbs amongst the two sheets, spreading them out evenly.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 45 minutes. Stir every fifteen minutes and rotate the placement of the sheets. At the end of that time the cereal should be lovely and crunchy.
- Allow to cool completely and then store in an airtight container.
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