Nutty Bran Flakes

Okay, so I may have just lost my mind...I actually made my own bran flakes. You may be asking yourself why would I ever want to make my own bran flake cereal when I can just buy it at the store, duh!  Well, for one thing I like knowing what all the ingredients are, another reason is cost, and finally taste!

I was actually very surprised at how good these were. Way better than any of the store brands I have tried. And it is so versatile. You could add chopped nuts, raisins, dried cranberries, or sunflower seed kernels. You could even sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar mix before baking for a sweeter version.

I found this recipe over at mrbreakfast.com and it turned out to be much easier than I expected it to be. I was actually thinking this was going to be a messy and time consuming process, but it wasn't that way at all. And, you only need to wash one bowl, one mixing spoon, and measuring tools. Besides the ingredients you will need to have parchment paper and plastic wrap. You will also need some baking pans but you won't have to wash them as they will be covered with parchment paper.

So here's what you do: (Ingredient list and complete instructions at the end of this post)

Thoroughly mix all dry ingredients together, sift if you have a sifter.

Mix in the wet ingredients (milk and water)

Divide the mixture between your sheets of parchment paper

Lay a large piece of plastic wrap on top of dough and with your hands begin to smooth out the mixture till its very thin.

Remove the plastic wrap and continue with remaining dough

Transfer the dough with the parchment paper onto the baking sheets.

Bake for 10 minutes checking often after 5 minutes

You end up with big leathery pieces that need to cool completely before continuing.

Once the pieces have cooled you will tear them into smaller pieces and bake some more at a lower temperature (275 degrees) for 20 minutes stirring and turning every 5 minutes.

Let the flakes cool again completely and you are ready to serve or store.

I enjoyed mine with fresh local blueberries and some toasted pecan pieces. Yum

You will need:

• 1/2 cup bran
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup walnuts or pecans - finely ground
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1/4 cup water

How to do it:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees
• Sift together all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Add milk and water and mix well
• Cut parchment paper into two 12 X 16 inch pieces.
• Lay the pieces of parchment paper on a flat surface and divide the dough onto the center of each.
• Cover one of the parchment pieces completely with clear plastic wrap and begin to flatten the dough with your hands
• Continue to flatten as much as you can, you can use a rolling pin. You want to make the dough extremely thin with areas of near transparency. 
• Peel off the plastic wrap and use to cover the remaining dough and repeat flattening process.
• Remove the plastic wrap and place the dough (on the parchment) onto a 14 X 16 flat sheet pan. Cook for 10 minutes checking often after 5 minutes. A dough this thin will burn easily if left in too long.
• After cooking you will have a sort of leathery thin cracker that's a bit crunchy around the edges.
• Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely.
• Reduce oven temperature to 275 degrees.
• After all has cooled completely, rip, crack, and tear them into the size flakes you desire. Most of us are most familiar with about 3/4 inch pieces.
• Place all the flakes on a large cookie sheet and cook at the reduced temperature for 20 minutes. Stir and flip flakes every 5 minutes during this oven time.
• Remove from oven and allow to cool completely.
• Serve with milk and fresh fruit. Store in an airtight container for up to two weeks.

Makes about 3 servings.

My tips:

• I used a mini food processor to finely grind the pecans 
• I had some pecans left over so I roughly chopped them and toasted them in a separate pan along with the flakes. Then I added them to the mix later.
• Sprinkle flattened dough with a cinnamon sugar mixture before baking for a sweeter version.

Comments or questions? I would love to hear from you.