Since buying the herd-share from Hampshire Farms at Eastern Market, I've been exploring all sorts of traditional foods made with raw milk. One of my shocking discoveries was that a traditional way to eat whole grain cereals for breakfast is to pour raw milk over it and leave it on the counter over night. While you are sleeping, the bacteria in the milk feeds on the sugars in the grain, creating lactic acid and unlocking enzymes, such as the natural phytase within grains and nuts.

With this in mind, I set out to find a fermented granola recipe that could be made in advance and stored, and discovered this Delicious Raw Breakfast Cereal. After making 5 or 6 batches, this is the variation we have developed.

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Lacto-fermented granola

If you don't have access to diastatic malt or sprouted wheat flour, replace with 1/2 cup wheat pastry flour and 1/2 cup sugar, like date sugar, brown sugar or turbinado.

3 cups rolled oats
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup sprouted wheat flour or diastatic malt powder
3/4 cup yogurt
3/4 cup whey
1/2 cup melted butter
2 tsp cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, apple pie spice
1/4 cup maple syrup or honey
1/2 teaspoon salt
optional dried fruit

Mix everything but the dried fruit and salt together and let it sit at room temperature for at least 24 hours. On the second day, mix in the salt. Cut the dried fruit into chunks and sprinkle them over the top. Using two spoons, divide the batter into bite-sized pieces onto cookie sheets or food dehydrator trays, distributing the fruit as you go. Dehydrate or bake the granola until it is absolutely dry at a low temperature, no higher than 135 degrees, to preserve the enzymes.