Sprouted buckwheat, rolled oats, fresh cherries, blueberries and dates is all it takes to make the greatest crunchy and chewy granola bar! Better yet it is raw vegan, and gluten-free! 🙂
I love the texture, crunchy, yet chewy from the fruit. It’s also the perfect amount of sweetness with burst of flavor from the fruit.
Since the berries came to the farmers market I have been making these bars every week for the past month, Dominick and I can’t get enough of them! We both take them with us when we’re out and about in case hunger strikes and we need a quick snack.
As born and raised junk foodies we loved those quaker chewy granola bars and the crunchy nature valley bars. If those two gave birth to a pure and natural granola bar this would be it. 😉 lol
Buckwheat the magical seed of a flowering fruit.
Despite buckwheat’s name it is not derived from wheat, rather it is a seed, they call it a pseudo-cereal crop.
Nevertheless I am in love with sprouted buckwheat, it’s the perfect grain for so many crispy raw vegan recipes. I used it in my crispy pie crust for my raw vegan blueberry pie. I also use it for my favorite raw vegan toaster pastries and cereal.
Sprouting buckwheat is extremely easy and only takes about 2 days. On the first day you soak the grains in water for about 8 hours. Then pour the buckwheat into a strainer and rinse and drain. Lastly on the 2nd day, rinse and drain once more and it should have little tails.
You also don’t have to sprout the buckwheat, you can just soak it for a few hours and rinse and drain. However beware that buckwheat releases a lot of goo, it really only goes away when it starts to sprout.
Date paste is like the ultimate sticky sugar in raw vegan “baking”. It replaces the effects of caramelizing sugar. It’s also really easy to make just blend 1 cup of dates with 1/4 water. The best tool I have found to make date paste is the single serve attachment for the Ninja
Once the buckwheat has sprouted and the date paste is made you mix it all together.
Dehydration
The last step is dehydration.
These chewy crispy granola bars are best dehydrated but can also be dried in the oven, they will just not be raw. These bars need air circulation and ventilation which is what a dehydrator provides. The time of dehydration all depends on how dry or humid your house is, the drier the quicker.
It is important that for the initial couple of hours the dehydrator be at a higher temperature around 165 degrees to allow for water evaporation and to prevent fermentation or mold. The ingredients will not warm to 165 degrees while water is evaporating, so it will still be raw. If your dehydrator does not have a temperature gauge you may need to dry the berries separately and let the buckwheat air dry before assembling the granola bars.
Once the granola bars have firmed up on the top, put another dehydrator tray on top with no dehydrator sheet and flip. Turn down the heat to 115 degrees and dehydrate until slightly firm again. This is when you can cut the granola bars into whatever sizes you prefer and separate them so that have room to “breath”.
Oven
I have not tried making these in the oven, but I would assume that baking them at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes will be a good start. If you do make these in the oven please comment down below on your experience.
Once finished they should be nice and crispy while the fruit should be chewy. These bars store in an airtight container for up to 1 week. You can freeze them to last longer if needed. If you bake them they should last a few weeks.
Blueberry Cherry Granola Bars
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups buckwheat groats; soaked and/or sprouted
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1 cup blueberries; fresh
- 1 cup cherries; fresh
- 1 cup date paste = 1 cup dates + 1/4 cup water
- 1/2 vanilla ben or 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp salt
INSTRUCTIONS
- Soak buckwheat groats the day before, for 8 hours. Rinse and drain.
- Rinse and drain again the next day and there should already be little tails.
- De-pit the dates and make the date paste by blending together dates and water.
- In a mixing bowl mix all of the ingredients together.
- Pour the mixture onto a dehydrator sheet and make a square.
- Dehydrate at 165 degrees for 1 hour or until firm to touch.
- Put a dehydrator tray on top and flip; no dehydrator sheet, and turn down the heat to 115 degrees.
- About an hour later, cut the bars and separate them.
- Dehydrate until completely dry and firm: Approximately 12-24 hours.
NOTES
Freeze if necessary.
Rolled oats are not raw vegan, it is very hard to come across oat groats that will sprout, but if you do happen upon them I would sprout them along with the buckwheat so it is completely raw.
Comments 2
Hi,
I just found your sight tonight and am looking forward to trying some of your recipes. Thank you so much for sharing with all of us.
I do have a question about the above recipe. I have mold issues and am unable to have oats since they can be high in mold. Do you have any suggestions for a substitute for the oats.
Again, thank you.
God bless,
Linda Nelson
The granola bars were so delicious! I did use frozen, thawed fruit and drain the juice off before mixing into the rest of the ingredients and the granola bars turned out lovely.