Combine oats, wheat germ, brown sugar and salt in a large bowl.
Mix dry ingedients with a spoon or your hands. Be sure to break up the brown sugar.
Coarsely chop pecans.
Combine maple syrup, oil and water in glass measuring cup.
Heat liquid ingredients in microwave until steaming.
Whisk hot liquid ingredients.
Pour liquid ingredients over dry ingredients and mix thoroughly.
Mix in nuts. If using dried fruit, wait until the granola is turned to add the fruit.
Place mixture on a rimmed cookie sheet covered with a liner or parchment.
Pat down the mixture with a spatula to spread it out. Pat it down if you like chunks in your granola.
Bake in 275° oven for 30 minutes.
Remove granola from oven and flip with a spatula. If you want large chunks, try to disturb the granola as little as possible as you flip it.
Add dried fruit if you are using it.
Return to the oven for about 15 minutes.
If the granola looks golden brown and is quite dry, it is done. If it is not golden brown, or too "bendy" or soft, return to the oven for about 10 minutes. The granola will firm up a little bit as it cools, but not significantly.
Cool completely on the cookie sheet.
Store in an airtight container.
Enjoy!
Notes
* I most often use 1 cup pecans in this granola. That is what was used in the nutrient analysis. You can use 1 cup of any type of fruit or nuts. For gifts I often use 1/2 cup chopped pecans and 1/2 cup dried cherries. Walnuts and dried cranberries are another winning combination.
Just a note on the large chunks, the more nuts you use in your granola, the harder it is to maintain the large chunks. So if you want the biggest chunks possible, use no nuts!