Seitan

Wheat meat. Can be used as a stand in for chicken in other recipes
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Ingredients

Dry

  • 1 cup vital wheat gluten
  • 1/2 cup chickpea flour
  • 1/2 cup nutritional yeast

Wet

  • 3/4 cup vegetable broth (for dough)
  • 2 Tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

Stockpot to boil with

  • 2 cups water (for stock pot)
  • 4 cups vegetable broth (for stock pot)

Seasoning

The basic

  • 1 teaspoon ground ginger
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Thanksgiving

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder
  • 2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • black cumin

Seafood

  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder
  • 2 teaspoon pulverized nori sheet

Instructions

Start pot

Add [[Seitan#Stockpot to boil with|vegtable broth and water]] to stock pot and start to get up to a boil.

Mix Ingredients

Combine the [[Seitan#Dry|dry ingredients]] and [[Seitan#Seasoning|your seasoning pick]] into a medium-sized bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the [[Seitan#Wet|wet ingredients]].

Add wet to dry ingredients and stir gently to combine. After a few initial stirs, you’ll probably need to use your hands for this since the gluten will have a rubbery consistency. Do not use an electric mixer! If needed, add more water, a tablespoon at a time. It should be fully mixed with a slightly sticky texture, while maintaining the rubbery consistency.

Knead Gluten

Once the mixture is well-combined, knead your seitan 10 to 15 times, allow it to sit for 5 minutes, and then knead a few more times. Don’t skip this step, as kneading develops the gluten, a protein found in wheat, to give the final product the consistency that you want.

Cook

Wrap the dough in cling wrap and tie the ends together so that it is sealed shut in a loaf shape.

Once the stock pot is boiling, lower heat and add the wrapped seitan. It should be at a low simmer, too high and the bubbles will cause the seitan to not firm up properly. Too little and it will not cook.

Our stove should be set to 4. You will have to dial this in a bit though depending on a lot of variables. Basically, after adding the loaf, keep an eye on it for several minutes to ensure it is not boiling, just a few bubbles. Up the tempature as needed, and set a 5 minute timer. If after 5 minutes the bubbles are still forming steadly, set a 10 minute timer, then 25 minute, then 30 minute. Adjust as needed, but hopefully you can dial it in so that you do not need to monitor the whole time!

Simmer for 1 hour, turning every 10 minutes, then turn off. Let it sit in the pot for 30 minutes before removing.

I have always sliced it before putting it away. Keep some of the broth in the container you use to keep it moist.

Notes

  • Don’t be afraid of the heat. You are more likly to undercook than overcook
  • Add water to the stockpot to cover the loaf

Sources

First recipe I used - Boiling it all freeform like this suggests did not give it a very good texture