Bethany's Vegan Kitchen

This is my recipe for seitan, this has a lovely flavour and a really meaty mouthfeel, it can be used to replace meat in pretty much any recipe that calls for it.

Yield; Around 700g of seitan Cook time; One hour

You’ll need;

1. 200g/7oz vital wheat gluten
2. 40g/1.5oz chickpea flour
3. 30g/1oz nutritional yeast
4. One tablespoon of smoked paprika
5. One tablespoon of dried oregano
6. One tablespoon of dried basil
7. One tablespoon of onion granules
8. One tablespoon of garlic granules
9. One tablespoon of tomato puree
10. One tablespoon vegan Worcestershire sauce
11. 50ml soy sauce
12. 300ml hot water (boiled water left to cool for a couple of minutes will do)

You will also need a litre of water to cook the seitan in.

Method;

• Mix together the dry ingredients (top eight in the list) together into a bowl. Do the same with the wet ingredients (bottom four listed).
• Bring a large pot containing one litre of water to a boil.
• While the water heats to temperature, mix together the dry and wet ingredients. (You may need to add some more vital wheat gluten if your dough is a little too wet)
• Knead the dough well for five minutes. The hot water will activate the gluten and you’ll start to see the strands developing.
• Once you’ve kneaded your dough shape it into a loaf. Do this by placing the dough onto plenty of cling film/foil/cheesecloth/muslin. Shape it into a sausage and wrap up the dough. Tie the ends, leaving an inch or so gap between the dough and the knot. This allows room for the dough to expand.
• Carefully place the wrapped dough into the boiling water and cover with a lid. Once the water comes back to a boil reduce the heat to low and cook for 50 minutes.
• Turn the loaf every ten or fifteen minutes, to ensure it cooks evenly. Once it’s cooked you will notice that it’s become firm to the touch.
• Remove the loaf from the water and place it onto a chopping board, unwrap, then transfer to a cooling tray.

Once unwrapped, it should look something like this;

A few holes on the outside is normal, it’ll be firm and meaty inside, not spongy. You can use the seitan in various different ways;

1. Crumble into tiny bits and use it in place of minced meat, perfect for a chilli or bolognese.
2. Slice it into strips, ideal for fajitas or stir frys
3. Break it into chunks, to use in sauces or pasta dishes.
4. Or simply slice it, use it cold for the perfect sandwich filling. or fry it and serve hot with roast potatoes, vegetables and gravy.

Tips; 

• Sourcing Ingredients; I got my vital wheat gluten, chickpea flour, nutritional yeast and vegan Worcestershire sauce from amazon. Although you may be able to find those items in health food shops, or Holland and Barrett
• Storage; Store the seitan in an airtight container in the fridge, it will keep for a few days. Or freeze it, it freezes really well

I love making things like this at home, you retain ultimate control over what you’re using so you can make it totally to your taste. Don’t like something I used? Leave it out, or replace it with something else. It’s all up to you. I also love that it’s fat free too, so you’re free to get your fats from other sources, like nuts or avocados.

Bye for now 🙂