seitan made from scratch
Posted by semajrn on Apr 10, 2010 · Member since Mar 2010 · 2 posts
I am looking for a recipe for sausage seitan using the "from scratch" method with all purpose flour, instead of the method using vital gluten where no rinsing is necessary. My question is how and when to add the spices/seasonings to make dishes such as sausage, etc. If you add these elements when first mixing the flour and water, they will wash away during the rinsing mode. But every recipe I see uses the vital gluten method, unless making just plain seitan, acquiring the flavors just from the simmering broth itself.
Seitan is vital wheat gluten.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wheat_gluten_%28food%29
But vital wheat gluten comes from flour. The gluten is only one component.
I'm not sure how to do it that way, but I think someone posted an instruction video on here a few years ago. Sorry I'm not more help.
If you make the flour and water based dough, rinse it exclusively until you are left with nothing but the gluten ball you could kneed in (once its out of the water mind you) spices and the like to give it that sausage flavor. That is honestly the only way I see one being able to make gluten from flour into flavored seitan. All that kneeding may make it undesirably chewy. Just so you know. If you want to add in something like mashed beans or a spice blend you may need to flatten the ball out, plunk the item in the middle and then wrap the dough around it, then kneed it till it incorporates. It could be very very messy.
Give it a try and let us know how it goes.
What Cali said. :-)
I just looked at the gluten recipes in my very old copy of The New Farm Vegetarian Cookbook. They make gluten using the dough-rinse method and then knead in the seasonings after the gluten ball is ready. In addition, I would also use a flavoured broth when cooking the gluten.
Is this the question: You are going to try to make seitan from scratch-scratch, starting with rinsing regular flour. Once you have rinsed and reduced the flour to its vital wheat gluten component, how do you season it?
Are you planning to simmer it or bake it. If you are planning to simmer it, put the seasoning in the simmer water. If you are going to bake it, hmmm... I'm not sure. Maybe put the seasoning on the top and bottom of the dish and see if it absorbs as it puffs?
Are you planning to simmer it or bake it. If you are planning to simmer it, put the seasoning in the simmer water. If you are going to bake it, hmmm... I'm not sure. Maybe put the seasoning on the top and bottom of the dish and see if it absorbs as it puffs?
Bryanna Grogan uses a baking method for some of her seitan recipes that has broth added to the pan and the seitan absorbs the broth while it bakes. That would probably be a good method to use. My own experience with baking seitan dry is that it forms a crust and the seasonings would just stay on the outside. I also tend to get a big puff ball in the oven that deflates when removed from the heat and is kind of hollow and porous inside. Maybe I'm not doing it correctly, but I've never had much luck with baking it dry. Bryanna's idea works pretty well though.
Thank you all for your advice. I think that I will try the method suggested, and add any spices/herbs after the rinsing is complete and I am left with just the gluten ball.
one of the Sarah Kramer cookbooks has a way to make it by hand, I think "La Dolce Vegan" its basically the rinse under water, knead, rinse, knead until its a gooey, gluteny blob, I've never tried it, sounds very time consuming and I live in fear of gummy seitan....but if you live somewhere where vital wheat gluten is hard to come by then at least you know there are options out there :) Let me know how it turns out, I love seitan knowledge.