Seiten
Posted by SnowQueen690 on Jun 11, 2008 · Member since Jun 2005 · 1569 posts
I want to make my own seiten from wheat gluten flour but don't have a lot of time. Homemade seiten is less expensive then store bought seiten, that is why, and I LOVE seiten. Is there an easy way of doing it, or do I have to boil it for 45 minutes just as it says you have to in the easy seiten recipie?
Google: Seitan of Greatness.
Or use search to find the multitude of other seitan posts with links to all the best recipes for quick and easy seitan. The Vegan Dad blog also has fabulous seitan recipes.
Thanks Cali, I did google the Seitan O Greatness and I think that I may try that. But I probably will used different spices but the same cooking method. I would be nice to have a log that I can just cut off what I want to use.
What I do is use the recipe for seiten in VwaV but increase all the liquids a little bit so it won't be so dry and bake it like with Seitan O'Greatness. You don't want it too runny though but nice and gooey. It makes a seiten that works well in recipes where the spicing of the O'Greatness would be wrong for the dish.
There are a few easy ways to make it:
1. Simmer it (DO NOT BOIL). This way seems to be the longest, because you have to cut the rubbery gluten before simmering.
2. Bake rolled in foil. You are supposed to get something pepperoni-ish in consistency, but I don't like it. It's not chewy or exciting.
3. Bake it without rolling it in foil. I like this was the best. This is how you make ribz. Bake it in a dish. It will get fluffy, but not like simmering it. Then cut it into strips and put it on a sandwich or dip it in bbq sauce.
How do they make the seiten that you buy in the store? Is that boiled?
What I want to make is seiten "meat" balls for spagetti and "meat" balls. I had baked seiten one time and it came out nasty, like really dense bread, I used the bar-be-que seiten recipie from this site and I didn't like it at all. But when I made the seiten on the "easy seiten" recipie from this site, where it is boiled I liked the texture much better. I also like the texture of the seiten you get in the store too.
So I was wondering, if I made a batch of seiten, then cut it up into very small cubes, would it cook faster? You know, I guess I can try it and tell you when I come back!
I don't think you can really cut the uncooked seitan into cubes before it's cooked. It's just a tough, doughy mass, ya know what I mean? I guess you could boil it in smaller chunks and it would cook faster, though. But I'm not sure about doing very tiny pieces.
Also, lots of people swear by Julie Hasson's veggie sausage recipe:
http://www.everydaydish.tv/Recipe%20Pages/Spicy_Italian_Vegetarian_Sausage.html
She steams them in foil.
To change the texture I recommend adding pureed beans to the dough and dry baking in foil. It should not turn out bready but dense and chewy. You could then grind it up in a food processor to make 'crumbles'.
Also consider making tempeh meatballs with a touch of vital wheat gluten. Steam slices of tempeh for ten minutes, allow it to cool and then grind up in the food processor. Mix it with some VWG, seasonings and done!
I think trying to make whole meatballs is a bad idea as the inside will be pretty flavorless. So the grinding up method should work best.