Making Homemade Seitan: Additional Notes and Troubleshooting

So, hopefully, you've gotten your hands dirty with our vegan recipe for making seitan from scratch. Here's some additional info to ensure your recipe comes out well!

I've had a lot of variation over time with the consistency of my seitan. Sometimes it is very crumbly and moist and other times it is very solid. Many variables come from what kind of flour you use. I've used cheap Pillsbury flour with excellent results and organic wheat flour purchased from a Mennonite farm with poor results. Perhaps there is a better flour to use, but I've had varying results with similar flours. You can also grind down wheat berries. If you don't have a grain mill, as I don't, you can use a coffee grinder!



Patience is always the best tool! I don't suggest skipping the step of making a dough and make sure to rinse the dough long enough to get out all the starch. If you're cooked seitan is super moist and crumbly. Just crumble or slice it into a pan and throw it under the broiler or bake in oven, flipping it around occasionally until it hardens up a bit. Remember, these instructions above are just guidelines. Feel free to deviate and experiment. If your seitan doesn't turn out exactly how you want, get creative to figure out how to solve the problem. I've been making seitan for 7 years and I am still experimenting. It may be a bit time consuming, but its never boring!

OK, so I know this is slow food for FAST living. So maybe you don't have time, and would like the more albeit more expensive. Here is a great step by step with vital wheat gluten courtesy of Vegan Lunchcast.

Here are more seitan ideas. Although some recipes may call for vital wheat gluten, we can substitute our seitan instead:
Gourmet Sleuth
Fat Free Vegan
Epicurvegan
Eat'n Veg'n
Vegan Menu
Top Ten Sources, Vegan Recipes

Ok, these are a bunch of vegan sites, because Vegans know how to cook Seitan best. But the good news is, you don't have to be vegan to enjoy seitan. Although it is a meat substitute, even if you are as excited about eating meat as I am, you can still enjoy seitan. Its not one or the other people (unless of course you're vegan).

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Although Forkable is omnivorous, we are vegan friendly! Check out my other vegan recipes:

• Vegan Risotto
  
• Death Proof Chili w/ TVP
• Left-over Hummus becomes Lentil Soup
• Amazing Spice substitute for butter on Corn on the Cob
• Awesome video blog: how-to roast red peppers on stove top
  
• Papaya Smoothie with coconut milk
• Quick Quick DIY Vinaigrette
• Fresh pie ideas with link to our vegan oil pie crust.
• Fresh Limeade! Delish!