Timah A. E.
Nov 18, 20204 min
When I visited some friends in Atlanta back in 2012, I learned to make seitan by washing a dough ball. I thought it was the craziest thing. Amaria then made a lump of faux meat and I was hooked. I was still healing from being bothered with fibroids so it was quite sparingly that I would eat it. Although I have many recipes utilizing gluten where it's turned into seitan, it's very sparingly
She wasn't using the flours I use like Spelt, Rye, and Kamut and it caused a bit of bloating and gas. When I returned home I made some with my flour and I had no issues with it. The main thing I had to learn was to keep from losing my gluten down the sink along with the starch and grain. When I did it was on and popping. The interesting thing about doing this is how much flour has to be used to get a decent amount of gluten to make the seitan.
This is one of my favorites and most popular seitan dishes outside the wannabe lamb and drum-up sticks. This is from my cookbook "Food of The Gods - A Holistic Health Guide" volume 1. I realized that when I used the Spelt vs. the other flours to make the same seitan the amounts were different as the flours are not weighted the same. Kamut is much heavier than the Spelt by 1/4 cup and the rye as well. However, the Kamut is softer and buttery, unlike the others. I played around with various mixtures of flour and landed on using a combination of Kamut and Spelt.
Instead of measuring out the flour with a cup, I should use a scale to always make the same amount of gluten that was correct for this dish. It always has to be 284 grams instead of simply measuring 3 cups. When the dough is washed it comes out to be 108g which is approximately 1 cup of flour depending on which flour is used.
This is how I initially made my gluten for the seitan. I came up with using hot to lukewarm water because it activated gluten strands quickly but cold water can be used as well.
Later I came up with using my kitchen aid mixer because it was quicker as I make a lot for many people. Whichever way you choose to make yours I'm sure it'll be great.
Gluten can be tricky as it has a bounce and stretch and for this, it has to be flattened. I usually use my hands as if I'm making pizza dough. To make it easier, a roller pin and saran wrap can be used as shown here in this video. Another way is to place it in a large bpa free ziplock back and roll it that way while stretching it around the roller pin.
It should be rather smooth to touch and about 1/8 or more in thickness but not 1/4" thick. To make it easy to maneuver from your surface, lightly spray the surface. It can also be placed between 2 layers of saran wrap but only the bottom is oiled. If the gluten is too thin it can rip or a hole may occur then you'll have to do it all over.
It should not be lump-sided like this photo but even all around. The next step is to make the paste as well as boil the noodles with the seaweed.
The herb paste is very flavourful with a beautifully delicious smell. Make sure to leave a border around the edges so the gluten can seal together.
The noodles should be lumpy when mashed and mixed with either the mushrooms or jackfruit, your choice. Just make sure most of the water is wrung out so your dish won't get waterlogged. A food blender can be used or a potato masher so long as it's mixed well. Keep that border.
Start at one end and begin to roll it as tight as you can. As you roll it, fold in the sides. When you're done rolling it up, lightly oil it down and roll it tightly into some saran wrap. You can sit in the refrigerator or leave it on the counter for at least 30 minutes or so. This allows the gluten to rest and set in place for your next steps.
My mother could use twine to wrap food like a boss but me.....nope. Maybe you will be better as that's the next step. You want to make the sections as even as possible and you should be able to get at least 7 nice cuts.
Before it goes into the oven, it must be browned to give it a nice skin and get the ends. To make it easier to brown while you have it wrapped in the saran wrap, boil it for about 15 minutes. When you unwrap the roll the outside of it will be fleshy. Now brown it in the skillet.
When you're done let it sit and rest until your vegetables are ready. Make sure the skillet you use is oven-friendly and deep with a lid.
After a bit of the liquid has cooked down on the vegetables, go ahead and put your roll in the pot to get it cooked. You will be using a vegan wine, or grape juice to cook this in, and don't worry you won't get tipsy, it cooks out.
Notes: If you need to know how to make gluten from scratch watch my video, How to make Spelt or Kamut Gluten on my YouTube Channel: Cooking for Health with Timah