Making Seitan

 

              Over the years, I've found that I enjoy trying things. Sometimes things turn out well, like the pot of white bean rosemary soup made from dried great northern beans.  Sometimes they don't, like the basket made from rag yarn. I don't mind the fails. The fun is in the attempt. 

            Several months ago I rediscovered my love of tofu. This led me to several vegan cooking channels. I found a lot of cool ways to season and use tofu in dishes and have really enjoyed experimenting with it. One of these cooking channels showed something that looked very interesting to me.  The content creator made what she called Homemade Vegan Deli Slices. It called for tofu, vital wheat gluten, olive oil, cornstarch, nutritional yeast and various species.

        It looked interesting to me. On days when I know it's going to be busy at work, I like to take a sandwich for my meal break and it's nice to have options besides peanut butter and jelly. 

        I was a little leary at first about trying it. I would have to use an entire block of tofu and buy some vital wheat gluten. What if it didn't turn out or I didn't like it? I discussed this with Dana, who pointed out that as far as the cost of the ingredients go, it's not that expensive. Worst case scenario, I'm throwing away less than 20 dollars worth of ingredients and that's assuming I can't figure out something I can do to rescue it. Best case scenario, it'll be something I like and can use in different ways. Middle case scenario, I may sort of like it, but need to adjust the seasonings a bit. That's one of the things I appreciate about Dana, her ability to give me a point of view that doesn't occur to me. 

        I decided to try it. When C and I went out for a walk on Summit Ave, I remembered that the food coop was nearby. I was pretty sure vital wheat gluten was something I could get in the bulk section, so I would not have to buy an entire bag. I could get what I needed for this recipe and buy more if I decided I would make it again. The recipe called for liquid smoke. I'm not a fan of smoke flavour and I didn't have any. After a bit of research, I found that I could substitute worcestershire sauce and use smoked paprika instead of regular paprika to add a bit of smoky flavour. 

        A few days ago, I assembled my ingredients and started cooking. The first thing I needed to do was blend the tofu and spices. The recipe uses a food processor. I don't have one so I put the ingredients into my blender and hoped for the best. I had to stop the blender and scrape down the sides so everything would be well mixed. I tasted a bit of the mixture to see if it needed any salt or pepper. It was salty enough for me so I added some pepper and mixed it again. 

        I carefully measured the vital wheat gluten and put it in a bowl then poured the spice and tofu mixture over it. I mixed it with a spoon until it came together and then then used my hands to knead it, then shaped it into a small loaf and wrapped it in parchment and foil as directed in the recipe. It needed to cook for one hour rotating it every 15 minutes. Once it was done I took it out. The direction said to unwrap it when it was cool to room temperature. 

        I impatiently checked it often eager to sample a slice. It seemed to take a long time, but it was finally cool enough and I unwrapped it. It looked good. I cut a thick slice and ate it. It was good. The recipe was a success. I was already thinking of all the things I could do with my little seitan loaf. I wrapped it back up and put it in the fridge.     

        A few days a later, I took it out and cut it in half. I wasn't sure I could eat the whole loaf before it went bad so I decided to freeze half of it. I cut the thinnest slices I could and made a sandwich to take to work. 

        Several hours later, I ate my sandwich and I was very pleased. I really liked the taste. The only thing that I would do with the next batch is to knead it less. I'm looking forward to making more of it and playing around with various seasonings. It will also be a fun using it in other recipes.