Make Your Own Seitan

I love seitan. It’s delicious and nutritious, and you can do so many things with it. But it can get a little pricey, especially if you put it away like I do!

A much cheaper alternative is to make your own. All you need are a few basic ingredients and a little time.

HOMEMADE SEITAN

Dough:
1 1/2 C vital wheat gluten
1 t garlic powder
3 T nutritional yeast
1 C vegetable stock
2 T soy sauce

Broth:
3-4 C water
1/4 C soy sauce
1 t liquid smoke (optional)

Mix the garlic powder and yeast into the gluten flour ginger. Combine the vegetable stock and soy sauce and pour this mixture over the dry ingredients. Mix into a stiff dough.

Knead the dough until it is completely mixed and has a rubbery texture. Let the dough rest for a few minutes and then knead it again. Let it rest another 5-10 minutes to relax the dough.

Cut gluten into 8-10 even pieces. Stretch the pieces out into thin cutlets. The dough is so elastic it will want to keep shrinking back to its original shape. Just do the best you can. Remember, they don’t have to look pretty to taste good!

Put seitan pieces in broth and bring to a boil, then simmer on low for 60 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the seitan cool in the broth for another 30 minutes.

You can use the cutlets as they are, chop them up for use in recipes, or freeze them for later use.