The discussion on Seitan, love it! I have tried the mix and made it from
scratch. anyone interested in this might try looking for the book, Cooking
with Seitan by Barbara and Leonard Jacobs, Japan Publications, 1986.
It has lots of wonderful recipes that only need a little modification and the
instructions are quite simple for making your own from the start. No soaking,
just kneading and rinsing under running water. (It took about 40 minutes.)
They give 10 different flour combinations for different textures of seitan
from soft to very stiff, depending on the recipes they are used for.
Basically the directions are: combine 4 cups whole wheat flour and 4 cups
unbleached flour with about 3-1/2 cups water in a large mixing bowl. Knead
the dough for about 50 strokes. If the dough is too stiff, add about 1/2 cup
more water while kneading. cover the bowl and let the dough rest for about 20
minutes to allow the gluten to develop.
Add warm water to the dough in a gentle stream. Knead the dough slowly and
carefully in the water as the bowl fills, and then pour off the creamy
liquid. Continue this process, alternating between warm and cold water
rinses, kneading each time to extract the cream-colored starch. (The milky
starch from the first few rinses can be saved and used in bred recipes and as
a thickner for stews and sauces, etc.) At first the dough may seem to be
falling apart. sometimes a batch of lour disintegrates in the washing,instead
of separating into starch, bran, and gluten. If this happens, try again with
a different batch of whole wheat flour.
After about 6 rinses, the dough should become rubbery gluten. Remaining
specks of bran can be rinsed away.
Pull off balls or form gluten into patties and drop them into a broth made of
water, oy sauce,and kombu. Simmer slowly about 20 to 30 minutes. For extra
flavor add different seasonings. This makes about 1-1/4 lbs seitan.
Enjoy! JBennicoff
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