Seitan Roast with Bread Crumbs - Mild Flavor

Since I have been including whole wheat bread crumbs in my seitan sausage we thought it would make sense to see how it worked in the seitan roast. The breadcrumbs definitely changed the texture for the better. When the roast was first cooked it was a firm, but as it braised in the sauce the texture became very meat like. We had omnivores over tonight for dinner tonight that were surprised I had cooked meat. Now that tells you how meat like this turned out.

Needless to say I liked what the breadcrumbs did when the seitan was braised. Since I haven’t tried this as cutlets I can’t say how that texture will work. But you can expect a test of that in the coming weeks.

Seitan Roast with Bread Crumbs - Mild Flavor
Makes 1 roast

Seitan Dough Ingredients:

2 cups water
1 tablespoon garlic powder, dry
1 tablespoon onion flakes,dry
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
10 ounce box vital wheat gluten

Braising Ingredients:

2 cups of water
4 cloves of cloves, smashed and peeled
½ teaspoon marmite

Directions:

Combine the water, garlic powder, onion flakes and salt in the blender. Puree until smooth. Pour the flavored water into a large bowl to make the seitan. I find a big salad bowl works well. Add the whole wheat bread crumbs to the water and allow them to absorb as much water as they can. After 5 minutes add the wheat gluten and knead to combine the gluten and breadcrumbs evenly into the dough.

Use cheesecloth and wrap up the dough. You want the cheesecloth to go around the dough at least twice so it doesn’t break out of the cheesecloth. Tie the ends of the cheesecloth as you would when making a seitan sausage. It should look like a big fat cheesecloth covered tootsie roll. I also tie the roast three times in the middle to keep the roast from coming out of the cheesecloth. Drizzle the cheesecloth with oil to help it from sticking to the seitan while it cooks. If you don't have cheesecloth use aluminum foil instead and wrap as you would a big sausage. Aluminum foil is easier to use than cheesecloth since you don't have the same issue of the seitan potentially sticking.

I pressure cook my seitan for 30 minutes on high, but you can also simmer it for an hour turning once so it is evenly moist. When the time has elapsed remove the seitan from the broth so that it can cool. You should be able to remove the strings and cheesecloth after 10 – 15 minutes. When the seitan is cool enough to handle you can slice it into cutlets or chunks depending on how you are going to use it.

Nutritional information for the entire roast:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 1650.28
Calories From Fat (7%) - 113.2

Total Fat - 12.63g
Saturated Fat - 2.41g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 3108.95mg
Potassium - 1123.48mg
Total Carbohydrates - 142.85g
Fiber - 18.02g
Sugar - 16.06g
Protein - 244.5g

Comments:

This worked seitan extremely well in a braise today. I am pleased with how the addition of the breadcrumbs works when slow braising this seitan in liquid. When I fool an omnivore into thinking I cooked meat (although not intentionally) I know my seitan texture is good. If you give this a try please let me know how if works for you.