I highly recommend this book. A link to the Amazon page is here. The book is full of good recipes and this is one of my favorites.
- ½ cup plus 1 tablespoon water – note the recipe in the book call for canola oil and we try not to add oil to our cooking
- ⅔ cup chopped onion
- 1 tablespoon minced garlic
- 3 ½ cups vital wheat gluten
- 1 cup garbanzo bean flour
- ⅔ cup nutritional yeast
- 1 ¾ cups canned cannellini beans – about 1 can (use other white beans if you have them on hand and don’t want to buy cannellini beans)
- ⅓ cup tamari
- 3 cups water
Preheat the oven to 350 ° F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with 2-inch-high sides with parchment paper. Lightly oil the parchment paper.
Heat the 1 tablespoon water in a heavy skillet over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté for 5 minutes, or until tender. Add more water to prevent onion and garlic from burning. Set aside to cool. Stir the gluten flour, garbanzo flour, nutritional yeast in a large bowl to blend.
Puree the beans, the tamari, the remaining ½ cup water, and the sautéed onion mixture in a blender until smooth, adding some of the 3 cups of water to create a smooth and creamy consistency. In a separate large bowl, whisk the bean puree and the remaining water to blend. Quickly stir the bean mixture into the dry ingredients until a very wet dough forms. Transfer the dough to the prepared baking pan and smooth the top. Cover with aluminum foil. Since we avoid foil I use a large, baking sheet sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Place the pan of seitan dough in a larger roasting pan, then add enough water to come halfway up the sides of the seitan pan.
Bake for 2 hours, or until the seitan is firm on top, adding more water to the roasting pan if necessary. Cool the seitan to room temperature and cut into 4 equal squares (about 1 pound each). The seitan will keep for 2 days, covered and refrigerated. For longer storage, wrap the squares separately in plastic wrap, and then place in a resealable plastic bag and freeze up to 2 weeks. I have kept it frozen longer, but that’s what the book says.
This is a great Easter option and can be used for fajitas or baked chicken fingers. It is easy and fast to make – though keep the cooking time in mind. Enjoy. Note: I will add a picture, but did not have one handy right now.