Easy Baked Seitan Recipe

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This simple baked seitan is super easy and needs no boiling. This is a  vegan protein alternative that will offer a great meat-like texture.

Similar to most vegan recipes, preparing seitan is only as hard as you want it to be. In case you are making this for the first time, perhaps you have the impression that it is hard to make. But, this isn’t the case. You can enjoy this in several ways e.g. filets or sausages and they are all easy.

What Does Seitan Actually Contain?

 

Seitan is frequently used as a vegan alternative to meat that is based on a wheat protein known as “gluten”. To prepare seitan, you will have to gather its key ingredient first which is basic/vital wheat gluten. You may find this at your grocery shop’s baking section.

Once this gluten type is mixed with moisture, you will have flexible strings of protein, and a nice meat-like chewy texture. While for me, it serves as its own distinct plant protein source, many folks use this as a great alternative to chicken or beef in vegan dishes.

Taste of Seitan

Seitan is similar to plain tofu or chicken flesh with no seasonings texture and taste-wise. It tastes bland alone but it absorbs lots of flavor (based on what seasonings and liquids you will mix it with).

What about its health and nutritional value for Seitan?

 

If you are not allergic to wheat and gluten, seitan is a great source of plant protein and alternative to meat.

Ingredients

• 1 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1 cup vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp tahini (sesame) paste
• ⅓ cup BBQ sauce
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tbsp soy sauce
• ⅓ cup barbeque sauce
• 2 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp smoked paprika
• 1 tsp garlic powder

 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven at 350F/175C.
2. In a bowl, combine the wheat gluten, the yeast and the spices. Stir well with a fork to combine evenly.
3. Mix in the tahini paste, soy sauce and veggie stock and stir again with a fork to combine it with the dry mixture until you get a dough-like ball.
4. Gently knead the gluten ball a few times with your hands (do not overwork it) for minute or so.
5. Move the dough to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Flatten and even out until you end up with a 1” thickness.
6. Cook in the oven for 20-25 minutes.
7. Take off the oven and brush all sides with barbeque sauce. You may re-bake or broil this if you wish for extra taste and texture.
8. Put back in the oven for extra 10 minutes. If you wish to speed up the baking process, you may broil then on your oven’s highest broiling setting for 2-3 minutes.
9. Once baked, transfer for an electric griller and sear for approx. 4-5 minutes on each side or until grill lines show up on both sides of seitan.
10. Once done, transfer on a clean flat surface and let rest for 3-5 minutes. Cut and serve as you wish e.g. in salads or as a side dish.

NOTES:

Avoid over kneading your dough more than 1 minute as you will end up with a tougher and drier result.

You may optionally replace the tahini paste with any nut butter of your choice if you wish. Make sure to go for natural nut butters and pastes as they’ll  mix into the dough much easier.