I use the following ingredients for the seitan broth:

2 l water
instant vegetable soup (powder or cubes)
oil for:
1 large onion, chopped
2 - 3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 - 5 table spoons tomatoe puree
spices like curry powder, laurel leaves, rosemary, thyme, origano, cloves,
coriander, pepper, cayenne pepper
1 cup of white wine or 1/2 cup of vinegar, a pinch of sugar

I fry the onion and garlic until light brown, and then add the rest. I let
the seitan pieces simmer in this broth and even keep them in the broth in a
jar or plastic box in the fridge. You can use the broth for a nice sauce to
serve with the seitan pieces.

Enjoy!

Regina
--
It is the compassion with all creatures
that only makes humans really human. (Albert Schweitzer)
A day will come on which men will look upon an animal's murder
the same way they look today upon a man's murder. (Leonardo da Vinci)

I use the following ingredients for the seitan broth:

2 l water
instant vegetable soup (powder or cubes)
oil for:
1 large onion, chopped
2 - 3 garlic cloves, chopped
2 - 5 table spoons tomatoe puree
spices like curry powder, laurel leaves, rosemary, thyme, origano, cloves,
coriander, pepper, cayenne pepper
1 cup of white wine or 1/2 cup of vinegar, a pinch of sugar

I fry the onion and garlic until light brown, and then add the rest. I let
the seitan pieces simmer in this broth and even keep them in the broth in a
jar or plastic box in the fridge. You can use the broth for a nice sauce to
serve with the seitan pieces.

Enjoy!

Regina
--
It is the compassion with all creatures
that only makes humans really human. (Albert Schweitzer)
A day will come on which men will look upon an animal's murder
the same way they look today upon a man's murder. (Leonardo da Vinci)

Quick Homemade Gluten:

(Makes 1-1/4 to 1-1/2 pounds or 2 to 2-1/2 cups)

This is the basic recipe for gluten.

2 cups gluten flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1-1/4 cups water or vegetable stock
3 Tablespoons lite tamari, Braggs liquid amino acids, or soy sauce
1-3 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)

Add garlic powder and ginger to flour and stir. Mix liquids together and add
to flour mixture all at once. Mix vigorously with a fork. When it forms a
stiff dough knead it 10 to 15 times.
Let the dough rest 2 to 5 minutes, then knead it a few more times. Let it
rest another 15 minutes before proceeding.

Cut gluten into 6 to 8 pieces and stretch into thin cutlets. Simmer in broth
for 30 to 60 minutes.

Broth:
4 cups water
1/4 cup tamari or soy sauce
3-inch piece of kombu (a type of seaweed)
3-4 slices ginger (optional)

Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan. Bring broth to a boil. Add
cutlets one at a time. Reduce heat to barely simmer when saucepan is
covered. Seitan may be used, refrigerated, or frozen at this point.
Total Calories per 4 oz. Serving: 77
Fat: 0 grams
__________________________________________________ ________

Favorite Gluten Roast:

24 servings, about 4 1 1/2 pound roasts. Better protein, a more interesting
flavor and texture than the above.

Refrigerate the prepared roast up to 5 days, or freeze. If frozen, thaw in
the refrigerator.
In a large bowl mix together;

4 cups vital gluten
1 cup high protein flour or whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups high fat soya flour
1/2 cup Kal or Red Star VSF yeast flakes
3/4 cup ground walnuts, OR pecan meal OR almond meal OR unhulled sesame seed
meal
1 cup finely chopped sauteed onion OR minced, sauteed celery
2 cloves of garlic, pressed (optional)
1 teaspoon paprika, ground ginger or cayenne pepper, ground
Make a well in the center and add all at once:
3 1/4 cups water (part pureed asparagus for a more chicken-y flavor)
1/4 cup soya sauce
1/2 cup oil

Stir, then knead well- at least 15 minutes. To let the gluten develop, cover
and set aside 15-20 minutes (or overnight in the refrigerator, covered or in
a large plastic baggie.) Then knead again.

To proceed, heat; 1/3 cup oil
Brown on top and bottom in oil in a Dutch oven. Watch it! If you burn the
outside, the burnt flavor will be absorbed by the roasts. It's easiest to
brown if you divide it up into meal-size chunks before browning. A thinner
roast, 1 inch thick like a chuck roast, absorbs more seasoning than a
thicker one when it simmers, this is desirable. As soon as all are browned,
immerse in a heated, but never boiling, broth of:

4 cups water or enough to cover
1 large onion chopped (may substitute 1 cup grated carrot)
1 cup chopped celery
2 teaspoons marmite, vegex, savorex or any such yeast-based broth
concentrate or 1 tablespoon dark miso
chopped mushrooms or mushroom powder (optional)
1/2 tablespoon sage, OR ginger, OR curry, OR five spice, OR any other
seasoning (optional)

Cover, bring to boil. Cook at a rolling boil for 30 minutes, then and then
let simmer for 3-4 hours, depending on the thickness of the roasts.

Let cool overnight or for several hours in the refrigerator, in the cooking
broth. Taste the broth, it may be a good base for gravy. As the above, it
can also be stored to cook the next batch.

Unbeef or Unchicken gluten/ seitan steaks

You can buy pre-made seitan in flavors at some natural foods stores;
however, for convenience and economy just make your own. It's relatively
simple (don't let the spices and herbs fool you) and the finished steaks
freeze very well for future use, so make lots!

Unbeefy steaks

Brown boiling broth
1/3 cup soy sauce
2 T vinegar
1/3 cup maple syrup, unrefined brown sugar or molasses
1/4 tsp asfoetida (the Buddhist substitute for 2 c onion and 2 cloves
garlic)
2 cups chopped celery leaves, or mixed celery, parsley, cabbage and beet
8 cups water
1 tbsp dried sage
1 tsp cayenne pepper or dried ginger
2 inch piece of kombu

Basic gluten mixture

1 cup water or a drop more (non-vegans can use milk for better protein
combining)
1 tsp tamari or soy sauce
2-3 tbsp lentil, chickpea or other bean flour or flaxseed or sesame seed
meal (No bean flour? You can soak the water and a few tablespoons dried
beans, let it sit overnight and whiz it in the blender)
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tbsp dried mushroom powder, or to taste
1 cup vital gluten flour

Preparation

Combine broth ingredients in a very large soup pot. The seitan is going to
expand - x2 or 3- when cooking so you'll want lots of room for it. Bring the
broth to a rolling boil, cover and simmer at an easy boil.
While broth is heating, make the gluten mixture. Place the water in a bowl
and sprinkle the vital gluten flour over it. With a fork or with your hands,
quickly mix the two together until it forms a very rubbery mass. Knead it
for 1 or 2 minutes, then break it into 3 or 4 chunks. Squeeze each chunk
over the sink to get out excess water, then set aside. When most of the
excess water has been squeezed out, knead and press the chunks back
together.
Form it into a log-shape, about five or six inches long and two or three
inches across. Slice this into 10-12 pieces, and press and flatten each
piece to about 1/4 inch thick. May be cooked right away, but for best
texture, let rest about 35 minutes.

Drop these "steaks" into the boiling broth one at a time, stir, cover and
reduce the heat to medium-low.
Simmer small pieces covered for about 35 minutes, stirring at the beginning
to prevent sticking to the bottom, then stirring occasionally. A large
single piece might make 2- 3 hours. If you take the lid off and all these
huge things pop up at you...it's supposed to do that.
When they are finished cooking, drain. Reserve broth to cook additional
cutlets. Save and refrigerate (10 days)or freeze (3 months)the broth for
future gravies or the next batch of steaks.
You can now use the seitan "steaks" in any recipe you like, or you can let
them cool and freeze them for future use. To freeze them, wrap each steak
first in waxed paper, then in plastic freezer bags.

Unchicken seitan

Follow the procedure as above, but omit mushroom powder and tamari and
substitute these ingredients for the broth instead:

Golden unchicken simmering broth

8 cups water
4 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 tsp sea salt or vegetarian chicken broth cubes
1 tsp celery seed
1 tsp sage
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp coriander powder
1/4 tsp tarragon
1/4 tsp rosemary
1 tsp tumeric
2 tbsp sesame or vegetable oil

Improving Gluten Texture
Hints for a firmer texture more like chicken breast
if you make the gluten from scratch, do the last mixing wash in cold water
you have to really knead it/ stretch it (once you have reformed the logs)
into layers and fold, knead, stretch and fold, until it is dryer and firm.
If it gets resistant, you just let it rest till the gluten relaxes, about
10-30 minutes, then continue. Have you ever made filo dough or puff pastry?
It is the same sort of process.
start the cutlets cooking in cold, not hot/warm broth (preboil and cool the
broth). Time from when it begins to simmer.

cook at a low simmer, not a boil to avoid puffing it so much.
sauteing the cutlets in vegetable oil BEFORE you simmer them gives a
tighter, firmer texture.
baking the cutlets in a breading AFTER they are simmered, also gives a drier
texture, but it doesn't tighten the grain as much as the sauteing before.
try using half soymilk, half water for the liquid.
add a little oil as part of the mixing liquid include up to a couple of
tablespoons whole wheat, millet, or teff flour, or glutinous/sticky rice
flour in each cup of the vital wheat gluten.

Alternative cooking methods

Cooking gluten steaks covered in the broth in a crockpot on high for about
six hours, covered in broth in the oven at 325 for about 4 hours, or
steaming for about an hour for very thin pieces is good too.
If you boil the fury out of the cooking gluten, it will go toward a tougher,
rubbery texture. This is undesirable in your unchicken or cutlets, but can
be desirable for a chunk you are going to turn into future ground unbeef.
For oven simmering, place the cutlets or steaks in a single layer in a
roasting pan with a cover large enough to allow the cutlets to rise double
in size. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare enough cooking broth to
completely cover the cutlets, , and pour the hot broth over the gluten
cutlets, and bake uncovered for 1/2 hour. Prick them all over with a fork,
and turn over. Lower the heat to 300 F, cover, and bake for 1 more hour,
turning once or twice after the first half hour.

Enjoy:
Chef R. W. Miller
Marriott Resorts & Hotels

"Gil" > wrote in message
...
> I'm looking for any interesting recipes for making seitan from wheat
> gluten. I'm particularly interested in recipes which produce
> distinctly flavorful results.

======= mod snip ================