Wheat, Wheat and Wheat

Last week I tried my hand at making seitan, otherwise known as wheat meat.  Seitan is a protein made from wheat that is used in place of meat.  I had been reading about this for so long and just never got around to trying it.  I am happy to say it was a great success.

I have watched videos, read blogs and cookbooks on how to make seitan and by far the absolute best book is this one:

This book gives detailed instructions for making the seitan.  You begin with whole wheat flour and add water.  Then you knead it together and place in a colander under very slowly running water.  Squeezing the dough under the water rinses the starch and bran and leaves you with only the gluten.


By placing a bowl under the colander you are able to capture the water, starch and bran which can be used in other recipes.


The water can be used for cooking pasta, veggies, and rice or any other recipe.


The book gives a recipe for using the starch to make crackers.
 I made Sesame Herb Crackers using the starch and they were fantastic.

I used the bran to make Homemade Bran Flakes (this recipe is also in The Amazing Wheat Book).  These also came out great.

Now, that is how I used all the leftovers from making the seitan but this is just one of the ways I used the seitan itself.  Steakettes-I served them with mushroom gravy, mashed potatoes and green peas.  They were unbelievable.

I have also used the seitan in chicken pasta, barbecue beef, and spaghetti sauce.  In one afternoon I made enough seitan for us to use in dinner every night this week.  What a blessing is this great grain, wheat!