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–+ servings
seitan sliced on a wooden cutting board

Beef Seitan

Vegan Beef Seitan from flour. This high protein recipe is made from bread flour and beet juice- creating a meaty, chewy, seitan that tastes like beef. This plant based recipe is perfect for those looking for get more protein in their diet.
Print Recipe
CourseMain, Main Course
CuisineAmerican
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time1 day
Servings12

Equipment

Ingredients

Seasonings

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, combine the bread flour with the beet juice.
    Let it rest for 1 hour, then stretch and fold it on all sides. The dough should be smooth.
  • Pour over enough water to cover the dough in your bowl, then sprinkle over the sea salt
    Let this rest overnight
    A longer rest helps the dough develop gluten without you having to knead the dough. If you don't knead the dough long enough or let it rest long enough, you will have a smaller yield. In another words, the protein needs to be worked or have time to develop in order to prevent waste. You will have an easier time washing the dough after a long overnight rest and some initial kneading.
  • Pour out the water the dough was sitting in and refill the bowl with cold water.
    Knead the dough under the cold water and you'll notice clouds of white starch separating from the dough. Continue to do knead until the water is thick with the starch.
    Using a strainer, strain away the starch water from the dough.
    Pour the starch into jars and save for another recipe.
    Continue to knead the dough and pour out the starch water until the dough washes away clear.
    You'll notice the seitan will start off light pink and as you wash it, the dough turns mauve. You'll notice ribbons of light pink- that is starch that needs to washed more.
  • Stretch out your dough and sprinkle over all the seasonings. Knead it into the dough by stretching and folding it.
    Some of the seasonings won't be worked into the dough- that's ok, just work as much as you can into it
    Let it rest for 1 hour
    Have some towels on hand, the seitan will leak water as it rests
  • Stretch out your dough and fold it into itself. Then squeeze it out into a long rope. Create tight knots throughout the dough. Knot the dough into itself to create a knotted loaf.
    This helps create a shreddy texture.
  • Add a pan to high heat and add Coconut Oil. Pan fry the knotted loaf of dough until most of exterior is golden brown (roughly 5-7 minutes)
  • Using either a cheesecloth or stock sock, place your loaf inside and tightly wrap it.
  • Add 8-10 cups of premade Vegetarian Beef Broth or Vegetable Broth to a slow cooker or Instant Pot.
    Or you can start a batch of vegan beef broth now
  • Add the wrapped loaf to the broth and slow cook on low for 10-24 hours. (You can't overcook seitan this way, it's best on a very low heat for a long time*)
    Do Not Simmer at Too High of a Heat! This will cause the seitan to expand too quickly and result in bubbles that will lead to a spongy texture.
  • Remove from the broth. If you let it rest overnight at this point the gluten will continue to develop into a very shreddy and firm seitan. However, this is completely optional! It is ready to eat/ cook with at this point!
    Slice it thin, or break it up into chunks!

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