Now you can make seitan without the gluten! This Gluten-Free Seitan Roast has a deep meaty flavour, a soft, meaty, slightly chewy texture and is just perfect for slicing and serving for holiday dinners or Sunday roasts.
PREP TIME: 10 minutesminutes
COOK TIME: 1 hourhour20 minutesminutes
Resting time 1 hourhour
TOTAL TIME: 1 hourhour30 minutesminutes
Servings: 6servings
Ingredients
*IMPORTANT - Before you make this recipe you MUST have previously frozen the tofu in its packets for at least 2 full days. It then needs to be defrosted before you proceed. This step cannot be skipped.
700 g / 25 ozextra firm tofu (about 2 packs depending on the brand), that has been frozen in the packets it came in (without opening) for at least 2 days and then defrosted.
8shitake or cremini/ baby bella mushrooms, (chestnut mushrooms in the UK).
4teaspoonsBetter Than Bouillon No Chicken Base, or No Beef Base. Or use 2 GF stock cubes.
2tablespoonsgluten-free Tamari / gluten-free soy sauce, or coconut aminos
½teaspoonfreshly ground black pepper
water as needed to bring it together
INSTRUCTIONS
*IMPORTANT - Before you make this recipe you MUST have previously frozen the tofu in its packets for at least 2 full days. It then needs to be defrosted before you proceed. This step cannot be skipped.
Press the previously frozen and defrosted tofu for at least 15 minutes. Use a tofu press if you have one and if you don't, wrap the blocks of tofu in a clean dish towel, and place something heavy like a stack of heavy cookbooks, or a skillet with tin cans inside it on top of it.
Preheat oven to 400 °F (200 °C).
Break the pressed tofu up into chunks and put it in a food processor. Add everything else except the water and blend it up until it looks crumby.
Check to see if it will squeeze together and stay together in your hand. It probably won't. If not, gradually add water, a few teaspoons at a time and pulse in between each addition. Lift the lid after adding each addition and carefully (avoiding the blade) squeeze a bit of the mixture together in your hand to see if it sticks together. If it's not quite there add another teaspoon or two, pulse a few times and check again. It will probably take about 3 to 4 tablespoons.
Remove the blade, scraping it off with a spatula, then use the spatula to give the bottom of the food processor a bit of a scrape, particularly around the blade area, to get any bits of dried tapioca or psyllium husk that got missed, mixed in and absorbed.
Get a long piece of foil (around 20 inches long) and brush or rub the dull side with a little oil.
Tip the seitan dough out on a board and roughly shape it into a log with a diameter of about 4 inches. It doesn't need to be perfect. Move it onto the foil (long side of roast along the short side of foil, and roll it up loosely. Not too tightly as it will increase in size as it cooks and will burst out of the foil if too tight. Twist each end shut.
Place the foil-wrapped seitan onto a small baking tray and place on the middle shelf of the oven and bake for 35 minutes. Open the oven, turn the seitan over and bake for another 35 minutes. Remove from the oven. It will have expanded and if you poke the foil it will feel tight and hard but it will shrink and soften as it cools. Leave it unopened to rest on the tray for at least an hour, but the texture is better if you let it cool completely and refrigerate it. I tend to make it at least the day before I want to use it.
NOTES
Success Tips
Follow every step in this recipe exactly for the best results.
Don’t have a tofu press? Wrap the block of tofu in a clean dish towel, and place something heavy like a stack of heavy cookbooks, or a skillet with tin cans inside it on top of it.
The nutritional yeast, mushrooms, and other seasonings are really important for flavour. Don't omit or change them.
You’ll know the dough is ready when you can squeeze some together in your hand and it holds. If it doesn’t, gradually add a little more water and pulse in between each addition.
Do not try steaming or boiling this like you would with regular seitan. It won't work.
You must cook the seitan in foil. If you want to protect your food from touching the foil, wrap it in some parchment paper first before wrapping in the foil.
Don't wrap the seitan too tightly in the foil because it expands a lot while cooking and will burst out.
When it comes out of the oven, the seitan will have expanded a lot. If you poke the foil it will feel tight and hard but don't worry, it will shrink and soften as it cools.
The seitan only gets better the longer it sits in the fridge. I like to make it a minimum of 1 day ahead of time.
Storage and reheatingThis roast will keep for up to a week in the fridge. Just keep it wrapped tightly in foil or in an airtight container.To reheat, either place the whole roll or a few slices wrapped in foil in a 350ºF oven for 10-15 minutes (depending on the amount). Or allow it to come to room temperature and cover with hot gravy. It’s just as good when eaten at room temperature as well!