Two-Day Seitan Bacon

I'm just being upfront because all seitan bacon is two-day "bacon". At the very least, you need to cook it twice and allow it to cool completely between applications of heat. Many wait overnight.

If you don't have that kind of time, I suggest my one-day rice paper bacon or tofu jerky to satisfy your savory cravings. But carve out time for this recipe when you can! It's versatile, and oh-so worth it.

Other Ways to Use Seitan Bacon

In addition to slicing and baking strips of seitan bacon, you can dice it to flavor other dishes. I've used it to veganize pea and my neighbor's 15-bean soups with "ham" as well as Southern Living's succotash.

Cooking Method: Baking, Cutting, Kneading, Melting, Mixing, Pressing, Shaping, Steaming, Whisking

Cuisine: US-American

Category: Savory Meals, Snacks and Appetizers

Description

My review of 10 different vegan bacon recipes merely touches upon all the testing behind this formula.

To streamline your measuring, I marked ingredients that are used more than once with an asterisk (*).

makes 1, 9x5x1-in (23x13x2.5-cm) loaf

Ingredients

"Fat" Dry Base

¾ cup (180 mL/90 g) vital wheat gluten*
¼ cup (60 mL/48 g) potato starch

"Meat" Dry Base

1 cup (240 mL/120 g) vital wheat gluten*

"Fat" Wet Mix

1 tsp (5 mL) kosher salt (or about half as much table salt)
½ tsp (2.5 mL) garlic powder*
¼ tsp (1.25 mL) onion powder*
¼ tsp (1.25 mL) MSG* (optional, but recommended)
¼ tsp (1.25 mL/g) liquid smoke* (preferably hickory)
3 Tbsp (45 mL/42 g) refined coconut oil, melted*
6 Tbsp (90 mL/g) warm stock or water*

"Meat" Wet Mix

¼ cup (60 mL/g) tamari
2 Tbsp (30 mL/33 g) tomato paste
2 Tbsp (30 mL/8 g) nutritional yeast
2 tsp (10 mL) smoked paprika
1 tsp (5 mL/g) maple syrup
1 tsp (5 mL) garlic powder*
½ tsp (2.5 mL) onion powder*
½ tsp (2.5 mL) MSG* (optional, but recommended)
¾ tsp (3.75 mL/g) liquid smoke* (preferably hickory)
1 Tbsp (15 mL/14 g) refined coconut oil, melted*
2 Tbsp (30 mL/g) warm stock or water

for "Bacon" Strips

additional refined coconut oil* (½ tsp, or 5 mL/g, per 4 strips)

Instructions

1
Preheat oven to 275°F/135°C. Gather 2 med mixing bowls, a whisk, 2 sm mixing bowls, a spatula, a cutting board, a chef’s knife, parchment paper, a 9x5-in (23x13-cm) loaf pan, foil, and pie weights (or 1 lb/454 g dried beans designated as pie weights).
2
Separately measure “fat” and “meat” dry bases into each of the med bowls. Thoroughly whisk “fat” dry base.
3
Into each of the sm bowls, separately measure “fat” and “meat” wet mixes. Thoroughly whisk both in that order.
Working the “fat” ingredients first means you can avoid washing your equipment between steps; remnants of the “fat” ingredients won’t affect the “meat”, but remnants of the “meat” will tint the “fat”.
4
Use spatula to stir “fat” wet mix into “fat” dry base to create a uniformly moistened “fat” dough. Set dough on cutting board and loosely cover with inverted mixing bowl.
5
Similarly, create a “meat” dough. Switch to kneading with hands in bowl 5 min before setting dough on cutting board and loosely covering with inverted bowl. Rest 10 min.
6
Uncover and cut “fat” dough into halves; “meat”, into ⅔ and ⅓ potions.
7
Tear a piece of parchment twice the dimensions of loaf pan. Center parchment over pan, and larger “meat” portion over parchment. Push and stretch dough against parchment-lined bottom to cover as much of it as possible.
Use some muscle! Vigorously working your dough creates texture and chew. Moreover, a little unevenness adds realism. This first layer won’t even reach the edges of your pan, but each successive layer will come closer. By the end of the next step, your “bacon” loaf should touch all four sides.
8
Push and stretch a “fat” portion over the first (“meat”) layer. Then, proceed with the smaller “meat” and end with the other “fat” portion.
9
Tightly fold parchment to conceal “bacon” loaf. Tear a large piece of foil, then snug directly atop wrapped “bacon”. Secure with pie weights/dried beans. Seal foil up and over edges of pan, then bake 40 min.
10
Retrieve setup from oven. Allow everything to cool about 4 hrs, until room temperature, then refrigerate overnight.
Even the pie weights/dried beans stay in place during this entire step!

for "Bacon" Strips

11
Preheat oven to 375°F/190°C. Gather a wire rack, baking sheet, Santoku knife or mandoline, heatproof cup, and pastry brush. Set wire rack inside baking sheet.
Inflexible European or US-American chef's knives do not work well for the next step. Thin Japanese or mandoline blades are required. The former is my preference as the latter will slightly shred your "bacon", but both are effective.
12
If using, adjust mandoline blade for ⅛-in (3-mm) thick slices. Unwrap “bacon”. Carefully but firmly slide shorter edge against blade to produce desired number of strips. Alternatively, slice with a Santoku knife.
To make calculations in the next step easier, aim for a multiple of 4 strips.
13
Evenly lay strips on wire rack, perpendicular to wires. Measure ½ tsp (5 mL/g) refined coconut oil per 4 strips into cup, then microwave in 10- to 20-sec intervals until melted. With pastry brush, coat both sides of each strip with melted oil.
14
Bake 10-12 min without flipping; cool 2 min before serving.

Note

Wrapped well, any leftovers may be refrigerated for a week or more. Keep slicing it for seitan bacon strips, or dice it for pea or my neighbor's 15-bean soups with "ham".

Be sure to checkout my other bacon-y creations!

Keywords: bacon, vegan bacon, seitan bacon