I made seitan for the first time. I've never even eaten it before. I guess maybe I should buy it to see how it is supposed to taste.

Anyway, I made seitan but it seems kind of funky. The outside is very spongy while the middle is firm like what I'd probably expect from something "meat like". Has anyone made it before? Any tips on what not to do? I think I messed up.

Hi Nelie,
I just started playing with seitan a week or so ago. I marinated and grilled it last weekend and just tonight we made fajitas with seitan. How did you cook yours? It doesn't have a lot of flavor on it's own, so you might try using it in something that already has a lot of flavor.

What recipe did you use? I think I remember you saying you were getting Vegan with a Vengeance, I posted that recipe for seitan in this post http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=77217

I like to knead the dough pretty thoroughly, sometimes that takes more than 5 minuets. Now that I have a food processor I plan on trying to use that for the kneading, I’ll post on how that works out. It might also help if you let the dough rest for at least 20 min before you drop it in the broth. Make sure the broth is cool when you drop the pieces in, then bring to a boil and reduce the heat immediately to simmer.

Hope some of that helps. I’ve never made seitan that tastes like the store bought. I think it’s still good, just different. The price difference is motivation enough for me to make my own, plus it freezes well. I wouold like to do more experimentation to see what different flavors I can make, i.e. mock chick’n, beef, etc. I’ll be sure to post about anything that works out.