03.Jun.2008 Crispy Seitan Bacon

Seitan Bacon

I was craving a simple avocado-”bacon” sandwich, but got too lazy to contemplate biking all the way to the natural food store to get my fix.
Worse? I didn’t even have tofu to whip up a batch of tofu bacon, the horror!
So I made do with what I had and here’s what I came up with, using Veganomicon’s chickpea cutlet idea of combining beans and gluten to make the base for it.
If you give them a few minutes to cool down once they’re out of the oven, they will crisp up even more.

Note: the dough will not be like the one for the Seitan O’Greatness, but rather paste-like

Crispy Seitan Bacon

1/2 cup (128 g) cooked cannellini beans
1 teaspoon canola oil
1/4 cup (36 g) vital wheat gluten
1/4 cup (20 g) whole-wheat panko or other bread crumbs
3 tablespoons (45 ml) soy sauce
2 tablespoons (16 g) nutritional yeast
2 tablespoons (30 ml) maple syrup
1 tablespoon (15 ml) liquid smoke
1 tablespoon (17 g) tomato paste
1 clove garlic, grated

Blend all ingredients in a food processor, until smooth and paste-like, scraping sides occasionally.
Preheat oven to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5). Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or silicone baking mat, such as Silpat.
Scoop up about 1 1/2 tablespoons of seitan paste, and pat down in the shape of bacon strips, spreading the paste as thinly as possible.
Bake for 15 minutes, or until brown and crispy, turning once halfway through baking time.
If you have leftovers, fry them in a pan for a few seconds to make them crispy again.

Yield: 12 to 16 strips

Comment Pages

There are 39 Comments to "Crispy Seitan Bacon"

  • Celine-
    Nuff said, will try. We needs us some more bacon alternatives!

    Bacon crumbles for ‘tater salads, perchance…

    Reply

  • I had to add several tablespoons of water to get any kind of a “paste”. However, they still turned out very crispy (actually a bit too crispy for my tastes, but my strips were probably too thick, so maybe the crispness would have been just right had I got them spread out slightly thinner).

    I added about a dozen drops of sesame oil, a little chipotle sauce and a sprinkle of black rice vinegar to the recipe, all of which I can recommend, as they add to a smoky flavour.

    Reply

  • Brenda Maye says:

    This has a great flavor! I tried to bake it on a metal pan on waxed paper-not good- it stuck like crazy. Does the silicone mat really work? Has anybody tried using a baking stone? Help!

    Reply

    Celine Reply:

    waxed paper? not recommended. parchment paper is it. or grease a pan. and yes, silicone mats work.

    Reply

  • Brenda Maye says:

    yes! the silicone mat works great! Now, what is the best way to keep the bacon. Does it freeze well once it is prepared? I saw you suggested reheating it in a pan, would this work if I freeze the prepared bacon?

    Reply

    Celine Reply:

    you can definitely freeze it, I never had issues doing so. it would also work reheating it in the pan, even once frozen.

    Reply

  • Kimberlee says:

    I am feeling two ways about these. The prep was a bit easy until I got to loading them on the parchment, which was annoying as heck. Then the texture is all wrong but I think the taste is yummy. I don’t know if I’ll make them again. I love the concept and I hate paying $5 for a pack of crappy less healthy fakun, but I just don’t know…

    Reply

    Celine Reply:

    sorry to hear they didn’t hit the spot for you, Kimberlee.

    Reply

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