Why has my seitan blown up so much? It has doubled in size while simmering. It also started floating ‘:D

by jankuliinu

29 Comments

  1. That’s what seitan does. To prevent this, you need to either wrap it in foil or [braid and knot it](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yY2YN6krVtk). I wouldn’t worry about it too much, though. It’ll still be fine to use, and some people prefer the looser, spongier texture when it’s allowed to expand like that. It just won’t be as meaty as the methods that prevent expansion.

  2. We like to double wrap in aluminum foil and bake it instead. Gives it a more solid, less chewy consistency.

  3. Afireonthesnow on

    I know you’re asking for cooking advice but instead I’ll answer the physics question 😜

    It’s got a big ole air bubble in it! The gas is heating up so it increases in pressure and since the walls of it’s cavity are flexible seitan the volume is also expanding.

    PV=nRT.

    Well since the volume of gas has increased (and therefore the surface area of the seitan on the water) that also increases the buoyancy enough that it’s floating
    F_b=PA

  4. ElephantLament on

    Reflecting what other have said. Next time, I personally recommend steaming and wrapping tightly in foil. The texture might be bready as is

    I’ve had it expand like this when I baked it without any sort of compression in my new to seitan days. I also used cooking twine once to keep it together in the oven, which worked well. And when in doubt, knotting / braiding does help

    If it does end up bready: what I did when this happened is cut it into tiny pieces, fry them up, and they were sort of like…. Well, I called them “savory snacks” lol. More palatable when fried and in small pieces than big slices of meaty bread in my opinion

  5. Ambitious-Ostrich-96 on

    did you punch the fuck out of it? Not saying that will solve the issue (seitan will expand either way) but really giving it a good beating (aside from general kneading), at least I find, often helps.

  6. If you want to stick with this cooking method you can wrap the raw seitan in cheesecloth and then boil it. This will limit how much it can expand. I’ve made vegan “summer sausage” rolls with cheesecloth.

  7. I haven’t made a lot of seitan from scratch but this is what happened to me.
    I don’t have the equipment to steam, so I usually cook it in broth. One recipe explicitly said to keep it on a very low simmer, did it and it only expanded a little bit.
    Another time I didn’t watch the pot and kida forgot about it and when I came back it was a very turbulent boil and my seitan blew up like a sponge (like the picture).
    Maybe it was a fluke, but next time maybe try a very slow simmer just on the edge. Oh, and do tell if this works..

  8. You still eating that bs,left that alone years ago.it’s more processed than the other ba gmo foods.

  9. Make your broth, then lower the heat. Boiling the seitan will add bubbles and makes it much tougher to chew. I just let it sit for 1 hour in at a temperature just below boiling point.

  10. Cleric_P3rston on

    Using something like a tofu press to remove moisture does wonders before doing the cooking in broth thing. Mind you I only made it a few times from scratch but the tofu press was a game changer for me.

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