Zesty Spicy Seitan Loaf

Every once in a while I come up with a new variation of seitan. Today I wanted to do one that was spicy and flavorful without having to marinate it after it has been made. I didn't really measure much, except for a few key ingredients, so some of the stuff you'll have to wing, depending on the level of spice you can tolerate. 

First: Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. 

Meanwhile: In a frying pan saute the following - 

a few shakes of olive oil (to grease the pan)

1/2 sweet onion

1 heaping tablespoon of crushed garlic

8 or 10 twists of ground pepper 

4 good shakes of taco seasoning

4 shakes of dried red chili pepper seeds

(once the onions are soft and browned, remove from heat and set aside)

In a food processor add the following: 

3/4 cup water

1 can tomato paste

4 or 5 shakes of tamari

2 or 3 shakes of Braggs

2 to 4 shakes of chipotle hot sauce

2 to 4 shakes of cayenne hot sauce (tabasco sauce would be fine too) 

3 or 4 squirts of organic ketsup

2 hot peppers (remove seeds first)

sauteed onion mixture 

(blend until mixture liquifies) 

In a large size bowl: 

2 cups vital wheat gluten

3 or 4 shakes of taco seasoning

6 or 8 shakes of paprika

3 shakes of cumin

4 to 6 grinds of sea salt

6 to 10 grinds of ground pepper

(Stir up dry ingredients, then fold in wet ingredients from food processor. Stir until dough forms and all ingredients have become fully mixed in the dough)

Kneed dough with hands a few times. Let stand for 5 minutes and kneed a few more times. 

On a large piece of aluminum foil, place the dough in the center, first shaping into a loaf with your hands. Once the dough is on the foil, continue to form into loaf if needed. 

Wrap the loaf up in the foil and bend the ends over. 

Bake on rack in oven for 1 1/2 hours.  Take out of the oven and open foil, place on cooling rack. Once cool store in oven or eat while hot. 

Seitan can be used in sandwiches, soups, fried, sauteed, etc.