NTW (Not That Washed) Pastrami
Ingredients
Dough:
1 kg flour
I usually use organic spelt flour with a 12.4% protein content
600 ml water
the amount of water will differ depending on the flour used. Start with less water, to be sure that the dough will not become too wet.
¼ tsp red food color powder
Dry seasoning:
1 tbsp onion powder
½ tsp garlic powder
white pepper powder
salt or smoked salt, to taste – keep in mind, that the simmering liquid already contains tamari/soy sauce/liquid aminos
Simmering liquid:
60 g fat
oil or margarine
150 ml red wine
may be 200 ml
50 ml tamari
or 65 ml soy sauce or liquid aminos
1 dash liquid smoke, optional – if you like it smoky
Directions
Make the dough:
Mix the flour with the food color powder (if used), then add most of the water, mix and knead. Knead with a dough hook for 15-20 minutes.
Add more water, if needed; add more flour, if the dough gets too wet.
You should end with a firm dough that bounces back when poked.
Wash flour using the NTW method:
Place the ball of dough in a bowl and cover it with cool water for 1 hour.
Wash the dough as usual, but not until the ‘cloudy water stage’. Wash only until the washing water is something between pretty milky and buttermilky.
Indicators for ntw:
– washing water is milky∼buttermilky
– you still notice starchy blobs
– when you feel the dough tightening, or becoming rubbery, stop washing
– (important!) this method calls for thorough washing/mangling, nonetheless; starches from every part of the dough must be washed out – just not that much;
Big lumps of starch are not what you want; small pockets or ‘blobs’ of starch are what we like to have here. Those ‘starchy blobs’ will make kind of ‘fatty bits’ in the final result and also contribute to a nice crust.
Optional: At this point you may take the dough out of the water, but keep mangling it, thus distributing the starchy blobs into a finer grain, if desired.
Give the seitan a few minutes to rest in a colander and lose some excess water.
Incorporate dry seasoning:
Put seitan in a bowl and add the dry seasoning. Use your fingers to massage the spices in rather than a food processor. Swirl the seitan in the same direction to form long strands & distribute the spices evenly.
At this stage the seitan may seem very soft; this is okay, though.
Cover the bowl with a towel or with cling film. Rest on the counter for at least one hour to settle and have the gluten rearranged.
fry – simmer – fry:
Cut the seitan into two even pieces. Each piece will make two servings of pastrami (or one big steak, if you want).
Heat the fat (medium heat) in a frying pan with a lid.
Add the seitan, making sure the two pieces don't stick together. Gently move and push the 'steaks' using a spatula to keep them in shape.
When you feel the steaks being firm enough, flip them over.
Flip every now and then to control the grade of brownness you desire. Remove once they are the desired brownness.
When the fat isn't that sizzling hot any more, stir in the wine and tamari, then bring to a simmer.
Simmer the steaks with the lid closed, allowing the liquid to be absorbed. This should take at least 30~35 minutes; may even take up to one hour, depending on the amount of liquid used. The steaks will increase size during this, but will contract gradually once cooled down in the end.
When nearly all of the liquid is absorbed, the wine will begin to caramelize. Carefully control that it doesn't burn!
Remove from heat, let cool down and refrigerate over night. Refrigerating is very important here and will improve the texture.
Slice & serve!