Genoa Salami / Wash The Flour method

Step 1

Wash the Flour

Step 2

First, start by washing 3 Lbs of flour until almost no starch is left.
See *the Wash the Flour Method* tab on this website for pictorial, and detailed info on how to do it, if you have never done it, that is.
For this, I washed 3 lbs of King Arthur Bread Flour with 12.7% protein.

Step 3

Rest the gluten

Step 4

After washing, squeeze the water out of your gluten, and rest in a colander for 30 mins to an hour, to lose as much water as possible. Occasionally flip it so it does not stick, and squeeze out more water.
*Optional- after the colander rest, let your gluten relax some more in the fridge, over the next day or two. It helps it lose even more water, and develop into a smooth stretchy gluten ball. This does not need to all be finished on the same day. Do as much as you want, when you can.Seitan is patient that way.I always leave mine in the fridge for a day or two. This way I don’t even have to decide what I want to make right away. The gluten is there to develop the vegan meat texture, regardless of the flavor and cooking method I decide to go for.

Step 5

Incorporate the seasoning

Step 6

Once rested, whether the same day or for a few days, add the seasoning to your gluten.
In a food processor, with a blade attachment, blitz the “fat” dough with its seasoning first. Because it’s white, it won’t interfere with what’s to come.Set it aside.
Then, do the two reds, starting with the paler one. And do not worry if your processor gets messy, all the flavors will eventually mix, so no need to clean the small amount of seasoning on the processor’s walls, or the small bits remaining from the previous blitz. 
Set your 3 glutens aside.

Step 7

Rest the seasoned gluten

Step 8

Cover your glutens with cellophane, or a towel, and give them some time to rearrange after the food processor tore it all up. 1 to 2 hours would do, but you can also just call it a day at this point, and have it in the fridge for a day or two.
It will lose some more water, and that's expected. There is a lot of seasoning in there, and it will all come together beautifully.

Step 9

Shape/mince your gluten

Step 10

Once your 3 gluten balls (red, pink, and white) are well-rested, smooth, and stretchy, start on the final shape.
Layer the two meets and the fat over each other (meat, fat, meat, pearl pasta, to be exact), then mince, fold over, mince, fold over, etc, until well combined, looking like it was ground up.

Step 11

Coat in dry seasoning and steam

Step 12

Coat in dry seasoning, and wrap in foil, sealing tightly. Then wrap in another foil, so it stays put and doesn’t expand too much.Steam for 1 hour and 30 mins.

Step 13

Rest the steamed gluten

Step 14

Allow your salami log, while still in foil, to cool off to room temp, then place in the fridge overnight, or at least 6 hours.

Step 15

Sauté to brown

Step 16

Do a quick sauté to brown, with 1/3 cup of vegan red wine (vegan Cabernet Sauvignon is my go-to), to add even more taste, rotating sides often.

Step 17

Rest the salami

Step 18

Refrigerate for 6 hours, or overnight, before slicing and digging in.Do not skip this final rest, it is vital for the flavor to rest and the gluten to firm up after all the heat it was put through. *Bonus step, for those lucky enough to have a smoker- you can smoke the salami at 225*F, for 45 mins for an extra deep smoky-meaty flavor. Make sure to not overdry, and remember to rest for at least 6 hours before slicing to eat.