Starch Water Bacon

Step 1

After washing flour, let your starch water rest for several hours or overnight so it has time to settle. Check out the step-by-step for washing flour to make seitan here. Once settled, pour off most of the excess water, leaving about 15% on top. Then stir them together. This does not need to be an exact science, but you're looking for the mixture to resemble a very thin crepe batter when its all stirred up. TIP: You can leave your starch water in the fridge for several days if you're not going to be able to use it right away.

Step 2

Separate the batter (mixed starch water) into 2 parts. Measure out 1 1/4 cups for the "meat," and 3/4 cup for the "fat." Then add all of the "meat" ingredients into the 1 1/4 cup batter, and the "fat" ingredients into the 3/4 cup batter. I used a blender stick to make it super quick, but you can use a whisk, blender, or even a spoon. TIP: The measurements do not need to be exact. I worked with what I had from one washing and you may have more or less. You can adjust the seasonings to however you like and think of this more as a general guide.

Step 3

Heat a large, non-stick pan over medium heat. Add a little bit of cooking spray or oil to keep the batter from sticking. Pour thin stripes of red and white mixture (using more red than white) into the hot pan, and move the pan as necessary to keep the batter as thin as possible. If it's too thick your bacon will be more chewy than crispy. TIP: My measuring cups have spouts so I kept everything in them as I mixed to make the batter easy to pour out later. I've heard some people transfer their batter to used squeeze bottles to make it even easier to keep the batter strips as thin as possible.

Step 4

Cook the batter as a solid pancake until heated through. It should be able to easily slide around the pan. no need to flip it if it's thin enough, just transfer it to a plate and keep making pancakes until your batter is used up. Once you have your pancakes made, you can use a pizza cutter to cut or rip them into strips. I did a combination of both for a more authentic look. TIP: Don't worry if your pancakes rip some as cooking, they will look more authentic with torn edges. Any little pieces can be made into bacon bits.

Step 5

Heat another tablespoon or two of oil on the pan over medium-high heat, and working in batches, fry your strips, adding oil as necessary to finish.