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There's pizza dough recipe which calls for vital wheat gluten and I can't find it anywhere in India. Is there any substitute for it? Can I use seitan as a substitute?

Divi
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Megh Gandhi
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    I have no experience but I found a couple of links that might help: http://www.ehow.com/list_6533668_vital-wheat-gluten-substitutes.html http://www.livestrong.com/article/295867-substitutes-for-vital-wheat-gluten/ – Catija Mar 07 '15 at 07:27
  • none of the substitutes are available in India as shown in the links... – Megh Gandhi Mar 07 '15 at 07:57
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    What type of flour does the recipe call for? One place said if it calls for AP flour, replace with bread flour, as it has more gluten. – Catija Mar 07 '15 at 07:59
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    And as a last resort, could you just find a different recipe? There are hundreds of recipes for pizza dough out there. – Catija Mar 07 '15 at 08:02
  • in order to make it not complicated i m trying to copy dominos pizza dough.. – Megh Gandhi Mar 07 '15 at 08:04
  • can i use seitan??? – Megh Gandhi Mar 07 '15 at 08:04
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    Commercial pizza doughs are usually **more** complicated than traditional ones. They are much more likely to use unusual chemicals. – Catija Mar 07 '15 at 08:05
  • I don't know but I would doubt it. Seitan is not a dry, flour-like product. That's what vital wheat gluten is. – Catija Mar 07 '15 at 08:07
  • what if i dont cook it and then put in a deep freeze until becomes hard and then ground it??? – Megh Gandhi Mar 07 '15 at 08:09

5 Answers5

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No, there is no substitute for gluten, at all.

The gluten + soft flour combination is itself a substitute for bread flour, so if you can get bread flour, as Catija suggested, use it. If you can't, you need another recipe. Especially if your goal is to "not make it complicated", don't use substitutes. Substitutes are always complicated. The easy thing is to follow a recipe without making changes, and there are thousands of good recipes, so if you can't make one, choosing a different one is easier than looking for substitutes.

Seitan is not a substitute for gluten, even if you grind it up. In seitan, the gluten is already set, but you want it "raw" for making dough.

rumtscho
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  • In some countries, products like "Seitan Fix" are sold which are pure powdered wheat gluten... and the original poster might be referring to such a product. – rackandboneman May 04 '15 at 21:52
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Just use regular all purpose flour. Bread flour does produce a somewhat better rise but I made bread for years without it and it still rises well and tastes delicious.

Anita
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    "Regular all purpose flour" isn't a substitute for vital wheat gluten, which is meant to be added to the flour already being used. – Allison C Apr 07 '20 at 15:55
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If you can use xanthan gum for baking bread there is no problem for pizza dough. I use it in my vegan meat products to get a stretchy texture. It works just like gluten. I use 1 tsp per 200gr flour. Collin.

Collin Archary
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Try Xanthan Gum, but you will need to play with the quantity. 1/2 to 1 tsp should be good, depending on how thick you like your pizza crust. My friend has Celiac, and I find this works well in place of Vital Wheat Gluten.

user40620
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    This makes no sense. Xanthan gum is used to create a bread in gluten-free baking, but gives worse results than gluten in terms of texture. The OP is using a recipe which recommends *adding* vital wheat gluten to the dough, so he's definitely not baking gluten-free. And he is in a place where it's hard to get any additives. So why would he bother with xanthan? – rumtscho Nov 08 '15 at 14:40
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General purpose flour contains about the lowest amount of protein where you bring out the gluten through the process of keading. I start with a small amount of flour mix and add water slowly until it flows like pancake batter. Whip this quickly for several minutes to bring out the gluten and form long stretchy bands within the mix, then add small quantities at a time the remaining flour mix. Resting the dough also helps form the gluten.

Semolina flour contains a good quantity of protein, is good tasting, and firm. A combination of semolina and general purpose flour will provide the protein/gluten needed.

Samantha
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