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    Home » Recipes » Breakfast Meats

    May 26, 2021 61 Comments

    Vegan Wheat Starch Bacon

    1.5K shares
    Jump to Recipe

    If you made (or are thinking of making) my 2 ingredient vegan chicken (washed flour seitan) that I posted last week, you may be wondering what to do with the leftover starch water. Sure you could just toss it out, but that seems wasteful. Instead, why not try making my vegan wheat starch bacon!!! This is the most bacon-y vegan bacon I've ever made! This has even out baconed my rice paper bacon which formerly held the position of most bacon-y. This starch water bacon is crispy, chewy, fatty, smoky, salty goodness. And, well, just look at it!!

    Vegan Wheat Starch Bacon!! Crispy, chewy, smoky, salty, fatty, the most bacon-y vegan bacon ever. This is what to do with starch after making seitan, but you can also buy wheat starch to make this. Make ahead and have ready to go in the fridge or freezer then fry up fresh. Yum! #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #veganbacon

    If you don't want to make washed flour seitan, then no worries, you can still make this vegan wheat bacon recipe! Just pick yourself up some wheat starch which can easily be found online, in bulk food stores, health food stores, or international grocery stores. Just mix the bought starch (which will be a dry powder) with water to reach a similar consistency as seen below in the images.

    Vegan Wheat Starch Bacon!! Crispy, chewy, smoky, salty, fatty, the most bacon-y vegan bacon ever. This is what to do with starch after making seitan, but you can also buy wheat starch to make this. Make ahead and have ready to go in the fridge or freezer then fry up fresh. Yum! #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #veganbacon

    My favourite part about this vegan wheat starch bacon (aside from the flavour and texture of course), is that it can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge or even frozen. So you can make big batches of this, and have the slices in the freezer, ready to fry up whenever vegan bacon cravings strike!!!

    To make vegan wheat starch bacon:

    Wheat starch from making homemade seitan.

    Separate the starch from water: If you are saving the starch water from making washed seitan, save the water from the first 3 washes in a large container, or in several bowls. Let the starch water rest for 4 hours or overnight so that the starch and the water separate. The white starch will sink to the bottom, and the yellow water will rise to the top. Gently pour off and discard the water leaving behind just the starch.

    Make sure your starch batter is nice and thin!

    Give your starch a good stir to make sure it is smooth (it can get clumpy when it sits), and add a splash of water if needed to get a nice thin batter.

    *If you are using store-bought wheat starch, mix starch and water together until you reach a consistency similar to the photo above.

    Make the red starch batter and the white starch batter to make the bacon look realistic.

    Season the starch: In a large measuring cup or medium bowl mix together all of the "red bacon starch" ingredients. If making the white bacon starch, in a separate measuring cup or bowl, mix together the "white bacon starch" ingredients. The white bacon starch is for making the bacon look more realistic mimicking the fat of the bacon, but feel free to skip this step if you prefer.

    Make a bacon crepe.

    Make vegan bacon crepes: Heat a large skillet or non-stick frying, brush the pan with oil. Working quickly, pour or spoon a small amount of the red starch into the pan to make a thin crepe. Use a spoon to drizzle the white starch across the top of the crepe to make stripes (you only need to do this on one side). Cook the crepe a couple of minutes per side until cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside.

    Drizzle the white starch on top to make stripes.

    Keep the crepes nice and thin to get the best texture. You can add more water to the starch to make the batter thinner if needed. Repeat these steps until you use up all of the starch, making several crepes.

    Cut the vegan bacon crepes into strips.

    Cut bacon strips: Once the crepes are cooled, use scissors or a knife to cut the crepes in the bacon sized strips. At this point, you can store the starch bacon strips in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer.

    Vegan Wheat Starch Bacon!! Crispy, chewy, smoky, salty, fatty, the most bacon-y vegan bacon ever. This is what to do with starch after making seitan, but you can also buy wheat starch to make this. Make ahead and have ready to go in the fridge or freezer then fry up fresh. Yum! #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #veganbacon

    Fry up that vegan bacon! when you're ready to enjoy the bacon, heat 2 - 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or frying pan. Fry the bacon strips until they reach desired crispiness. Drain on a paper towel. Enjoy!

    Vegan Wheat Starch Bacon!! Crispy, chewy, smoky, salty, fatty, the most bacon-y vegan bacon ever. This is what to do with starch after making seitan, but you can also buy wheat starch to make this. Make ahead and have ready to go in the fridge or freezer then fry up fresh. Yum! #itdoesnttastelikechicken #veganrecipes #veganbacon

    Enjoy this crispy, chewy, delicious vegan wheat starch bacon anywhere you like! Serve it up with a side of tofu scramble, crumble it onto a salad, or on a pasta, or you could make a B.L.T. sandwich- my fave!

    Bon appetegan!

    Sam Turnbull.

    Print Recipe
    5 from 8 votes

    Vegan Wheat Starch Bacon

    Crispy, chewy, smoky, salty, fatty, the most bacon-y vegan bacon ever. This is what to do with starch after making seitan, but you can also buy wheat starch to make this. Make ahead and have ready to go in the fridge or freezer then fry up fresh. Yum!
    Inspired by The Pot Thickens how to make bacon from flour video.
    Prep Time15 mins
    Cook Time30 mins
    Total Time45 mins
    Course: Breakfast, Main Course
    Cuisine: American
    Servings: 35 - 45 bacon slices (give or take)
    Calories: 47kcal
    Author: Sam Turnbull • It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken

    Ingredients

    For the red bacon starch:

    • 1 ½ cups wheat starch water
    • ¼ cup soy sauce
    • 1 ½ tablespoons paprika
    • 1 ½ tablespoons maple syrup
    • 2 teaspoons liquid smoke
    • 1 ½ teaspoons garlic powder
    • 1 ½ teaspoons onion powder
    • ¾ teaspoon salt

    for the white bacon starch (optional):

    • ¾ cup wheat starch water
    • ½ teaspoon garlic powder
    • ½ teaspoon salt
    • ¼ teaspoon liquid smoke

    Other:

    • Oil for frying
    Prevent your screen from going dark

    Instructions

    • Separate the starch from water: If you are saving the starch water from making washed seitan, save the water from the first 3 washes in a large container, or in several bowls. Let the starch water rest for 4 hours or overnight so that the starch and the water separate. The white starch will sink to the bottom, and the yellow water will rise to the top. Gently pour off and discard the water leaving behind just the starch. Give your starch a good stir to make sure it is smooth (it can get clumpy when it sits), and add a splash of water if needed to get a nice thin batter. *If you are using store-bought wheat starch, mix starch and water together until you reach a consistency similar to the photos above.
    • Season the starch: In a large measuring cup or medium bowl mix together all of the "red bacon starch" ingredients. If making the white bacon starch, in a separate measuring cup or bowl, mix together the "white bacon starch" ingredients. The white bacon starch is for making the bacon look more realistic mimicking the fat of the bacon, but feel free to skip this step if you prefer.
    • Make vegan bacon crepes: Heat a large skillet or non-stick frying, brush the pan with oil. Working quickly, pour or spoon a small amount of the red starch into the pan to make a thin crepe. Use a spoon to drizzle the white starch across the top of the crepe to make stripes (you only need to do this on one side). Cook the crepe a couple of minutes per side until cooked through. Remove from the pan and set aside. Keep the crepes nice and thin to get the best texture. You can add more water to the starch to make the batter thinner if needed. Repeat these steps until you use up all of the starch, making several crepes.
    • Cut bacon strips: Once the crepes are cooled, use scissors or a knife to cut the crepes in the bacon sized strips. At this point, you can store the starch bacon strips in an air-tight container in the fridge for up to 1 week or in the freezer.
    • Fry up that vegan bacon! when you're ready to enjoy the bacon, heat 2 - 3 tablespoons of oil in a large skillet or frying pan. Fry the bacon strips until they reach desired crispiness. Drain on a paper towel. Enjoy!

    Notes

    Make-ahead/freeze: this bacon is perfect for making ahead! Just store the bacon crepe strips in the fridge or freeze them and fry them up fresh. If freezing, let the strips thaw before frying. 
    Wheat starch substitutions: I haven't tried this recipe with another type of starch yet, but I sure will be! Stay tuned!

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1slice (this is a rough estimation) | Calories: 47kcal | Carbohydrates: 8g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Sodium: 177mg | Potassium: 15mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 148IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 3mg | Iron: 1mg
    Did You Make This Recipe?Tag @itdoesnttastelikechicken on Instagram and Hashtag #itdoesnttastelikechicken
    « Vegan Chicken (Washed Flour Seitan)
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    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Noé says

      January 07, 2023 at 11:43 am

      Hi ! just made it, turned out pretty okay , I chose to skip the liquid smoke and maple syrup part (those ingredients aren't widely available and cheap here (France) and I definitely shouldn't have, it's litteraly the missing flavor in mine
      overall they turned out visually great (used a bottle for the stripes and made a swirly wirly thing as a base layer)
      I'll totally do it again as a way to use the starch byproduct in my seitán method .
      thanks for this recipe !

      Reply
      • Jess @ IDTLC Support says

        January 09, 2023 at 3:41 pm

        We're happy to hear you were happy with the results and hope they turn out even better with the added ingredients!

        Reply
    2. V says

      August 18, 2022 at 3:11 am

      Hi Sam

      By “store bought wheat starch”, do you mean gluten flour? Thanks for answering, looking forward to making this recipe!
      V

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        August 18, 2022 at 9:23 am

        Hi V, gluten flour is actually the opposite of wheat starch. Wheat is made up of protein (gluten) and starch. Gluten flour is the wheat protein separated from the starch. Wheat starch is what is leftover. You can get wheat starch online here.

        Reply
        • V says

          August 18, 2022 at 11:47 pm

          Thanks so much for explaining. I can’t get wheat starch where I am. Would potato starch or tapioca starch work?

    3. Benjamin Grimm says

      June 01, 2022 at 2:39 pm

      This does not say how hot to heat the pan for making the crepes. Mine turned out very badly and were impossible to flip. On medium heat, the crepe was way too soft to flip. On high, it just burned on the first side and had to be thrown out. Not a winning one, in my book.

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        June 13, 2022 at 9:07 am

        Hi Benjamin, I recommend medium-high heat. You need a good non-stick pan and it does take a bit of practice before you get the hang of it. If you have ever made crepes it is the same technique 🙂

        Reply
    4. Erik B says

      March 16, 2022 at 1:32 pm

      Hi Sam,
      Back in June of ‘21 you wrote this above:

      Shelley says
      May 26, 2021 at 6:58 pm

      If you're using store bought wheat starch, roughly what quantity of wheat starch should you mix with what quantity of water? Thanks.

      Reply
      Sam Turnbull says
      June 03, 2021 at 5:56 pm

      I haven't measured this yet but will update once I get the measurments!

      I know you are a super busy woman, but might you be able to post this info, especially since this recipe was just posted on Instagram?

      Thanks, Erik

      Reply
      • Sam Turnbull says

        March 23, 2022 at 12:57 pm

        It's in my notes to update it! I have been working on many projects but hopefully have time for this soon. 🙂

        Reply
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