How to remove the distinct flavor of vital wheat gluten when making faux meat?
One way to avoid the vital wheat gluten taste is to develop wheat gluten directly from flour (a somewhat popular food in China). To do so, make a dough of bread flour and water, knead it well, rest 2-3 hours, then "wash" the dough in water until most of the starch has been rinsed away. The result is a high protein/water mass that I assume could be used in faux meats, that will taste highly umami (from wheat protein's glutamate), but not unpleasant like vital wheat gluten.

To wash the dough, submerge it in a bowl of water in the sink and rub it (like handwashing clothing). Change out the water until it turns clean. This process can take ~15-30 minutes and 10+ changes. It's a hassle, but the result, if done well, will have an amazing chew and flavor.

This method has a low yield. One method to increase it involves adding a small percentage of vital wheat gluten to the flour. This increases yield without really effecting flavor, though adding too much can make the dough unpleasantly tougher. Another method to increase yield may be to add salt.