In a small saucepan, warm 1 tablespoon of the oil over low heat and add the smoked paprika, red pepper flakes, black pepper, minced garlic, garlic powder, and onion powder.
Stir the spices around in the warm oil and let the flavors bloom for about 3 minutes, then remove from heat. (Be sure to only warm the oil and not burn the spices.)
Add water, ketchup, soy sauce, and salt, and stir well.
Add 1/2 cup of white beans to the broth and mash them up with a fork and stir them into the broth.
Mix in 3/4 cup of the vital wheat gluten with a silicon spatula, then knead in the remaining 1/4 cup of wheat gluten with your hands until you have a firm dough.
Spread the wheat gluten dough out flat and drop small pieces of very cold coconut oil on it (totaling about 1 additional tablespoon of coconut oil). (This will simulate the fat in a traditional salami.) Then roll the gluten to trap the pieces in the center of the salami. (You can omit this step for a lower-fat vegan salami.)
Shape the seitan salami into a smooth log traping the little bits of oil in the center and wrap it tightly in foil. (You can wrap it in a layer of parchment before wrapping it in foil if you don't want the foil to touch your food.)
Place the wrapped seitan into a steamer basket and steam for 50 minutes (or steam for 40 minutes in a pressure cooker and let the steam release naturally).
Allow it to cool completely and store in the fridge until ready to slice and eat. (You can eat it warm, but it will become denser as it cools.)
Notes
Vital wheat gluten is a very fine powder and it gets messy fast. When adding the flour, hold the measuring cup low in the bowl so you don't have a cloud of powder.
Feel free to adjust the spices to your taste. This is a spicy deli "meat," so if you don't like it too spicy, cut the red pepper flakes in half and omit the cayenne.
If you don't have a steamer basket, you can use a small amount of water and place jelly jar rings at the bottom of your pot to lift the salami up out of the water. Just check and refill the water as needed.
Wash your bowl and utensils in very hot water. This will "cook" the gluten and stop it from being sticky.