Homemade Seitan

Instructions

Mix the flour with 2 cups of water and knead until the dough is well combined and elastic. Keep your hands wet so the dough does not stick to them.

Cover the dough with water and refrigerate it for 1 hour.

Knead the dough gently under the water until the water turns cloudy, then pour it off and replace it with clear, cold water. At first the dough breaks apart easily, so only squeeze it carefully against the bowl. Later you can knead it above the water and dip it in just to rinse off the starch, since too much water will wash out the gluten as well.

Keep kneading and changing the water until it stays clear after kneading. You should be left with a single mass of gluten. The cloudy rinse water can be left to settle if you want to collect the starch, and what remains can serve as a base for grain milk.

Divide the gluten into two loaf- or roll-shaped halves. At this point you can work in soy sauce, which is traditional for seitan, or spices such as Italian sausage seasoning or poultry seasoning for a chicken or turkey effect. Nutritional yeast is also recommended, and some brands contain vitamin B12.

Place the gluten loaves in a pot and cover them with vegetable broth or dashi.

Bring the pot to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer for 1 to 1.5 hours.

Remove from the heat and serve as you like, or use the seitan in place of meat. Because it is so high in protein, it can also be sliced into steaks and grilled or fried.