Homemade Seitan (Flour Washing Method)
Wash bread flour down to pure gluten, then poach it in a savoury broth — ~25g protein per 100g, the anchor protein for the whole week.
- Servings
- 4
- Prep
- 25 min + 1 hr rest
- Cook
- 45–60 min simmer
- Tags
- high-protein · seitan · meal-prep · vegetarian
Method
Flour washing sounds like a faff and isn’t. Knead a dough, rinse away the starch, and what’s left is pure gluten — ~25g protein per 100g once cooked. This is the week’s anchor protein: one session gives you ~250–300g of seitan, enough for four portions across stir-fries, BBQ, and kebabs.
Method
1. Mix & Knead
Combine the flour and water and knead 8–10 minutes into a stiff dough. It will feel shaggy at first — keep going, it comes together.
2. Rest
Cover and rest 1 hour. Or, for the best gluten development, rest it overnight fully submerged in cold water.
3. Wash
Put the dough in a large bowl of cold water and knead it underwater — the starch clouds the water. Pour off the cloudy water, refill, and repeat 4–6 times until the water runs nearly clear, about 10–15 minutes. What remains is the gluten ball, roughly 250–300g.
4. Rest Again
Let the gluten ball sit for 20 minutes. This relaxes it so it doesn’t tear when you shape it.
5. Simmer
Shape into a log and lower it into the broth. Keep it at a bare simmer — never a boil — for 45–60 minutes, turning occasionally. Boiling is what makes seitan spongy, so keep the heat honest.
6. Cool & Store
Cool the seitan in the broth, then store it refrigerated in that broth for up to 1 week. Slice, shred, or cube as needed — see Seitan Three Ways for what to do with it.
Notes
- Never let the broth boil — a bare simmer only. Boiled seitan turns spongy and sad.
- The overnight rest (step 2, fully submerged in cold water) gives noticeably better gluten development. Worth planning ahead for.
- Store the cooked seitan refrigerated in its broth for up to 1 week — it keeps improving as it sits.
- Diet note — seitan is high-protein but zero-fiber. Pair it with legumes or the roasted veg tray to hit the 30–40g daily fiber target.