How To Make Seitan from Whole Wheat Flour

4.67 from 66 votes

How to make Seitan from Flour

When I stopped eating meat about fifteen years ago I relied, like many new vegetarians, on processed meat substitutes: frozen soy burgers, fake “riblets,” and “chik” nuggets in brightly colored packages. For many people these products ease the transition to a new way of eating, but using them can also become an additive-laden crutch. Over the years I’ve transformed my own diet and, I have abandoned the freezer section for the kitchen with delicious, simple, unprocessed results.

The meat substitute I make most often is a batch of spicy black bean burgers, so tasty my omnivorous husband requests them regularly. But he also enjoys (and has even made) seitan.

Seitan. Mock duck. Wheat meat. Whatever you call it, seitan originated in Asia where vegetarian Buddhists used it in place of meat for centuries. Its spread in popularity is credited to the macrobiotic food movement which began in Japan. The word is not actually Japanese, but based in it, which is why I pronounce it “say-TAHN,” not “Satan.”

What is seitan?

Seitan is simply wheat gluten, spiced and simmered. My previous method used store-bought vital wheat gluten as a shortcut, but Andrew learned that the process to make vital wheat gluten is not replicable at home. Undeterred and not without a little spite, I set out to make it from scratch: Flour and water, here I come! After reading mopey stories about how time-consuming the process was, I was pleasantly surprised that the actual hands-on time was little more than the “shortcut” method, and I enjoyed the end product more than previous batches.

Gluten is the protein found in wheat which, when mixed with water, forms into long stretchy strings that give bread its structure. When you develop those strands, rinse off the starch, and cook the gluten bits, you get seitan. The chewy texture is quite similar to meat — I’ve definitely had seitan-based dishes that I’ve had to double-check that they were actually meat-free.

How to make seitan at home from whole wheat flour

The process is simple, but does take some time. Make a large batch and freeze the extra.

Mix whole wheat flour and water into a stiff dough to develop the gluten. I used my stand mixer.

How To Make Seitan: Flour Dough

Cover with cold water and let soak for a few hours or overnight. This both allows the gluten to develop and the starch to “loosen up.”

How To Make Seitan: Soaking the Dough

Knead the dough and rinse with cold water until the water runs clear. It takes about 10 minutes. I used a mesh sieve to help.

How To Make Seitan: Knead and Rinse the Dough

You’ll be left with only the gluten, which is considerably smaller in volume than your starting mass of flour. This was a smaller batch than the recipe lists, and 12 ounces of flour yielded just over 5 ounces of seitan.

How To Make Seitan: Strain the dough

Those stringy strands are exactly what we want.

Form the gluten into a ball; squeeze out as much water and air as possible. The smaller you can shape the piece of gluten, the firmer texture your finished seitan will have. Cut the gluten into pieces using a bench scraper or sharp knife.

How To Make Seitan: The finished homemade Seitan!

Bring a pot of broth to a boil and drop in the pieces of gluten. Simmer the gluten for about half an hour until the broth is almost gone.

I like to sauté my seitan before using it, or you can store it refrigerated, covered in the broth (add more water if needed) for about a week.

This is a very basic recipe, but you can add spices to the dough when mixing, or play with your broth ingredients to add flavor components at any stage.

My favorite ways to eat seitan are on BBQ mock duck pizza, curried mock duck banh mi, in stir fries and fajitas. Leave the packaged “strips” on the shelf and with just a little effort, make your own unprocessed seitan.

How to make Seitan from Flour
4.67 from 66 votes

Homemade Seitan from Whole Wheat Flour

By: Stacy Spensley
Vegan, the opposite of gluten-free. Yields approximately 10 ounces seitan, drained (4-6 servings).

This is a very basic recipe. Add spices to the flour before mixing, or change-up the broth for different flavors. You can use homemade or store-bought vegetable stock, or mix up the quick broth outlined below.
Prep: 5 minutes
Cook: 45 minutes
Total: 8 hours 45 minutes
Servings: 4 servings

Ingredients 

Dough

  • 6 cups whole wheat flour, 24 ounces / 900 grams
  • 2 cups cold water

Broth

  • 4 cups water
  • 1/4 cup soy sauce, or Braggs liquid aminos
  • 1/2 onion, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon miso paste
  • 1 medium tomato, cut in quarters
  • 2 cloves garlic

Instructions 

  • Combine flour and water. Mix until a stiff-but-cohesive dough is formed. Use a dough hook and a stand mixer if possible.
  • Form dough into a ball, place in a bowl, and cover with cold water. Cover and let stand 4-8 hours.
  • Knead the dough and rinse until water runs clear, about 10 minutes. Squeeze dough and press out as much liquid and air as possible. Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut the gluten into bite-sized pieces.
  • Combine ingredients for broth (or use your preferred vegetable stock) and bring to a boil. Drop gluten pieces into boiling broth and return to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer. Cook, turning gluten pieces occasionally, until the broth is mostly absorbed and reduced, about 30 minutes. Discard onion and tomato pieces.
  • To use seitan right away, drain and sauté in a little oil. To store, cover with broth and keep refrigerated up to a week, or frozen. Thicken and reduce broth as a gravy if desired.

Nutrition

Calories: 250kcal, Sodium: 985mg, Potassium: 731mg, Fiber: 19g, Sugar: 2g, Vitamin A: 80IU, Vitamin C: 2.6mg, Calcium: 77mg, Iron: 6.9mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About the Author

Stacy Spensley is a healthy life coach who supports overwhelmed men and women to integrate sustainable, step-by-step diet, mindset, and lifestyle changes so they can feel awesome and kick ass at life. She is professionally bossy and an ardent supporter of the Oxford comma, and you’ll easily find her on Twitter and Facebook. She co-wrote the Official Guide to October Unprocessed, and if this post resonates with you, try Stacy’s free 5-day jumpstart e-course.

A photo of Andrew Wilder leaning into the frame and smiling, hovering over mixing bowls in the kitchen.

Welcome to Eating Rules!

Hi! My name is Andrew Wilder, and I think healthy eating doesn’t have to suck. With just three simple eating rules, we'll kickstart your journey into the delicious and vibrant world of unprocessed food.

You May Also Like:

Subscribe
Notify of
guest
Recipe Rating




Name
Email

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

121 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
ripon hassan
May 28, 2022 12:31 am

5 stars
Truly appreciate the you you made this. Everything is so nicely described that really helped me.

lee
January 15, 2022 12:51 pm

Total 0 for this recipe! I just wasted 6 cups of very expensive King Arthur flour. From the moment I started washing the dough it started to disintegrate. Almost ruined my sieve as well. Very disappointing!

Khadine
Reply to  lee
January 22, 2022 11:08 am

Your dough must be firm

Lavona
Reply to  lee
February 22, 2022 7:32 am

2 stars
Okay.. I tried this recipe last night and I agree.. it did not form well at all. I carefully did a wash, then I added about a tsp of kosher salt and let it rest overnight.

This morning, the gluten strands are much more developed.. though not as stretchy as I expected.. it will now hold flavor better and won’t disintegrate while cooking.

I had to add another cup and a half to the initial dough. It wasn’t just dry, it was just wheat flour nuggets. Took me a minute to be able to knead it.

Letting the flour hydrate for about 20 minutes right after adding the water can lessen the time required for kneading.

Kim
Reply to  lee
January 1, 2023 7:11 pm

Yes it does disintegrate, but you quit too soon…. keep kneading it and it will form back together…I did same mistake the 1st time ;( just keep washing and forming it

1 7 8 9