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If you're looking for a flavorful, yet simple recipe for ham from washed flour, look no further! No need to worry about achieving the perfect oven temperature, frying or making a broth, because this seitan is cooked by wrapping and steaming. Slices up perfectly for sandwiches, too!

Recipe should yield a little more than 1lb/455g of ham.

Ingredients

Washing
 1 kg bread flour (approximately 7 1/4 cups)If using all purpose flour, add another 140g/1 cup
 690 ml water (3 cups) You may not need all of this, but if using AP flour you may need a little more.
 a few drops of vegan red food coloring or 1/2T beetroot powder (optional)
Seasoning Paste
 1 tbsp light brown sugar
 2 ½ tsp onion powder
 1 ½ tsp smoked torula yeast The flavor of this ingredient really comes through to make it taste hammy, so it is highly recommended. If you can't get it you can try subbing 2 tsp nutritional yeast and a little extra liquid smoke.
 1 tsp garlic powder
 1 tsp salt
 ½ tsp ground mustard
 ½ tsp ground ginger
 ½ tsp MSG(optional)
  tsp white pepper
 1 tbsp red miso paste
 1 tbsp vegan Worcesterchire sauceI prefer this recipe but store-bought works, too.
 2 tsp liquid hickory smoke

Directions

1

I began by adding a few drops of red food coloring to the 3 cups of water.* Start by adding about 2 1/2 cups of water and mix it into your flour. If it's not forming into a dough, add a little more. It's easier to wash if it's a little bit sticky as opposed to dry and crumbly, but too much water can make it fall apart when washing. Make sure the water is fully incorporated. You can either knead it into a ball or simply let it rest in the bowl like this for 15 minutes. Then cover it with cool water and let it rest again for about an hour.

*You can whisk beetroot powder into your flour if you prefer, or add it into your spice paste, though it may turn a little brown during steaming.

2

Wash that flour! If you're new to flour-washing, check out this step-by-step tutorial here. For this I washed to the cloudy water stage. I try to wash as much starch out as I can because I want the texture for this to be meaty, but washing to clear water could make it a bit rubbery.

3

Once washed, drain your ball of gluten for about 20-30 minutes. While it's draining, add all of the seasoning ingredients into a small bowl and mix them together into a paste. Wring out your gluten to remove as much excess water as possible. After doing this mine weighed 475g, or just a little over a pound.

4

Add your gluten and seasoning paste to the food processor and blitz until it's fully mixed. If you don't have one you can also use a knife or kitchen scissors to cut in seasonings by hand. Place the mixture on a cutting board with grooves or in a place it can drain a little more and let it rest like this for about an hour.

5

For steaming you can use an Instant Pot fitted with the trivet or a pot on the stove with a vegetable steamer basket and lid. Add water until it sits just below the top of the trivet or basket, and if using the stove-top method get it going on medium/high.

6

When the seitan is ready it should be strong enough to stretch without breaking. Shape it into a ball and flatten a little bit to make it more rectangular. Use aluminum foil or muslin/cheesecloth to wrap it like a package. You want it to be wrapped pretty tight so it doesn't have much room to expand. Place it in the Instant Pot and set to manual/high for 1 hour, or steam for one hour. When steaming, check it halfway through to make sure there's enough water in the pot.

7

The seitan should feel firm once cooked. Keeping it wrapped, let it come to room temperature. Then, let it rest in the fridge for about 8 hours or overnight. It will continue to firm up as it rests.

Don't forget to save that starch! You can use it to make the perfect cheese to go with this sandwich!


More Ham & Deli-Style Recipes

Vegan Deli-Style Ham | Washed Flour SeitanBy JenIf you're looking for a flavorful, yet simple recipe for ham from washed flour, look no further! No need to worry about achieving the perfect oven temperature, frying or making a broth, because this seitan is cooked by wrapping and steaming. Slices up perfectly for sandwiches, too!
Vegan White Cheddar Cheese | Wheat Starch WaterBy JenThis vegan white cheddar cheese made with leftover wheat starch water from washing flour to make seitan gets its creaminess from cashews and cheddar flavor from a combination of nutritional yeast and the brine from a jar of olives. It's a hard cheese perfect for your next charcuterie board, but can also be sliced thin for sandwiches or grated onto just about anything for flavor.
Best Vegan HamBy JenThis vegan ham by The Cheeky Chickpea is made with wheat gluten and tofu. Delicious, juicy, meaty, Tofurky-style seitan roast recipe for your plant-based holiday meal, or slice as deli meat for ham sandwiches! So easy!
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Ingredients

Washing
 1 kg bread flour (approximately 7 1/4 cups)If using all purpose flour, add another 140g/1 cup
 690 ml water (3 cups) You may not need all of this, but if using AP flour you may need a little more.
 a few drops of vegan red food coloring or 1/2T beetroot powder (optional)
Seasoning Paste
 1 tbsp light brown sugar
 2 ½ tsp onion powder
 1 ½ tsp smoked torula yeast The flavor of this ingredient really comes through to make it taste hammy, so it is highly recommended. If you can't get it you can try subbing 2 tsp nutritional yeast and a little extra liquid smoke.
 1 tsp garlic powder
 1 tsp salt
 ½ tsp ground mustard
 ½ tsp ground ginger
 ½ tsp MSG(optional)
  tsp white pepper
 1 tbsp red miso paste
 1 tbsp vegan Worcesterchire sauceI prefer this recipe but store-bought works, too.
 2 tsp liquid hickory smoke

Directions

1

I began by adding a few drops of red food coloring to the 3 cups of water.* Start by adding about 2 1/2 cups of water and mix it into your flour. If it's not forming into a dough, add a little more. It's easier to wash if it's a little bit sticky as opposed to dry and crumbly, but too much water can make it fall apart when washing. Make sure the water is fully incorporated. You can either knead it into a ball or simply let it rest in the bowl like this for 15 minutes. Then cover it with cool water and let it rest again for about an hour.

*You can whisk beetroot powder into your flour if you prefer, or add it into your spice paste, though it may turn a little brown during steaming.

2

Wash that flour! If you're new to flour-washing, check out this step-by-step tutorial here. For this I washed to the cloudy water stage. I try to wash as much starch out as I can because I want the texture for this to be meaty, but washing to clear water could make it a bit rubbery.

3

Once washed, drain your ball of gluten for about 20-30 minutes. While it's draining, add all of the seasoning ingredients into a small bowl and mix them together into a paste. Wring out your gluten to remove as much excess water as possible. After doing this mine weighed 475g, or just a little over a pound.

4

Add your gluten and seasoning paste to the food processor and blitz until it's fully mixed. If you don't have one you can also use a knife or kitchen scissors to cut in seasonings by hand. Place the mixture on a cutting board with grooves or in a place it can drain a little more and let it rest like this for about an hour.

5

For steaming you can use an Instant Pot fitted with the trivet or a pot on the stove with a vegetable steamer basket and lid. Add water until it sits just below the top of the trivet or basket, and if using the stove-top method get it going on medium/high.

6

When the seitan is ready it should be strong enough to stretch without breaking. Shape it into a ball and flatten a little bit to make it more rectangular. Use aluminum foil or muslin/cheesecloth to wrap it like a package. You want it to be wrapped pretty tight so it doesn't have much room to expand. Place it in the Instant Pot and set to manual/high for 1 hour, or steam for one hour. When steaming, check it halfway through to make sure there's enough water in the pot.

7

The seitan should feel firm once cooked. Keeping it wrapped, let it come to room temperature. Then, let it rest in the fridge for about 8 hours or overnight. It will continue to firm up as it rests.

Don't forget to save that starch! You can use it to make the perfect cheese to go with this sandwich!

Vegan Deli-Style Ham | Washed Flour Seitan